Heroes · 1:23am Nov 19th, 2015
If any of you have talked to me about video games, then you likely know that BioShock Infinite is my favorite. The reasons? The beautiful, colorful, open world, the dynamic and emotional storyline that also makes me think, the two believable and strong protagonists... Certainly all of this contributes to why it's my favorite. But this morning, I started to think on it a bit more. Thanks to a conversation with my good friend Reneigh Haycart, another conversation with a good friend of mine last night, and the quote from The Two Towers film that I posted in my last blog, I realized something else about the game, another reason I love it so much.
First, let me back up a bit. When I signed back in on Monday night, I wasn't at 100% yet emotionally. Still reeling a bit from the tragic events in Paris, I was talking with Hay and told them that I might play some BioShock Infinite. Despite all of the tragic things that happen in the game as well, it somehow makes me feel better when I play. It's an escape from the world for me into a world that I love, and it's time spent with characters who feel like friends. It's comforting, even among the heartache. And then, last night, I was speaking with my friend about heroes, how he wishes that there was a hero who was willing to sacrifice it all to make things different and break the cycle of terror and violence, and how he's writing his upcoming webcomic as a plea for humanity to not continue this cycle.
As I got ready for work this morning, these conversations and the quote were circling around in my head, and I realized that Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth are, in some respects, these kinds of heroes, or at least they are the kinds of heroes that I connect with and that I would like to see. Although Elizabeth has some extraordinary powers, and Booker gains powers thanks to different Vigors scattered around Columbia, the two of them, by and large, are still ordinary people. They're scarred, they're imperfect, and they've been beaten down. But they still get back up and keep going, straining to achieve what they believe in, no matter what knocks them to the ground or what heartbreak comes their way. Elizabeth's goal? To save the world. Booker? To save her. And, in some ways, each does accomplish their goal, even though they have to sacrifice greatly to do so.
More than that, through Booker and Elizabeth - and all of the heroes like them - I've realized that we can all be heroes. We don't have to do something large, we don't have to do anything grand. We, too, just have to keep getting back up when we get knocked down, to keep striving for what we believe in, and do something, no matter how small, to truly make the world a better place for the ones who really deserve it. I think, deep down, this is why I love the game so much. This is why I will return to the game again and again.
And this is why I will continue to send Lyric out on her adventures, why I will keep writing, because I know from the comments I've received that I have made some mark on this world and have hopefully made it just a little bit brighter. After all, as Lyric herself has said, I will continue to share my songs and my tales, to give them to everypony I meet. I will give them out so that I can have contributed some good and left some mark on this world, even if that is the only good I have to give and the only mark I have made.
And now I leave you, friends, with my favorite song from BioShock Infinite, the song that Courtnee Draper (Elizabeth) and Troy Baker (Booker DeWitt) sing in the credits. It always leaves me with a sense of contentment and peace, and I hope it will do the same for you. Cheers to you all.
How do you manage to be so deep?
I guess that's why I say you're the wise one...
Great blog, lass.
Heh, these things just come to me sometimes. And then since I'm at work, I have all day to think about it.
So not sure if you'd still call that deep, but I thank you, bestie. Thank you so much. *hugs*
Have you ever played the DLC. I was happy with what they did with Fitzroy
Elizabeth also does some extraordinary things without her powers in Rapture.
Your right. We all should try and be the hero's. The game tells us we're shackled to fate and time but if we fight against it hard enough and together we will break the cycle.
I'd like to give you two songs by one of my favorite composers Miracle of Sound.
3551994
I have played Burial at Sea! As much as I loved it and thought it was the perfect ending for the BioShock series as a whole, it really, really broke my heart...
And you're absolutely right. I hadn't thought of it in quite that way before. But you definitely hit the nail on the head there.
Lastly, thank you for the songs. I shall listen to them now. And thanks for always just being so nice.
3552041
If you think about it it the ending ties into both the game and genesis. Elizabeth is called the Lamb back in the era of Christ lambs were sacrificed to god at temple. (from how I've been told) Christ was called the Lamb of god because he sacrificed himself for change and to better the world. Elizabeth sacrificed herself to save Sally and change Rapture (guess not for the better) but in my opinion that place needed to crumble.
As Elizabeth says she couldn't change anything at best she could dent it. And she did. One person dented it. But that dent shows that the wall of hate and separation isn't indestructible and when we see its kink we knock it down.
Thank you. That really means a lot
An interesting topic, most definitely. What makes a hero?
It's also something I wish to approach on a more educational level, which is why I am thinking of taking said topic and using it for my English class. I might reference this blog post...
3552066
You definitely make some excellent points here about the game series and about Elizabeth. It's true that she only made a dent, but she was the one who opened the floodgates in the end to bring Jack in. Of course, you can play Jack as either a hero or a villain, but either way, Fontaine is made to pay for what he's done.
And you are most welcome.
