Entry #9: Media and Philosophy

Media has a large impact on the way I view the world around me. I consume a lot of media with deep philosophical issues, and it causes me to think not just about how it affects me but how it appeals to others as well. 

The best way for me to go about this is to debate with others around me who have also indulged in the same media. Several years ago I was discussing a game in which the main character accidentally kills his sister at very young age and then is convinced by is best friend to frame it as a suicide. One of the endings involves the two admitting what they've done to their friends and family, including many who were very close to the sister. It's doesn't ever show how this confrontation goes, however, which leaves it up to the player to decide if they feel the characters should be forgiven. 

Discussing this with other people turned out much more interesting than I could've imagined. Surely, even if it was an accident, framing your sister's death as a suicide is not something that should be so easily forgiven, right? My friends seemed to disagree. "They were only like, ten years old when it happened! And it wasn't even [the brother]'s idea it was [his friend]! So they should definitely be forgiven!" I just couldn't fathom that. I thought about it from the perspective as if I was someone who held the sister character dearly, just like the characters in the game did, and just thinking about it was enough to get me a bit upset. I couldn't fathom ever forgiving someone for doing such a thing. Not because I'm stubborn, but because I feel trying to cover up something like that instead of coming clean was not something to just be swept under the rug because of age. 

I of course expressed my opinion, and began to see it from the perspectives of other people. This incident forever changed the way I look at media with potentially divisive moral standpoints. I always think about it from my morals, and sometimes from the perspectives of the characters in universe, but what about the morals of other viewers? It intrigued me.

I'm currently watching an anime right now that has a similar issue. The main plot focuses on the idea of changing a corrupt government from two different perspectives. One is that you must fight them head-on and topple the corrupt government in order to bestow change, and the other is that you must attempt to rise from within and make changes from within the system while following all of its corrupt rules. The two sides are portrayed very well, and make it difficult for some to decide which of the two sides is right and which is wrong. I personally really like the side about toppling the corrupt system in order to build it right, but I know many people throughout the world prefer the other side's morals. 

Here's an article I found from 2014 discussing exactly this.  I don't have anything to add about it, (in all honestly I didn't even read it because I don't wish to be accidentally spoiled) but just reading the title, Narrative Self-Projection and Hypocrisy: Why Suzaku is a Better Character Than Lelouch, shows how willing people are to argue about which side is right and which side is wrong.

(Source)

It reminds me a bit of a debate I had heard several years back when George Floyd, a black man accused of forging a twenty dollar bill, was killed by a police officer. This lead to a large uprising in debates in which many people would say that "All Cops Are Bastards," insinuating that anyone who is part of the police force is a bad person for being a part of a corrupt system. While not exactly the same, it had some similar aspects regarding whether or not being a part of a corrupt system makes you corrupt as well, even if your intent is to change the system from within in some way. 

Art reflects life, and life reflects art. The conflicts in the real world and media can often mirror each other, both directly and indirectly. Philosophical and moral debates happen for a reason: because they're difficult. The world is always changing, and new issues will come up.