12-20-2012, 02:54 AM
ITT: Semantics. You can like something and lampoon it at the same time. The world is the way it is. that doesn't mean we have to like everything about it.
To say that Mother has an anti-consumerist message is missing the point. Yes, Porky is a symbol of western opulence and greed. The fast food restaurant is run by several copies of his mother. He is literally a product of cheap, unhealthy consumerism. He's the product of garbage. He secretly runs the facade of a city, nobody ever sees him, he pulls the strings behind the scenes, and uses people to get what he wants with no remorse. He's the villain who lusts for power, and having everything is not enough for him.
But the world he has built for himself isn't real. It's literally made of cut-outs. It's a construction. And what is his fate? Gleefully spending eternity in a bubble of his own design. Porky is an extreme. He doesn't represent only consumerism, but pure greed. It's not Porky's consumerism that is shown to be the real evil in the game as much as it's the separation from earth (Our Mother).
Tazmily is a village that is large and expansive, but includes rivers, animals, plains, and, of course, sunflowers. The people respect nature and live with it. By contrast, New Pork City is fake, separate, and rises higher and higher. The creatures are no longer natural, but are being used for personal gain. The trees and forests are eventually replaced with steel girders and sheet metal. Hell, look at the logo! It's wood being overtaken by steel!
Porky represents forgetting where we come from. He has no respect for the world and only cares about himself. He loves nothing but himself (See: The Absolutely Safe Machine).
Itoi seems to say that this lifestyle, taken to its extreme is horrible. It dehumanizes us, poisons our world, destroys our wildlife, and makes us selfish. Mother is a story about moderation. The beetle enemies also run stores, but they're not consumerist monsters that hate everything. A Jazz band saves Duster's life and he joins them. They save your life later. But Yokuba is also literally "saved" by music when he is reconstructed. Leder's story about wiping everyone's memory is another extreme that is proven to be the wrong decision. At the end of the game this is corrected and the world survives, but they don't destroy everyone's memories. They've learned from extremism. There can be a happy medium.
This is further explored in the characters of Lucas and Claus. One is a mindless killing machine, the other is a boy who overcomes his weaknesses and becomes a hero. The fact that their names are anagrams is a reminder that we have the choice to be either one of these characters in life.
So don't say that it's anti-consumerist. The game itself IS a product. That's part of the joke. Mother 3 is a story about moderating the human need for growth and expansion and technology with the respect and conservation of Mother, the planet Earth. It's about balance.
To say that Mother has an anti-consumerist message is missing the point. Yes, Porky is a symbol of western opulence and greed. The fast food restaurant is run by several copies of his mother. He is literally a product of cheap, unhealthy consumerism. He's the product of garbage. He secretly runs the facade of a city, nobody ever sees him, he pulls the strings behind the scenes, and uses people to get what he wants with no remorse. He's the villain who lusts for power, and having everything is not enough for him.
But the world he has built for himself isn't real. It's literally made of cut-outs. It's a construction. And what is his fate? Gleefully spending eternity in a bubble of his own design. Porky is an extreme. He doesn't represent only consumerism, but pure greed. It's not Porky's consumerism that is shown to be the real evil in the game as much as it's the separation from earth (Our Mother).
Tazmily is a village that is large and expansive, but includes rivers, animals, plains, and, of course, sunflowers. The people respect nature and live with it. By contrast, New Pork City is fake, separate, and rises higher and higher. The creatures are no longer natural, but are being used for personal gain. The trees and forests are eventually replaced with steel girders and sheet metal. Hell, look at the logo! It's wood being overtaken by steel!
Porky represents forgetting where we come from. He has no respect for the world and only cares about himself. He loves nothing but himself (See: The Absolutely Safe Machine).
Itoi seems to say that this lifestyle, taken to its extreme is horrible. It dehumanizes us, poisons our world, destroys our wildlife, and makes us selfish. Mother is a story about moderation. The beetle enemies also run stores, but they're not consumerist monsters that hate everything. A Jazz band saves Duster's life and he joins them. They save your life later. But Yokuba is also literally "saved" by music when he is reconstructed. Leder's story about wiping everyone's memory is another extreme that is proven to be the wrong decision. At the end of the game this is corrected and the world survives, but they don't destroy everyone's memories. They've learned from extremism. There can be a happy medium.
This is further explored in the characters of Lucas and Claus. One is a mindless killing machine, the other is a boy who overcomes his weaknesses and becomes a hero. The fact that their names are anagrams is a reminder that we have the choice to be either one of these characters in life.
So don't say that it's anti-consumerist. The game itself IS a product. That's part of the joke. Mother 3 is a story about moderating the human need for growth and expansion and technology with the respect and conservation of Mother, the planet Earth. It's about balance.