The satire is so good in this game.
Two more for the pile
Edit: ironically, it seems my media literacy could be called into question here too based on the mismatch between the tone of OP meme and the tone of the responses I posted. Context for anybody missing it below.
The punisher is a revenge fantasy carried out on corrupt policemen. The message was basically acab before acab was a thing people said. Policemen, who tend to have IQ that matches their best mile time in minutes, love to plaster his logo all over everything they own.
The bottom photo is Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine. Rather than summarize his story, I’ll share his response when a prominent conservative politician tweeted about RatM being their favorite band. “I wonder what [Paul] Ryan’s favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of “Fuck the Police”? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!”
Morello was in a Voyager episode?!?!? I don’t even really like RATM, but holy fuckin BASED
‘Good Shepherd’ S06E20, it’s just a cameo appearance though.
Good lookin out! Voyager is one of the few Trek shows I haven’t seen every episode of, I mean I’ve seen most of Voyager, so I might’ve seen that one. It just makes sense, Starfleet is the embodiment of leftist socialist idealism, I do love it so
What are you on about? Starfleet is a (at least quasi)military organization with a obvious hierarchical order. The captain tells you to jump? You say how high. There’s a lot of discussions, but in the end she/he decides the fate of all aboard.
Now, I love old Trek (up until and including Voyager) - it has a lot of merits - but it’s far from how I’d want society to be optimally.
I know the point of Tom Morello being included is because RATM is completely misunderstood by conservatives, but it makes me giggle because he did a song for Final Fantasy XIV because a friend he played D&D with also knew a guy involved and it just happened.
But progressives can have hobbies. It’s fine. Lol
Who’s the dude in the bottom picture?
Tom Morello
What’s Tom doing in that list? From everything I’ve heard about him he seems like a great guy
I wonder if the message is about Rage Against the Machine and how conservatives always misunderstand the lyrics because they have zero media literacy.
Same with Born in the USA. They hear the chorus and think it’s about how America rocks, but it’s really about how we traumatize our soldiers and leave our vets out to dry.
Fortunate Son too
When did rage against the machine go woke?
Edit: Damn. It’s funny how much you all suck.
Before they formed as a band.
Lol.
Upvoted because I caught the sarcasm lmao.
Holy wooosh
Doyoueverconsiderwhybeingawareofandagainsthorriblethingshappeningtoinnocentpeople,awareofthepeopleinchargescammingandlaughingatyouwhileyouscrabblearoundinthedirtblamingotherpeoplebeingscammedjustlikeyouisconsideredaninsultbyyourkind?Do you just enjoy the feeling of constantly being made a fool? Is that why you think ‘woke’ is such an insult? Some kind of weird kink about being robbed and abused?Well fuck me I fell for it. It’s real hard to tell these days when someone’s being facetious or not on the internet :(
It turns out Lemmy is full of humorless morons.
Rage against the machine going woke is a very common joke on the internet. XD
It’s all good. Here I was thinking I was laying it on pretty thick given the context, but here we are. 🤷
The Machine: Love this shit USA FTW
RATM: …
It’s a “misunderstood the message” in the opposite direction. He wrote angry songs about how the establishment is evil, and pro-establishment people thought they were angry songs about how people trying to change the establishment were evil.
Given there lyrics that’s less of a misunderstanding and more illiteracy. The lyrics themselves were pretty damn clear.
I remember a classmate of mine thought the “some of those who work forces are the same that burn crosses” lyric was saying “Satanists are infiltrating our pristine and flawless police force!” And of course there’s the quintessential “Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!” that all republicans thought meant “Fuck you, I won’t do the bare minimum to care about others!”
Sure, but in the former case that takes some extreme cognitive dissonance. Rage wasn’t ever really hiding things in their lyrics.
Oh, they were certainly enraged. Those damn satanists! But yeah, nobody I knew actually knew what the lyrics were - we all just mumbled along incoherently until we yelled out the few parts that everyone knew, so none of us were actually certain that the conservatives were totally misinterpreting what the song was saying.
Right wingers are too dumb to have media literacy and tend to love RATM. I do agree just a photo of him was probably the most confusing way to convey that message though.
The photo includes a message on his guitar, “arm the homeless”, should have been a good indicator they weren’t right wing.
