The Treatment of a Quiet Friend
http://wii.ign.com/articles/112/1122068p1.html
This article describes what many people perceive as being the downfall of the characterization of Samus Aran. This article, which has at least one glaring error, is written by a person who was paid by a professional website, one of the most trafficked video game websites on the internet, is wrong. This persons opinion is unfounded. But this person is not alone, this is not a singular incident.
The way the gaming community has treated Samus Aran after hearing her side of the story, the only side that really matters, is God Damned shameful. It's the same way Charlie Chaplain was treated after delivering his speech in the film The Great Dictator, and the same way Chief Bromden was treated his entire fucking life. You wanna know what happens to someone after being treated like that for so long?
THIS. DO YOU WANT THIS TO HAPPEN TO SAMUS? Have ANY of you ever seen Samus speak or behave in any manner that would disrupt her behavior in Other M? No, none of you have, ever. Because she had almost no characterization until now. The CREATOR showed you how Samus feels about having to deal with nonsense that exceeds only that of Lucas' from Mother 3.
Imagine blowing up the man who killed your parents, and everyone else you ever knew, and even the people you didn't know because he just wrecked your entire colony. Imagine that he did this all for fuel, supplies, and so as to not look like a chump in front of his cohorts. Imagine him returning completely unannounced, immediately after which stealing the baby you JUST adopted. Imagine if you then blew him up AGAIN, IN THE SAME ROOM. Then, imagine he comes back a SECOND TIME, COMPLETELY UNANNOUNCED. IMAGINE YOUR ENTIRE ADULT LIFE IS A HORROR MOVIE. What in bloody Hell would you do? would you look at the situation as a whole and just blast your plasma gun mindlessly, or would stop to realize what the hell happened before you scramble for the strength to defend yourself. I dare you to properly write the story where a character who's gone through all this does not lose their mind. I dare you to find a real person who doesn't react like this and isn't a mental brick. I hope I'm that brave when the time comes.
People speak as if Samus is a coward for behaving the way she does when seeing Ridley again. How exactly would a coward find the strength to attack and kill Ridley three times? Does it not speak more of a person who finds the strength to overcome intense fear and strive forward than a mindless brick who marches through anything without any sort of retrospect? People like that are crazy, they don't have the mental capacity for emotion. Hell, they can't even notice harsh weather changes, they don't sweat either. That's not someone I want to know, and that's The Samus Aran about which I want to learn more.
It upsets me greatly to see my social peers treat someone we treat as a literary role model in such a matter. Especially people who are payed to write what are supposed to be well analyzed and thought out editorials about the state of video game culture. I hope I can find the strength to move on, just like my good friend Samus has.
This article describes what many people perceive as being the downfall of the characterization of Samus Aran. This article, which has at least one glaring error, is written by a person who was paid by a professional website, one of the most trafficked video game websites on the internet, is wrong. This persons opinion is unfounded. But this person is not alone, this is not a singular incident.
The way the gaming community has treated Samus Aran after hearing her side of the story, the only side that really matters, is God Damned shameful. It's the same way Charlie Chaplain was treated after delivering his speech in the film The Great Dictator, and the same way Chief Bromden was treated his entire fucking life. You wanna know what happens to someone after being treated like that for so long?
THIS. DO YOU WANT THIS TO HAPPEN TO SAMUS? Have ANY of you ever seen Samus speak or behave in any manner that would disrupt her behavior in Other M? No, none of you have, ever. Because she had almost no characterization until now. The CREATOR showed you how Samus feels about having to deal with nonsense that exceeds only that of Lucas' from Mother 3.
Imagine blowing up the man who killed your parents, and everyone else you ever knew, and even the people you didn't know because he just wrecked your entire colony. Imagine that he did this all for fuel, supplies, and so as to not look like a chump in front of his cohorts. Imagine him returning completely unannounced, immediately after which stealing the baby you JUST adopted. Imagine if you then blew him up AGAIN, IN THE SAME ROOM. Then, imagine he comes back a SECOND TIME, COMPLETELY UNANNOUNCED. IMAGINE YOUR ENTIRE ADULT LIFE IS A HORROR MOVIE. What in bloody Hell would you do? would you look at the situation as a whole and just blast your plasma gun mindlessly, or would stop to realize what the hell happened before you scramble for the strength to defend yourself. I dare you to properly write the story where a character who's gone through all this does not lose their mind. I dare you to find a real person who doesn't react like this and isn't a mental brick. I hope I'm that brave when the time comes.
People speak as if Samus is a coward for behaving the way she does when seeing Ridley again. How exactly would a coward find the strength to attack and kill Ridley three times? Does it not speak more of a person who finds the strength to overcome intense fear and strive forward than a mindless brick who marches through anything without any sort of retrospect? People like that are crazy, they don't have the mental capacity for emotion. Hell, they can't even notice harsh weather changes, they don't sweat either. That's not someone I want to know, and that's The Samus Aran about which I want to learn more.
It upsets me greatly to see my social peers treat someone we treat as a literary role model in such a matter. Especially people who are payed to write what are supposed to be well analyzed and thought out editorials about the state of video game culture. I hope I can find the strength to move on, just like my good friend Samus has.