3552072
I'd be most interested to hear your own thoughts on this matter, too.
If you decide to, please feel free to do so.
3552098 I sense a TEDTalk...
3552104
That would be so awesome!
3552096
In her world Jack saved Sally that's why she was content. She had nothing against Fontaine (until he tormented her as Atlas) but she does it all for Sally. As Tennenbaum says "They say to save one soul is to save the world entire" If she thought her efforts wouldn't have repaid her debt to Sally she would have stayed in Paris.
3552123
Exactly. Or, more accurately, she would have been trapped in that dream of Paris. Though, admittedly, before I picked up on what was really going on, I was super happy that she'd made it after all.
3552133
My biggest hint was they boy dancing with a baguette like it was gold
Sorry had o say it
She so happy. It was like the part of the main game just after you escape from songbird for the first time and are at the beach. (only time Elizabeth was really happy)
But hey that's Bioshock. Even the good endings are a bit sad. Good ending for Jack he's on his deathbed.
Good ending for Delta he dies.
Booker then Elizabeth die.
What the hell Bioshock
You know, this is one of my favorite Blue Grass songs!
3552158
)
For me, it was when I realized that everyone knew Elizabeth, and was treating her so lovingly. And that part at the beach? One time I played, I think it was in the second to last playthrough of mine, and I was just smiling from ear to ear at that. I've really fallen for this game. (How sad is that?
And seriously!!! I mean, I still hold onto a shred of hope because my headcanon is that, even after everything, Booker and Anna get another chance together based on the scene at the end of the main game credits.
3552160
That's really awesome! I honestly never knew about it until I played the game, and now I can hardly get it out of my head when I hear it.
3552072 Having done a giant research paper on it last year, I can say that it's a rather fascinating topic to study. I ended up reading about six or seven books from various cultures to see what commons themes came up, whether from history or from myths. So, yeah, I'd say it definitely worth doing for English.
3552174
3552104
To me, it is also very interesting to see the differences in heroes and their journeys in Western and Eastern cultures.
3552170
It was so beautiful
its not sad at all.
I refuse to believe anything but that.
The mere Idea that all that was for nothing just makes me
Besides in Buried at sea Episode 2 Rosalind admits that one CAN change fate. Ergo Booker and Anna live happily ever after. Unless Booker still has debt to pay (actual money debt)
3552179 Yes! Exactly! I was thinking of doing a comparison between heroic myths from around the globe, and trying to find some common qualities in each hero. From there, I could make a compelling argument about a universal definition of a hero, for the past and present. Maybe I could even set up a survey...
3552191
Thank you for understanding.
And this is true, but I feel like that Booker would somehow realize he needs to change, and would do so. Like, he'd somehow have the "memories" of main game Booker.
3552200
Sounds like you have a great idea for your essay going!
3552202
But of course
If everyone still lives in the world without Columbia he might have quit the Pinkerton business. Maybe Fitzroy became part of a Labor Union and he'd help with that. He did remember (at least I think so) because he was looking for Anna as though he wasn't sure she was there.
3552216
That would be very interesting for Fitzroy! And it's possible that some part of Booker knew, but as far as that Booker is concerned, every event that he had to worry about took place in the future. Unless we're just talking about him giving Anna up to settle his debt.
Bioshock infinite sounds better every time you mention it. And I still haven't gotten around to playing it.
Some day...
You're definitely right that violence is a cycle, and not just in the "eye for an eye" sense. When anyone considers violence a valid means to an end, that forces everyone else to consider violence as a response. And this cause people to become inured to the idea of violence, which in turn makes them more likely to see violence as a means to an end. This has been going on for thousands of years, to the point where violence has become (possibly indelibly) ingrained in our culture.
We use words like "kill", "battle", and "barrage" in everyday conversation. We talk about a "War on Drugs" or a "War on Cancer". In movies, we root for the hero as he casually guns down "the bad guys". And in games, we are the hero carrying out the slaughter. I'm not condemning these media or anyone who consume them, because I myself am a consumer. The mere idea of violence against other human beings ought to be horrifying. Yet I play, enjoy, and am entertained by these games. I am not horrified, and that itself is horrifying in some sense.
3552254
And now that you mention it, that's another reason I love BioShock Infinite. Because while it is violent, and that violence shocked me the first time around, it also subverts the trope in some ways. Booker is violent, but at the same time, he wants to escape from it. So it creates a very interesting dynamic for him.
But yes, you are absolutely right about the cycle. When my friend and I were talking last night, he was saying how we've been in Iraq for ten years now. We should have pulled out long ago. But we didn't.
3552262 It's a self-perpetuating cycle for sure. I sometimes wonder if the cycle is too deeply entrenched. That maybe the god of the Old Testament had the right idea, and the only solution is to destroy everything and start from scratch.
We certainly have the means, in the form of nuclear weapons. But there I go, casually proposing the murder of billions of people.