But, But, he is saying more guns! I want more guns, and I identify as conservative, and republican!
Ahhhh yeah that makes sense, I think I was just under caffeinated. Thanks
https://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=7794
Tom Morello, took offense to the fact that Mitt Romney’s choice for vice-president, Paul Ryan, cited Rage as his favorite band
Guitar strings.
Damn, “Arm the homeless” is a hell of a take.
Yeah. The leftist in me thinks it goes kinda hard, but the volunteer social worker in me has spent a lot of time and effort making absolutely sure the homeless folk I’ve interacted with were not armed. I thought it said “arm the hopeless” when I found the picture
Author: Satirizes toxic masculinity via cartoonishly terrible male characters
A concerningly significant portion of men: basedbasedbasedbasedbased
Heinlein was suuuuper in favor of a colonial/martial culture. The whole reason he wrote Starship Troopers was because he was disappointed that the US suspended nuclear weapons testing which he saw as further evidence of the decline of martial culture. The book clearly advocates for the promotion of civic duty as a moral imperative as well as for things like corporal punishment. He WANTED the “toxic masculinity” culture, that was his own culture as he perceived it.
The movie is basically the complete opposite, satirically portraying colonial/martial values against the backdrop of an imperial state. It’s one of the biggest disparities in intent vs interpretation I have ever seen.
The movie rocks, by the way. Still watch it once a year
I vaguely heard that Heinlein engaged with a whole bunch of different ideologies for different books.
Based? Based on what?
Rico wasn’t a terrible person. But he really is the exception in the list.
Rico was a terrible person, but through experience and hardship learned the weight of being an adult comes with a high price.
Rico is an officer in the war-machinery of one of the more fascist systems imagined in film. After the events of Operation Royalty he sends what basically amounts to child-soldiers to their deaths. He believes only military service should grant citizenship and shows unquestioning loyalty to the Federation.
But I’m sure he only followed orders, that’s a perfectly good excuse.
Oh, I only saw the movies.
All that is from the movie.
I don’t remember him becoming an officer. Guess I’m just going senile. My b.
It’s the ending scene. “We have new ships, we have new weapons. Now we need soldiers…” they show Carmen as captain of her own ship with a lieutenant that looks like she didn’t even finish high school and then Rico as the lieutenant of the roughnecks, their ranks filled with new, younger recruits. “C’mon you apes, you wanna live forever?!”
Right! I’m going to have to rewatch it here sometime soon.
Well, in the movies alone he’s pretty much the same thing: officer of a fascist war machine. And while he is presented as a dumb jock at the beginning, by the end of the movie (movies, too) he’s pretty much shown absolutely no character growth, besides being much more pumped about the fascist war machine.
Every time I think about Rico, I remember when he talks about citizenship. First in school, then at the funeral. Same definition, word for word. Just more conviction the second time around.
When did he become an NCO? I remember the movie ending with him as a boot.
He becomes an NCO after he kills the first tank bug and becomes a full officer after the funeral.
Rorshach not being on there is disappointing.
We can’t fit all of the Watchmen cast, can we?
I’m not locked in here with you! You’re locked in here with me! Melts someone’s face with fryer oil. Cringe line…but kinda funny at the same time.
My exwife has a large slytherin tattoo. That house in pottery is just “the bad guys”. There’s not charecter arch or deeper meaning, no complexity in writing.
They are just the bad guys, who are evil and mean. That’s it. She loves em.
A lot of people have Empire tattoos, Decepticon tattoos, and so on. Fictional bad guys are just cool.
Warhammer 40k Chaos is also cool.
I love Zeon/Neo Zeon mobile suits. Don’t agree with the views, but damn do they have some cool designs.
I mean, spacenoid rights, which is what Zeon Diekun preached, was not the same as the as the Principality of Zeon, which is the Zabi Family dictatorship, and the ones that gassed and dropped a colony.
At last, a true Zeonic! 🫡
They need to be more than bad guys. Darth Wader started as good guy, than became a bad guy, than redeemed himself. Nobody normal has a tattoo of nurse Ratchet.
Consider the alternatives:
Suicidal, stupid, trouble causing and seeking, bullying “brave” Griffindors.
Bookworm “smart”, swot grinders Ravenclaws.
Sly and cunning, “ambitious” Slytherins.
