Upsettingshorts wrote...
Oh I understand. I think the difference I'm trying to get across is the idea of commenting as a player on a forum versus perhaps, what it would be reasonable to think if we lived in Thedas.
That probably got confused with the whole "it doesn't matter" part of my post. The idea is, it doesn't matter in the sense that we don't have to pick a side and stick with it. We can move in and out of whatever perspective we want to analyze fiction from at will, be it Anders, or Leliana, or the Divine, or the Templars, or your random Kirkwall citizen because it's not real.
It's possible to do this in real life too, but it takes an uncommon amount of critical thinking skills and a dedication to objectivity that most people are uncomfortable with - and even then I have doubts as to whether any of us are capable of shaking off our biases fully. It's simply easier with fiction - because there are no stakes.
In short, there's nothing really that ought to prevent us from - for example - switching from defending the Templars to defending the mages within the space of a page on a forum thread.
Absolutely. I think that's actually the benefit of fiction. It makes it easier to consider a perspective outside of our norms, especially in a game like DA2 which moves the setting outside reality and thus makes it easier to consider more objectively.
However, I'm not sure I agree with you about there being nothing to prevent us from defending the templars versus the mages. While we're not citizens of Kirkwall facing the threat of either side, both sides represent something in the real world. It's arguable what precisely they represent. I think that depends largely on your individual world view and personal experiences. For me, though, the templars represent a system of oppression that, while it originated from necessity, grew into something else entirely.
I should also mention I'm a criminology major in addition to a lit major (never dual major; the workload will kill you). I see in the templars a lot of the failings of the correctional system. It might have arrisen out of a need to protect society from mages, but in the end it's creating as many problems as it's solving. It doesn't keep mages from turning to forbidden magic. Indeed, it actually provides an environment that fosters the use of illicit techniques and teaches mages to better keep this skills a secret. In the same vein, prisons like Pelican Bay in CA unintentionally teach convicts to be better criminals. The inmates themselves will tell you this, as will the guards. The environment fosters violence and the need for secrecy.
This is starting to take a bit of a tangental turn. What I'm trying to say is that when you attach real world connections to fictional ones, you make the stakes real for you. And while a fictional setting and especially a role playing game gives you the opportunity to see the other side's perspective, it doesn't make that side right or defensible. Some actions are beyond defense. I'm not saying the templars fall into that category. Just the fact we're having this debate means they make some good points to someone. But for me personally, I don't see the merit in defending them either in Thedas or in the real world.
Edit: Top again. Take more m!Hawke/Anders hotness.
Modifié par highcastle, 28 avril 2011 - 02:34 .
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