3552285
Well we definitely need to do something. I mean, I still have hope, but even as an optimist, I can see where all of this devastation could potentially lead.
3552221
Since I doubt the new world would be anywhere near as abusive as Columbia to start a 'people's' uprising like that I think she'd try a non violent way for change.
I don't know if he'd remember everything but Elizabeth did and I doubt Robert would let all that work go to waste. I'm sure he or the both of them kept him on the right path.
3552377
That sounds probable. After all, she never meant to harm the kid.
And I don't know about Robert and Rosalind. Robert wanted Booker to get Anna back, this is true, but I seem to remember seeing or hearing somewhere that the two of them cannot directly interfere with events.
3552390
yeah. She meant well and even knew the Vox might get out of hand.
They can but choose not to. They could do what Elizabeth did when she returned to Rapture but they would never be able to travel through time again. They were scientists. Being undone in time allowed them to view the worlds secrets and neither of them wanted to give it up. Wouldn't all they need to do is talk to Booker though.
Certainly a deep blog.
I've played Bioshock Infinite as well, it was great game to witness and play. ( Although, I must be honest, the ending left me with a headache for over 2 days. I even needed to search a detailed explanation about it. And even then it was quite hard to understand.
)
The circle we are bound by to do over and over... it is something that is very hard to break. For most of all, it's in our nature, to be violent. Even though most people strife for peace, there is always the lingering thing in the back of our heads, our primitive thoughts about survival, and the instincts of nature that have grown with us.
If we want to break this circle of violence, we need to evolve, and find a way to let go of these instincts and old habits of the past. This, however, will take many years to accomplish. When we succeed in doing so, then we can aim for more than just peace, we can aim for even greater heights. But this cannot happen as long as we stay bound by the primitive ways we live by now.
Someday, humanity will evolve, and when we do, I like to think that the world would have entered into a golden age, where technology and life flourish. Where the world is peaceful and welcoming to everyone and anyone. We will take to the stars with this new evolution of mankind, settling onto new worlds, growing, prospering, and all in the bounds of our peaceful nature; no more early passings for those who have not seen the world yet. No more violence about ones belief or way of thinking. No more leaders who talk their way to the top, only to betray the trust of the people who voted for their choice of words. That the choice of someone is respected by others, and looked down upon by others who think different.
This all, this is a far thing to strive for. But at 1 point, we will achieve this. Probably not in the near future, not in my lifetime. But I like to hope that we'll be able to achieve this for those who will descant from us, and hopefully learn from what we did wrong, and can make the world a better place for all of us.
Don't worry, Lyric.
The world and humankind will become better over time. Its not a matter of how things are going now and how they happen. It's how we respond to those actions, and what we can do with each other to prevent such things from happening in the upcoming time.
I hope for a better future, for all of us.
Cheers.
3552173 Cheers!
3552442
Maybe. But still, they are very interesting characters. I kind of love them and not at the same time.
3552764
Honestly, it broke my brain the first time I finished playing it. I just could not figure it out! At some point, I looked up the ending as well. But the morning after I finished it, I was doing the dishes and I just could not get the game off of my mind. I had to play it again! And I've been hooked ever since.
As for your ideas for the future...
That was absolutely beautiful, Lazydrill, and I certainly hope it all comes true. Overall, I find humans to be peaceful and loving creatures. Sure, we may be protective of the ones we love, but isn't that just natural? I just look forward to a time when we can all be peaceful and loving rather than angry and full of hate.
3561809
They both have their moments and are very interesting characters. I even own A Lutece coin I bought from Comic con
3561931
) I had enough money in there to buy myself a Songbird plushie. I love it. 
Ooooooooooo!!!! That's so cool! Last time I emptied out my piggy bank (and yes, I do still have one
3561943
I always wanted to play battle for Columbia. Its basically Bioshock Infinite monopoly
3561969
Yaaaaas! I did, too! But it's so expensive!
3561978
Maybe there's an online version. I found an online UNO game. If I find it I want to play with you.
3562019
What I'd also love to see is a BioShock Infinite D&D type game, where you could play as either an Elitist, a Vox member, or just an ordinary citizen.
That would be amazing!
3562024
I always wanted to raid Columbia on a vox Barge
3562041
That would be so much fun!
3562064
3562110
I could never quite make the whole thing out in game. This is awesome!
3562125
Neither could I. I went fishing for the song when I couldn't find it on the soundtrack (because I didn't know what it was called) And eventually found it and learned the lyrics
3562209
Nice! What I wish I could find was a full version of the faster tempo Will the Circle Be Unbroken. It's my favorite of all the versions in the game.
3562220
Which one is that. The temple choir one or Elizabeth one?
3562258
The one in the end credits. It cuts off after a certain point because Courtnee couldn't figure out how one of the lines was supposed to be sung.
3562265
damn it. Couldn't find it either