Neither brave, smart or sly, menial workers Hufflepuffs.
Idk about you, but out of those options to me speaks the most “neither”, but if I have to sleep somewhere, I’d wear green.
Dude, Hufflepuffs got it right. “Nobody expects us to achieve anything, so they’ll praise us if we just show up”. That’s a pro level life hack. They are the “take it easy” house. If The Dude was in Hogwarts, he’d be in Hufflepuff. If I was in Hogwarts I’d be in Hufflepuff.
hufflepuff definitely the stoner house. Entrance even located right by the kitchen
They weren’t particularly sly cunning or smart. Ambitious I’ll give you.
The book sets it up like slytherin and gryfindor are basically the same except one is evil.
I am quoting the books with cunning and ambitious. It also mentions resourcefulness.
It’s just that the author is not that good with her craft and she made them Evil, shallow house in practice.
Or maybe it’s the other way, and she did that on purpose, so that the early children book has visible low stake antagonist Malfoy, who does not really matter compared to BBEG.
I understand what you mean. They are said to be those traits but that is absolutely not portrayed in the book.
So if you’re reading the books or watching the movie and thinking “I relate to those guys” all there is to relate to is being “bad”
They don’t have anything else going for them in the story.
Yeah the sorting hat sorta tells Harry slitherin folks are destined for big things (not necessarily good, but big) but then there’s dumbfucks like crabbe and goyle in there who couldn’t accomplish shit.
Joanne Kowling Rowling didn’t exactly stay consistent about things in those books.
Dude, the Hufflepuffs’ dorms are described as cozy and are located near the kitchen, that’s objectivelly the best place to sleep in.
I thought about it. But low ceiling and the fact they are described as basically background noise made me uninterested ultimately. :-)
The most powerful wizard out of the Triwizard tournament. “Background noise”. If school houses are groups then the “best” of those school houses should say more than the perspective of a boy bias by being in a different group.
Edit: maybe I shouldnt say most powerful, best rounded? Idk.
Not because of the Snape “redemption” at the end of the movie?
She doesn’t have a snape tattoo. She has slytherin and deatheater tattoos.
Yeah, that’s why I mentioned the only notable character with positive attributes.
A stalker who worshipped one woman because she talked to him as a child and he decided to abuse orphaned children caused by the very hate group he was a part of. As Voldemort is supposed to be placed during WW2, snape became a NAZI by choice… Then only decided to oppose them when Hitler decided to kill someone he cared about.
Why he is such an ass to Neville we’ll never understand.
I thought he hated Neville because who the chosen one was prophecy described either Harry or Neville, and Voldemort went after Harry, sealing who the prophecy was and sealing Harry’s mother’s fate, making Snape hate him because Neville’s parents could have died instead of a woman that would have never gotten with his shit ass.
But it’s been ages since I’ve read the books.
Nevilles parents were tortured to insanity by Snapes friend. “Not his friend” walks into his home and he doesn’t kill them. How do we know it was done before… Because they did it before Voldemort died. He was a baby who was orphaned because Snape was and will always be, worse than 99% of NAZI’s. His actions after proved it
Idk I think Malfoy gets it rough, kid was basically raised in and surrounded by a cult 24/7 with the threat of being ostracized by his family, friends and basically everyone he’d ever known if he put a foot out of line. The fact that he got any redemption arc at all even if it was late is more than a lot of indoctrinated people manage IRL.
The only one i have a gripe with is the Brand of Sacrifice. Yes, in the Berserk world, it marks one for sacrifice by the Godhand. But we dont live in the Berserk world. To me, the Brand is a sign of struggle, and a symbol of resisting fate and destiny. It’s standing up for yourself, even when the easy thing would be to lay down. It’s facing adversity and pain when the world wants to kick you and beat you down. That’s what the Brand means to me.
But fuck Griffith, i want that twink obliterated.
“I want that Twink obliterated”. I mean so do the people that like him.
But fuck Griffith, i want that twink obliterated.
I mean, right before he did the, uh, stuff he kinda was. A whole buncha torture stuff happened to him before he did the things.
Nah, Griffith was always about that shit that’s the point. Griffith was always about himself that was a huge plot point of the story. Given that choice again 10 times out of 10 he would pick it the same choice. He would do anything achieve his goals, he’d probably do worse if he had to.
