Hilda’s Trolls: Otherness and Racism
While the conversation about the racial other could be brought to pretty much any of the Supernatural Others in the show, today we’re going to focus on trolls. This is for two primary reasons: the first being that trolls are the most central Supernatural Other throughout the entirety of the show; and the second, trolls make up the primary antagonists in the Hilda movie, the Mountain King.
The True Main Character of Unpacking
The way the story is constructed and enacted by the player is a fascinating one, and fairly unique to Unpacking. Part of this storytelling is the interesting question of who exactly the main character of the game is, an answer that is typically found within the things we unpack in the game. And while I won’t alter this approach too much, I do have a slightly different way of answering the question of who the main character of the story is. So, lets – uh – unpack this game.
The Legend of Zelda: Cyclical Time in Myth and History
If we are to understand the Legend of Zelda from this perspective, rather than a structured timeline, then we understand the shifting nature of myth and legend through the experience of history. History impacts mythology, and mythology and storytelling impacts history.
Repetition and Zelda’s Darkest Game
Majora doesn’t rely on scary typical imagery of death. It’s not dark because of the presence of torture devices or pools of blood or zombies. It’s dark because of the confusing nature of the story – the familiar feel of a game that is twisted to something slightly different than we’re used to. And more importantly, the way we play through the game forces us to see the terrible works wrought upon the world of Termina, and then we must reset it.
The Meaning of the Pale Man
The whole theme of Pan’s Labyrinth is disobedience, and the disobedience most presented is from the invisible figures who are typically victims of patriarchal violence and thought. While the doctor and the rebels are also figures of disobedience, Mercedes disobedience is presented as far more dangerous and subversive of sexist thought. But we’re going to focus more here on the disobedience of Ofelia.
She-Ra and Mythology
Netflix's She-Ra has an amazingly true-to-life take on mythology. The show makes the understanding of mythology nuanced while also highly accessible. In this essay, we explore the role mythology plays in the world of She-Ra, looking at the She-Ra mythology, as well as transformations of myth through time. We look into the role of the First Ones in their own storytelling, as well as the stories they actively changed through their colonial influence.
The Myth of Maternity
The Myth of Maternity is a narrative frequently found throughout society whose morality is a little fuzzy. This story paints women as bearers of inherent maternal instincts and wishes – women are all mothers, whether they already are, are wanting to be, or are simply confused on the matter. The problematic nature of this social story is tied to troublesome views of women, as well as troublesome definitions of womanhood. Regardless, the myth of maternity is spread throughout our society and culture – and is prevalent in our popular culture.
Worldbuilding and Implicit Mythology
Worldbuilding is one of those words frequently used in circles of video game developers and fans. It's process, development and successes can be best understood through a concept given to us by the anthropological study of mythology: implicit mythology. Implicit mythology teaches us that myth is performed, lived, and shared between individuals. Video games as implicit mythology tells us that worldbuilding in video games is a symbiotic experience fostered between developer and player.
Hilda, the Great Raven, and Other-than-Human Persons
One of the defining features of various religions or societies is the way humans understand their position in relation to the other aspects of the world around them. It is not just the way humans understand their positioning to others, such as in social hierarchies or families. But it also determines our understanding of how humans interact with the rest of the life around us, including plants, animals and mythological creatures.
How Soul is Anti-Capitilist
Disney Pixar's Soul is more than just a movie about the connection of music or the a discussion of how beautiful life can be. In its exploration of "purpose", Soul disrupts the idea of success as something financial, and through it the role of vocation and predestination. By disrupting these pillars on which modern capitalism is built, Soul explores a different direction of life, and therefore questions the ideals of capitalism.
Breath of the Wild’s Sacred Landscape
Breath of the Wild's intricate landscape is painted with the history, mythology and actions and of the people of Hyrule. The Lanayru Promenade demonstrates this due to its place in the world, one that marks an old pilgrimage trail traced from Kakariko Village to Mt. Lanayru. By studying the promenade, the pilgrimage trail, and the mythology of the world, we see how Breath of the Wild's landscape demonstrates its own sacred places in a way that mimics the world outside video games.