Could U7 be Garriot's views on religion?
Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2002 12:55 am
After thinking some more about this, I believe there are many clever references to religion in U7 that it is hard to believe I never noticed them all the first time I played it. None of this is intended to offend anyone, so just keep an open mind.
I think we all know how Garriot views himself as Lord British and Britannia being sort of his dream world that he created where people lived by a set of virtues. Each city is no more important than the other, it is as much a dependence as it is a cooperative coexistance. Even though each city is a different virtue, they realize that they can only succeed achieving happiness with each one as an integer. (an example of this, is in Scara Brae, the city of "spirituality," when Forsythe "sacrifices" himself to save everyone.)
So in comes the fellowship with a different spin on it. Instead of just having these personal virtues, they want people to join them and their set in stone cause and be impressed by their tangibles. The ornate branches, the goldboxes for donations, the intricate designs, and especially the necklace that they give out to members can all be likened to Christianity. Wearing a fellowship necklace is to give people a sense of pride or belonging. The virtue of humility would seem to disagree with this needless display of trinkets to "show off" your faith. It can't just be on a personal level, it must be shown to others who don't have them to show your strength in belonging to a larger group, and to feel a false sense of pride because they are a part of something they are not.
The Gaurdian, I think, symbollically represents God or at least the one that people are fooled into believing in. In fact he is actually refers to himself as the Pagan God in the game (teaser for U8, but still..) He is extremely poweful and he masterminded the fellowship so that would pretty much make him the unspoken god. Of course, I don't think that the fellowship actually mentions the worship of a god, and this ommission by Garriot might insinuate that he still believes in a god. But for organized religion like the fellowship, there is no God, only the Guardian. Of course, this doesn't mean to say that Garriot believes an interdimensional demon exists that is brainwashing us - the game needs an antagonist. So Garriot is certainly relaying here that organized religion's god is either an impossible human interpretation or that a god doesn't exist at all.
There are a variety of other things that can be likened to religion. Firstly, they appear extremely knowledgeable and benevolent on the surface. When you speak to Klog and Ellen in Trinsic, they woo you with their almost rehearsed explanation of the fellowship and it's complexity adding to the smokescreen you will later uncover. And what of Garriot's virtues? They are simple, easy to follow and understand, and do not offer answers to questions that men can never know. (no answers to life and death!) This "I don't know" mentality is something some people are uncomfortable with, so they turn to religion.
Furthermore, religions are intolerant of eachother and sometimes violently lashing out at eachother, contradicting their own teachings and creating turmoil between families who convert (scenario in Minoc where the gypsy's brother joined the fellowship so he threw a rock at the window, and was murdered). This is also representative of how religious groups today constantly attack eachother because of their different beliefs, or interpretations on God. The insecurity that people feel over their religion is overwhelming because there are so many people who basically believe in a different God with different prophets, rules, etc. than they do. So who is right? They can't both be, and so there is hatred.
The fellowship also lies their ass off, and once you get the cube, it is actually quite hilarious to go back and make them be honest (another virtue.) This seems to be sort of a fantasy for Garriot, which he impliments in his game.
Now all of this may have seemed obvious to you all, but maybe my interpretations will give you an even better appreciation for BG and Garriot, who seems to have a very neat perspective on life and the path you take in his game of karma certainly reflects that. There are probably several other representations I am forgetting since I haven't played it in years, but feel free to add to mine or comment on what you got out of it.
I think we all know how Garriot views himself as Lord British and Britannia being sort of his dream world that he created where people lived by a set of virtues. Each city is no more important than the other, it is as much a dependence as it is a cooperative coexistance. Even though each city is a different virtue, they realize that they can only succeed achieving happiness with each one as an integer. (an example of this, is in Scara Brae, the city of "spirituality," when Forsythe "sacrifices" himself to save everyone.)
So in comes the fellowship with a different spin on it. Instead of just having these personal virtues, they want people to join them and their set in stone cause and be impressed by their tangibles. The ornate branches, the goldboxes for donations, the intricate designs, and especially the necklace that they give out to members can all be likened to Christianity. Wearing a fellowship necklace is to give people a sense of pride or belonging. The virtue of humility would seem to disagree with this needless display of trinkets to "show off" your faith. It can't just be on a personal level, it must be shown to others who don't have them to show your strength in belonging to a larger group, and to feel a false sense of pride because they are a part of something they are not.
The Gaurdian, I think, symbollically represents God or at least the one that people are fooled into believing in. In fact he is actually refers to himself as the Pagan God in the game (teaser for U8, but still..) He is extremely poweful and he masterminded the fellowship so that would pretty much make him the unspoken god. Of course, I don't think that the fellowship actually mentions the worship of a god, and this ommission by Garriot might insinuate that he still believes in a god. But for organized religion like the fellowship, there is no God, only the Guardian. Of course, this doesn't mean to say that Garriot believes an interdimensional demon exists that is brainwashing us - the game needs an antagonist. So Garriot is certainly relaying here that organized religion's god is either an impossible human interpretation or that a god doesn't exist at all.
There are a variety of other things that can be likened to religion. Firstly, they appear extremely knowledgeable and benevolent on the surface. When you speak to Klog and Ellen in Trinsic, they woo you with their almost rehearsed explanation of the fellowship and it's complexity adding to the smokescreen you will later uncover. And what of Garriot's virtues? They are simple, easy to follow and understand, and do not offer answers to questions that men can never know. (no answers to life and death!) This "I don't know" mentality is something some people are uncomfortable with, so they turn to religion.
Furthermore, religions are intolerant of eachother and sometimes violently lashing out at eachother, contradicting their own teachings and creating turmoil between families who convert (scenario in Minoc where the gypsy's brother joined the fellowship so he threw a rock at the window, and was murdered). This is also representative of how religious groups today constantly attack eachother because of their different beliefs, or interpretations on God. The insecurity that people feel over their religion is overwhelming because there are so many people who basically believe in a different God with different prophets, rules, etc. than they do. So who is right? They can't both be, and so there is hatred.
The fellowship also lies their ass off, and once you get the cube, it is actually quite hilarious to go back and make them be honest (another virtue.) This seems to be sort of a fantasy for Garriot, which he impliments in his game.
Now all of this may have seemed obvious to you all, but maybe my interpretations will give you an even better appreciation for BG and Garriot, who seems to have a very neat perspective on life and the path you take in his game of karma certainly reflects that. There are probably several other representations I am forgetting since I haven't played it in years, but feel free to add to mine or comment on what you got out of it.