But fuck Griffith, i want that twink obliterated.
I have just the doujins for you.
Don’t forget this one
In a similar vein Walter from breaking bad, though that makes less sense. Tony soprano was at least a charismatic sociopath, Walt was just an asshole
Also the classic nerd version, Rick from Rick and Morty. Bojack horseman too, which is extra funny because the show eventually called this out (in a way that almost certainly went over the head of some of the people who idealized him)
Bojack horseman too, which is extra funny because the show eventually called this out (in a way that almost certainly went over the head of some of the people who idealized him)
The thing with Bojack that I think is really poignant, though, is that I think that the people who idolize him don’t do so because they see in Bojack somebody they want to be, but because they see somebody they already are. Bojack is a canary in the coal mine to the depressive viewer. “If Bojack can pull through this, maybe I can, too.”
As a character, Bojack isn’t a goal to achieve; he’s a warning. If you treat everyone around you like shit, you’re going to find yourself all alone in your darkest moments. Bojack serves as a reminder that sometimes personal redemption has an expiration date; the longer you wait to correct the wrongs of your past, the more Sarah Lynns will come and go through your life. Bojack shows the viewer that it’s never too late to change, but that there are consequences to waiting; you can’t wallow in pity and self-loathing forever, and you’re not the only one who’s affected by the way you treat yourself.
I’m sure a lot of people don’t make it through the show to really get all that, though. Which is a shame, because I think Bojack tells an incredibly beautiful story that gets missed by many.
Bojack is a great show because it highlights so many forms of depression and destructive behavior. Everyone in that show has problems, even Mr Peanutbutter, who I think importantly shows you can be a flawed person while most people love you and you’re usually happy.
Seeing Bojack act out in so many destructive ways gave me an objective view of a lot of behaviors in myself and it led to me getting help for my major depression. I lead a very different life today thanks to the realistic depictions of broken characters in that show.
I think that people may admire/covet the super-power of doing what you want without caring about other people or being afraid of consequences.
Which is a huge shame, because doing what you want without much worry about consequences is actually super doable WHILE still caring about other people
Not if you’ve been taught that everything is a zero-sum game, which apparently many people believe, especially in the States. If you believe that one person gaining something necessarily means that someone else loses something to an equal or greater degree, caring about other people inherently means having to compromise on your own happiness.
Of course it becomes a lot easier if you believe that it’s possible to win together and that giving a little can make a huge difference in someone’s day.
siiigh the ’ “prisoner’s dillema” being taught in elementary schools needs to be a thing everywhere’ thing again?.. TT
Only if you’re not a sociopath whose wants to directly against the well-being of others
Agree with your points but I will say that Tony’s charisma seems to wane by the end of the series. Seasons 1-3 Tony 100% charismatic sociopath.
Yeah true, and I think that makes him more authentic tbh. When I worked with domestic violence situations the perpetrators often hit the same vibe, super charismatic and many people around would second guess claims against them. but underneath they had serious anger issues that made them increasingly assholes and eventually straight up dangerous during periods of high stress. The charisma is a cloak that takes a lot of effort. That’s what people ignore with the character and irl too, they rationalize it away to try and make sense of caring about a person who is objectively shitty
God I love the sopranos, I wish I had time to rewatch that glorified crew
The show also goes out of its way to show you how phony the gangsters are. Especially in concerns to them being Italian.
Bojack is relatable. He’s just super fucking depressed.
Maybe I’m media illiterate but when I watched BB I could not follow Walt at all. Like he did the thing, he got the money, then he’s like more meth Jesse we need to cooooook out of nowhere. Were there hints that I just missed that he was going down that path? Because every time he tripled down it felt like it was out of nowhere.
power corrupts. as he amasses more power in the criminal underworld he believes himself to be better than the people around him, that he can change the corrupt system from the inside. it’s not until hank dies that he actually realises what he’s been doing, but at that point it’s already too late.
…and then the season 6 finale ruined the point.
Walt was on an ego trip the entire time - the money was an excuse but the feeling of being in power and in control was always the real reason for his actions. Remember that he torched some guy’s car and turned down a generous job offer for personal, functionally petty reasons before he’d started cooking. You could argue that the offer was patronizing, but if his concern was really about taking care of his family instead of wanting to feel like he was the big guy in charge of things would he really have said no?
