[SPOILERS.....obviously] A bit of a rant about how FF13 is pro-human

[chatua]

So when Orphan said,

"Fal'cie are created for a single purpose and granted with finite power to that end. With men it is not so. Men, dream, aspire, and through indomitable force of will achieve the impossible. Your power is beyond measure. We take l'cie that we may wield such strength."

I threw up.

How many other games and movies are out there that pimp humanities' perseverance and greatness? This theme is just getting too cliche nowadays.

Other game examples include:

Halo - The Forerunners

Spoiler

chose humans as their descendants because they saw the similarities they shared with humanity and the potential of the human race.

Mass Effect - Commander Sheppard saves the galaxy and humanity quickly

Spoiler

becomes the youngest and most influential race in the galaxy, although other races in the galactic community have been around for thousands of years prior

. And even Liara says how humans are so driven and pursuant of their goals that nothing gets in there way.

Sure, I can agree that there are many exemplary members of humanity who have contributed to our gradual progression. But as an entire species, all the crap we do to each other and the environment outweighs the good we have done. This coupled with our selfish human nature, it's hard for me to see the strength and greatness of humanity FF13 and these other games promote so much.

 

[FinalHeart]

I see what you mean. It is kind of cheese-tastic.

I suppose it's kind of a glass half-empty/glass half-full kind of thing. People like you and me see all that is wrong with humanity, while others see this unmeasurable force of power.

 

[Dionysos]

I guess so, but there are also many stories out there stressing the evils and dangers of humanity, and how the environment (and our own survival) is threatened by us. Both are used a lot, it's just that this game happened to go with that.

I guess when you have a party full of human characters (and they were always going to win), such a message would have been difficult to avoid. Alien / monster / supreme being villains often compliment humanity's abilities before they are defeated, I guess so that the monster / alien / supreme being can explain to itself why it is likely to be defeated. In this case Orphan was referring to why the Fal'Cie turned humans into L'Cie, but it serves the same kind of purpose.


Besides what Orphan said, I actually felt the opposite while playing the game. Did anyone else get the eerie feeling that we were looking at a destroyed us, while roaming around on Pulse? I know it isn't us, but I think that we were meant to feel connected to the modern looking streets and skyscraper ruins. To me these post-apocalyptic images signalled how humanity can soon become nothing, and nature can rule once again in areas once dominated by man, and we'll soon be forgotten about. While some of the ruins did look more futuristic than us, I can't help but feel that we were meant to see our own world in those ruins.

So I think that it was really a mixed message. Humanity isn’t perfect and amazing, but the Fal’Cie found a way to manipulate traits in humanity that they found useful and impressive. This doesn’t mean that humanity is any less doomed, as the ruins on Pulse suggest that nothing lasts forever, regardless of dreams, aspirations and force of will.