Master Shiori wrote...
I think Ash herself described her outlook on aliens the best when she called herself a realist. People really need to put themselves into the mindset of an average human living in ME universe in order to understand where Ash is coming from.
When humanity started to expand in the galaxy, the first contact with aliens came in a form of an turian fleet bombarding and occupying a human world. Following that you have a Citadel Council which passes intergalactic laws without humanity having a say in the matter. Ofc, the majority of humans would be suspicious of aliens and careful about fully trusting them.
Ashley, as a character, is the embodiment of this outlook. The way I see it, her role in ME1 is to introduce Shepard (the player) to the human perspective on the galaxy and show him/her that aliens are just as flawed, selfish, lying, etc. as your average human can be. She doesn't trust them as a race, but can come to accept and befriend individual aliens who prove themselves reliable allies (like Liara, Garrus, Tali or Wrex). Her attitude towards Cerberus and Terry Firma Party also serves to prove there is a clear line in Ashley's mind when it comes to protecting human interests (Alliance) and descending into xenophobia (Cerberus) or outright racism (Terra Firma).
Sadly, most players fail to grasp the reality of ME universe ad tend to look at it as black and white, rather than shades of grey. Anyone who isn't immediately accepting of other races or trying to save every kitten from a tree must clearly be an evil bigot, right? Ironically, the only human on the Normandy who can be called a xenophobe or a racist is renegade Shepard himself/herself, whose attitude towards aliens makes Ashley's suspicion seems like a complete joke, but that's rarely something a player will realize or openly admit.
Personally, I love Ashley as squadmate and a LI. I think she's a truly wonderful down-to-earth character and a great counterbalance to sometimes naive paragon Shepard or xenophobic renegade Shep. I can only hope that Bioware knows this too and will give her a proper recognition, both in ME3 and in a potential DLC for ME2.
Great post!
This is exactly right, all of it. I'm glad there are some people with actual sense, and who dont just jump on the judgemental bandwagon that most fans have sadly gone and done.
Modifié par Funkcase, 01 février 2011 - 11:51 .
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*kidding* XDD