White’s whole thing was that he wanted power, not just money.
There were several hints, but they weren’t super obvious and I don’t think I caught many of them until rewatching the show.
Who (and how did they) misunderstood MGS? Kojima isn’t exactly subtle.
And considering that Venom isn’t even the real Big Boss, and Big Boss was only a true villain in the original Metal Gear, when he had zero backstory and wasn’t even cool enough to get more than a fucking placeholder name, it’s weird seeing him up there. 2 and 5 pretty much show his goal was to destroy the illuminati as well as take care of war vets who got fucked over by their government. He’s only a villain to the shitty fascist governments controlled by The Patriots. He’s way more of an anti-hero than an actual villain.
It’s like calling Neo from The Matrix a villain because he killed innocent people who were tools of the enemy without their knowledge.
I think you’re misunderstand the meme. I think it’s aimed at Dude-bros® who only understand the superficial message which is obviously being disproven by the content. It’s making fun of people who have a Fight Club poster on their wall because they think the message is “all men can be hardcore, bare knuckle boxers, if the stop letting a weak social framework tell them what they want.” Or watching the film of Starship Troopers and learning “You can overcome any obstacle with enough bravado and testosterone.” I’m not as familiar with most of the animes pictured, but I assume the jab is the same.
Noone hears the word, they say. Has the memory gone, are you feeling numb? We’ve all be-come in-viisible
I need to mod V to blast that from the chopper instead of Fortunate Son.
Big Boss used child soldiers though.
No he didn’t. He rescued child soldiers, and gave them a home. He didn’t use them in combat until they were adults who, for obvious reasons, became loyal to him.
It has been a long time but I remember feeling sad for Rico in the book. I don’t know if Heinlein intended it to be seen like this but by the end it felt like there was nothing left of the human being.
Ya they both wanted the same thing but paul vanhoeven went a more literal path. The book read more like the recounting of a jar heads experience. Implying that despite the future having all these new toys the fasicm and ptsd hasn’t change. While PVH wanted to show how seductive and enthralling fascism ACTUALLY is. Most kids were down for genocide without thinking it through. Star ship troops is a propaganda film that seduces its watchers with sex, adventure, and style.
40k Space Marines
I don’t understand why it’s bad to enjoy evil characters. I don’t want to just consume Disney forever. I wouldn’t say I like Griffith as a person, but he is a very interesting character and crucial to the plot of Berserk. The title makes it sound like there is some alternative version of Berserk where Griffith doesn’t exist and it’s somehow better. Just because I like these characters doesn’t mean I missed any point. I don’t think that’s the case for most people. These posts are r/iamverysmart material.
If you understand that Griffith is not someone anyone should want to emulate, I don’t think this meme is about you anyway.
This meme is about the insecure dudes who are hurt and angry and decide to channel that into some cringe edge-lord ‘I want to hurt everyone else and feel nothing but that it is my destiny to be on top’ phase.
Is this becoming a big thing somewhere? I have somehow managed to avoid those communities apparently. Or is it tied to a certain age group I don’t fall into?
Becoming? It’s not new. Plenty of people have seen Scarface as a self-made badass instead of the pathetic, neurotic mess of a man he collapses into.
This is the part I’m stuck on too lol. People see a couple of trolls online and believe there is a whole community of Griffith worshipers
I was unaware if it was that’s why I figured it was worth asking. I don’t exactly travel the world and my passport is in fact expired lol. So if it isn’t happening locally in my small town I find I may be blind to it
I have a hard time believing that those people represent a demographic larger than just a few online trolls. I think the meme is really about OP feeling smart
You cannot draw a visible Venn diagram of the coincidence of sociopathy and poor media literacy.
I don’t understand why it’s bad to enjoy evil characters.
Just because I like these characters doesn’t mean I missed any point.
It’s not bad but it’s a dangerous line to tread. You may get the nuance but far too many people don’t. It’s why so many people are enchanted by Tyler Durden and Patrick Bateman. These characters are meant to be vilified, not aspired to. That is why the cults of personality and admiring strongman authoritarians still persist because many people are easily impressed by raw display of power. Yanis Varoufakis mentioned we are all susceptible to it-- and by extension fascism-- in varying degrees and we’d be lying if we don’t feel impressed. He’s not saying we all secretly admire fascists but that all of us have a dark side and containing it is really the challenge.
