tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post8543728827523040134..comments2014-10-20T00:04:23.025+02:00Comments on 5%: It’s not the end of violence, but you can see it from hereUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-61340594101252605192013-07-09T19:25:00.452+02:002013-07-09T19:25:00.452+02:00Thanks for the exhaustive counter-analysis. Those ...Thanks for the exhaustive counter-analysis. Those are certainly all valid readings as well, and what I especially admire about the game is the fact that it allows for such wildly different interpretations, making it a rich source for critical analysis. On NeoGaf and in spoilercasts, the discussion about Joel's actions was prevalent too, and I think our individual reaction to it has a lot to Marijnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387935478494801290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-22516531815439114892013-07-09T17:47:59.215+02:002013-07-09T17:47:59.215+02:00Continued:
Ellie of course is terribly conflicted...Continued:<br /><br />Ellie of course is terribly conflicted: she knows the meeting with the Fireflies must’ve gone horribly wrong (why else would she have woken up in a moving car wearing a hospital dress?), while she may have been ready to sacrifice herself, but at the same time: she knows Joel cares about her and vice versa. By letting him swear (falsely) that his account is true, she lets himOliviernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-87759963479236687612013-07-09T17:47:21.496+02:002013-07-09T17:47:21.496+02:00I do not much agree with this analysis. It’s one t...I do not much agree with this analysis. It’s one thing to laud a videogame for portraying women in a non-sexualised manner, it’s another thing to read all these gender politics in a game like The Last of Us. I also see no justification in criticising this game for having a white male at the centre. His being white flows naturally from the fact that this story is rooted and set in the Western Oliviernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-26626055852607659452013-07-09T13:24:49.744+02:002013-07-09T13:24:49.744+02:00I completely agree. Thanks for the compliments (an...I completely agree. Thanks for the compliments (and since I'm Dutch I always appreciate a shout-out to Paul Verhoeven)!Marijnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387935478494801290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-31373596248884079672013-07-09T13:15:54.216+02:002013-07-09T13:15:54.216+02:00Sure, but what I meant was that the game itself co...Sure, but what I meant was that the game itself codes that kind of "survival-at-all-costs" behaviour as a problematic thing by the end. The game openly questions whether Joel's actions were at all necessary by contrasting him with his brother, who turned away from the life of a hunter and tries to rebuild some sort of civilised community (led, notably, by a woman - just like the Marijnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387935478494801290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-59039164401419683942013-07-09T06:39:28.205+02:002013-07-09T06:39:28.205+02:00I like this piece but I'm going to cherry-pick...I like this piece but I'm going to cherry-pick this part:<br /><br />"Joel, in the end, represents the utter failure of a man to change with the times and abandon his traditional role of master and protector."<br /><br />Not really. SPOILERS Joel's other option was to prioritize the human race over his selfish needs; he didn't. He would be trading his micro-protector role Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-58160616710451886012013-07-08T18:45:33.669+02:002013-07-08T18:45:33.669+02:00On my own, I've arrived at a similar conclusio...On my own, I've arrived at a similar conclusion-- that The Last of Us is a criticism of the very tropes so many video game critics lazily accuse it of playing to. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has figured it out, and your analysis is more thorough and insightful than anything I can come up with.<br /><br />This game is like a Paul Verhoeven movie (though less overt in its satire)-seannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06223207321850889003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-40788409299898121202013-07-07T22:29:49.061+02:002013-07-07T22:29:49.061+02:00Excellent post. In a way, it points out the subter...Excellent post. In a way, it points out the subterfuge inherent in all works of art.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355770349411203769.post-50699830991285165892013-07-07T20:48:11.346+02:002013-07-07T20:48:11.346+02:00Good post.Good post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com