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DTG on 27 June 2008
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HappySqurriel said:
jman8 said:
HappySqurriel said:

Honestly, the problem with Metal Gear is not the storyline or the game it is the moronic reaction and undeserved hype of Fanboys ... Metal Gear Solid's story is very similar in delivery to a movies like Wild Wild West or Van Helsing; poorly acted and directed over the top movies that are entertaining when you turn your brain off. It is (somewhat) better than these movies because there is an effort to add some deeper content into the story, but these messages are poorly integrated into the story and end up seeming clumsy. From what I have seen, the only people who really see Metal Gear as being particularly deep are people who tend to only see the surface messages in movies/books/videogames and miss the subtext of a story.

When someone who truly understands and enjoys deep subtext hears about how "Deep" Metal Gear Solid is, and then plays the game, they are bound to think that either games are the most shallow medium ever created (if this is the deepest game created) or that Metal Gear Fans ar morons.

 

How are themes of loyalty, genetic pre-disposition vs genetic pre-destination, and systems of societal control, the control of information, the military industrial complex and the war economy not deep, meaningful, and thought-provoking themes? Sure, they may not be presented in the most clear way, but they're definitely there. There's no denying that.

The question of depth or importance of the themes isn't what I was refering to, the integration of the themes with the storyline are ...

Most (good) story tellers tend to have there story investigate the themes in such a way that it is transparent to the reader/viewer/gamer; if a movie is exploring abortion (as an example) they tend to explore the life of a person who is considering an abortion rather than have a 20 Minute dialoge about the philosophical implications of an abortion.

 

I prefer the bolded. There is a reason we go to school and study through textbooks. The average human, ergo 95% of the population is simply not intelligent enough to find any profoundities in sub-textual messages. He may think, he may ponder, but there is a reason why most of us never end up winning the Noble prize or become world renowed in any particular field; We are simply not smart or "brilliant enough" our brains being mere grains next to the minds of those who have truly impacted and revolutionized this world with their inventive ideas.

Which is why I prefer to read works from people such as Kant or Neitzche and basing my opinions upon interpretations of people with far greater grasp on the subject matter. While Kojima is no Kant I do appreciate what he is doing and do consider his creative and intellectual merits to be above the average Joe's. In being so I endorse his storytelling method of spelling his idea's out in words simply because it may inspire some other truly genius people to do so themselves rather then assume the dumb sheep of a public will be able to see the brilliant profoundities of their sub-textual messages.

If the thematics of any piece of art is to inspire thought and change on a global scale it must be presented in a manner understandable to every, spelled out and it may possibly "stick" and cause social shift. Immanual Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is an example of such dogmatic yet profound literary piece that still is far too complex for the average person to even care to understand.