I know it’s just my personal experience but I see more people saying that people are enchanted by those characters than i’ve ever seen anyone actually admit to it. Maybe you have, I can’t really argue that. I also disagree that it is a dangerous line to tread. Liking evil characters isn’t anymore dangerous than liking violent video games like GTA
I see more people saying that people are enchanted by those characters than i’ve ever seen anyone actually admit to it.
I don’t know about you but i see on social media defending and glazing toxic masculine figures such as Tyler Durden and Patrick Bateman. The profile of those admirers are typically lonely and insecure men, which another user has pointed out.
I can agree that there are probably some people who severely misunderstand those two characters. I do find it kinda funny that we both picked completely different people from the post. I firmly believe no one is misunderstanding Griffith and Johan. Any posts you may have seen defending them are 100% trolls
I don’t know about Griffith and Johan. I just thought they are of the same level of asshole-ness as Patrick Bateman, Tyler Durden and Joker because they are put together in this post 😅
Any posts you may have seen defending them are 100% trolls
I even met people in real life who hinted they admire toxic male figures although they won’t say it out loud. But in social media, they are vocal what they truly believe in. Although many are trolls, some indeed admire toxic masculinity. Social media merely gave these folks a megaphone to proclaim their thoughts.
In short, Griffith turns into a God/Demon by sacrificing all of his friends and followers, then proceeds to rape his best friend’s love interest right in front of him. Johan was the product of a Nazi experiment to turn humans into super soldiers from birth.
In all honestly, I likely wouldn’t have been so critical of this post had they not been included with the likes of Tyler Durdan, Joker, and Bateman. Lots of users have used the latter 3 as examples that work with what the OP is saying. I just don’t believe Griffith and Johan fit here.
You are missing the point, this post proves it. Nobody said that you can’t call characters well written or interesting, where people fall short is when they think these people are anything to aspire to or emulate. If you’re doing neither then move on but if you think those guys are worth anything of human value then you’d be severely confused on what humanity is worth.
I don’t think anyone is really saying any of those things though beyond obvious trolls. At least for most of the characters in this post. Maybe the fight club guy is an exception. Who is with 100% sincerity saying that Griffith and Johan are in the right? This post is making up problems that don’t exist.
Again, you’re missing the point.
Agreed. I love tons of evil characters precisely because they are more interesting or they make the world more interesting. So many have more interesting motivations, more interesting developments, and more interesting dialogue than the hero roles they counter.
There is a difference between enjoying an evil character, and what a lot of people do with these specific evil characters. The ones in this meme are often looked up to by a bunch of people. There are lots of people who believe they are the correct person in the story, or otherwise the one to be idolized.
I can’t really counter your argument, I’ve just never heard of anyone who thinks Griffith, Johan or any of these characters are correct. I’m not saying they don’t exist, but I doubt it’s anywhere close to being a split position to having.
Lucky you then. Theres tons of dudes with bad media literacy and awful role models out there
Well, TBF, you have to get deeper into the weeb side of the black pill movement to understand how many weirdos out their side with grifith’s philosophy/the godhead, or Johan from monster. However, you will absolutely see them frequently if you, for some reason, subject yourself to places that have black pillers in larger numbers, twitter, 4chan, facebook… You would probably have to been in conversation space about scifi to really see the people who unironically defend the military government of earth in starship troopers, however its pretty common when the subject comes up.
However the Joker? you really have never seen people side with the Joker? I actually have a hard time believing you are social media savvy enough to be on Lemmy, and have not experienced the armies of losers that identify with the Joker as a hero. This is like police with punisher skulls level of common. The idolization of Tyler Durden as a working class hero is also quite common.
You’re right about Tyler Durdan and Joker. By “these characters” I was referring to the ones I mentioned specifically, Griffith and Johan. Bad choice of words on my part.
How is getting the Brand of Sacrifice tattooed missing the point?
Rough guess: maybe because it’s a burden on Guts and not something he wanted. His life is basically forfeit and he endangers those he’s around because of it.
You have now been marked with the Brand of Sacrifice. The lives of those who bear the Brand, from the last drop of blood, to the last moment of your agonizing death, will feed life to the new Child of Darkness.
NINJA EDIT: This one is kinda up in the air to me though. You don’t have to necessarily like Guts or any of the characters, but the symbol can represent how one might feel haunted by their past struggles. It can be symbolic of the demons that follow you. How I relate to it: I’ve witnessed every member of my closest immediate family circle pass away from various illnesses over the years, including my brother just recently. So I feel similarly alone like I’m wandering the earth cursed.
Yeah, judging a tattoo without asking about it is often a path toward misunderstanding. A friend of mine has all of their allergies tattooed down their shoulder, but only some are visible when they’re wearing a short sleeve shirt. You’d think they were a freed beekeeper based on the feather and bee peeking out. But the list is fully visible and labeled in a tank top
That doesn’t make sense though (I get that you’re doing your best to explain, not saying what you’ve come up with is dumb, I just don’t see the initial premise). It’s like saying you admire Lord of the Rings characters or a WWII hero, and someone asks you if you realize how much these characters suffered. Yeah, no shit?
No worries, I haven’t read Berserk in a while, so I might even be missing a few things. The hell they went through is kind of the point I think. People admire folks and figures that endured through unimaginable traumas, because they try to take strength from it.
I dont get how that one made the list either. As an American, I feel that brand on me whenever I shop and I know my money feeds the machines of giant corporations that want nothing more than to consume me until I die. Even my existing and consuming is feeding those beasts that hurt those around me and destroy the world we live in.
Sure, a bit melodramatic and “I’m 14 and this is deep” but I’m not sure it’s so innaccurate.
Sure, a bit melodramatic and “I’m 14 and this is deep” but I’m not sure it’s so innaccurate.
No, don’t accept that “you’re only 14” bullshit. I was fed that garbage and wondered when I would magically understand that the shite state of affairs in our bleak modern “culture” in the USA is OK. It’s not ok, and I have never accepted it as inevitable, or “human nature”, or any other justification for complacency I was given.
Don’t sell your ideals and hopes for a better world short because people that have given up tell you it’s not possible.
based tbh
Was wondering the same thing, I see it as a symbol of constantly enduring a reality of torment and thriving on pure hate. Reminds me of Sisyphus, except that he’s also angry at the gods.
Maybe OP didn’t get the point either on why people might identify with some of these characters.
Not everyone participates in reading the deeper meaning of media.
Some people just turn off their brains and watch the magic smiles box and come away liking the characters and movie without thinking any further than what was portrayed on screen.
Half the characters on this list are just really awesome visual/character portrayals.
They didn’t misunderstand the message, you misunderstood their intent going into the media.
You watch movies to dissect their meanings, others watch movies to escape reality for a bit.
I wish these media tourists took to simple messaging like Indie’s “I punch Nazis”.
They do, but they hear I punch “bad guys”.
You watch movies to dissect their meanings, others watch movies to escape reality for a bit.
The dissecting of media (which i do a lot) isn’t something i choose - it comes pretty automatically with media literacy. As soon as you develop the skills needed to analyze subtext and themes, and start to take a critical stance regarding video content, you can’t really switch it off outside of getting wasted.
So i’d say the difference is simply in media literacy (and more broadly, general education) and level of cognitive impairment.
That’s because this is the normal flow of things. Pare the mediums away, and you’re left with the same basic core: Stories.
The storyteller always has a reason for telling a story. Even when they are only setting out to entertain.
To be able to separate one’s actual feelings, knowledge, and values in order to write a purely entertaining tale, requires that the storyteller be aware of them. At which point they must then take an extra step to insert others.
What stories are, at their heart is the passing of an abstract message or purpose encoded in a surface pattern meant to be cognitively sticky.
The reason might be to teach the young in the tribe the seasonal crop patterns as it was thousands of years ago, as it still is in some places.
Or it could be a commentary on the social state of the times. Or any other thing.
But the other thing a story must be, is engrossing.
A good story must be entertaining or funny or terrifying. It must tug at the emotions of the listener in some way.
That’s what makes it stick. That’s how stories work.
There is nothing wrong with refusing to dig deeper into the meaning of a tale, especially if it’s presented or done poorly. That turns it into a lesson.
But the best stories, it doesn’t matter if you seek out the deeper meaning or not.
It’ll be there regardless and so will the story, and if and when the listener grows, the meaning will make itself clear on the next recounting.
You talk about cognitive impairment of others yet fail to understand the only thing you’re doing is imparting your world view and how you navigate it as how everyone else does/should. You have an extremely narrow perception of how the world works because you can only view it through your own lens.
The only one here impaired in their judgement is you.
My judgement is as follows:
If you are not able to analyze the subtext of content, repeating motives in it and why someone specifically tells a story, you will always be a fool, because you are not able to discern between people who want to lead you astray and people who are upright in their convictions.
And people who are ok with others being essentially illiterate in these times are enabling liars, abusers, scammers, thieves, fascists and dictators.
I have to add: Media made to just have a laugh are fine! I laughed my ass off over all 6 Sharknado movies. But this doesn’t mean i engage uncritically with it - in this case it was obvious that these movies are not taking themselves seriously, and therefore i was also able to go with that.
I was also able to enjoy the Marvel movies somewhat, while having concerns with some underlying themes that are pretty militaristic and disenfranchising of common people. The notion that only “special” people can enact change in a society is a harmful one in my opinion.
Rich frat bros at my college literally started fight clubs thinking it was about getting ripped and dangerous. Then many of them got life-changing injuries and stopped.
Both sides of the equation can be true, yet unequal.
Rich frat bros at my college literally started fight clubs … Then many of them got life-changing injuries and stopped.
Tyler would approve. In-fact, pretty sure that Angel Face (played by Letto) was a rich frat boy.
Maybe. The disaffected youth told they would become something special and they never became that? The office workers and service industry people and low-wage workers that were both the fight club and Project Mayhem? That’s not them. They’re literally the corporate stooges to be that Tyler fought against.
They didn’t misunderstand the message, you misunderstood their intent going into the media.
Hahaha no.
Their intent was not to understand the media, but to merely consume it.
… they still in fact did misunderstand it.
Yeah, its true that not everybody approaches a piece of media trying to fully comprehend and appreciate it, yeah its true that it’s fine to have media that doesn’t require much brain power to comprehend, yeah its fine to lazily enjoy things from time to time.
None of that means these movies and characters are not notorious for being basically 180 degrees misunderstood by people barely paying attention.
They didn’t misunderstand the message, you misunderstood their intent going into the media
Imagine saying the equivalent of this to a teacher who failed your creative writing paper because you wrote for a completely different prompt than the one assigned.
This is an asinine thing to say, its a non sequitir.
An explanation for why something happens is not the same as ‘that thing didn’t happen’.
That was so well-put, thank you. I’ve never had a tidy, succinct response for this sort of thing and yet you summed it up so well; I don’t disagree that many people have definitely misunderstood the character/media/etc, but it’s definitely true that some people just enjoy things anyway.
I feel like people can think the characters are enjoyable as characters and still recognize they’re bad.
I do both. Doesn’t everyone? I love a healthy home cooked meal, a book or article so deep it feels as satisfying as sex, but also can love a bag of french fries or a repeat of Pride & Prejudice or Hot Fuzz.
Sometimes it’s relaxing to be shallow for a bit.
I think Heath Ledgers version of the Joker was interesting. I didn’t really like the other ones.
I would guess that he’s actually the “Dark Knight.” From the way the movie portrays him, it seems he’s a ex-military guy that lost his mind. Technically he does more for the city than Batman by basically pitting criminals against each other and going after corrupt officials. So I did dissect the meanings in that movie, my buddy was really into superhero movies and such but I usually got bored with them; I would say that’s the only one I enjoyed.
Why did you post pictures of me? Those are all literally me, I am the alpha male they’re based on
is the tattoo of the brand that bad? I mean, as long as they realize what it means.
personally I always wanted one because I felt my life was forfeit to the machine that runs our world and wanted a constant memory to become a stubborn thorn in the side of the ruling class just like Gutz.
A lot of people think it means “i am big strong guts man” just like the punish supposedly means “im a cop who punishes people”
To me, it means constant struggle against a world that has forsaken you. You are a currency to be spent, and the only escape is constant effort to free yourself and your loved ones.
I love berserk.
I agree. I interpret it as a form of rebellion against the throes of perdition and fighting demons that plague the human condition like greed, anger, etc. The mark makes him aware of the affliction that some men carry.
