This isn't exactly like any blog I've done, and for most it probably won't be very interesting. But I took a philosophy course at my last school (the Art Institute of Pittsburgh), which I left roughly two years ago, and in it I learned a bit about Plato. One concept that stuck out to me was his Allegory of the Cave; it was significant to me because I noticed a lot of parallels between it and Beyond Good & Evil, a game I'd played not long before. It's not a perfect parallel, but the similarities are uncanny.
My Intro to Communication professor asked us early in the semester to write an informal essay about a piece of media that held some significance for us. Informal being sort of a skill of mine, I seized the opportunity to ramble on about Plato and Ubisoft's cult hit. I figured I'd post it here, for anyone bored or interested enough to check it out.
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Ubisoft's "Beyond Good & Evil" was released in 2003 for GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The story follows a futuristic alien world called Hillys, which is under attack by an alien race known as the DomZ. A military organization called the Alpha Sections arrive around the same time. They claim to be a group dedicated to fighting the DomZ, and on the surface it seems as though they are.
However, something more sinister is going on beneath the surface. The Alpha Sections do seem to fight the DomZ invaders off, but they're actually a false flag used by the DomZ to catch the people of the worlds they invade off-guard and lull them into a fake sense of security.
As photojournalist Jade, you're tasked with aiding the rogue organization known as the IRIS Network, whose goal is to expose the DomZ-Alpha Sections conspiracy to the people of Hillys.
Tyrone Miller, then public relations manager for Ubisoft, described the title as conveying a "need to investigate beyond the superficial facts of what is good and what is evil." Toward the beginning of the story, the main protagonist believes the Alpha Sections propaganda, but as she progresses through her own investigation Jade uncovers for herself the true nature of the DomZ invasion and aids the IRIS Network in revealing the conspiracy to the public.
"Beyond Good & Evil" presents an interesting parallel to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. In this allegory, prisoners are bound, limbs and all, to the floor of a cave, held in place and facing a flat wall. These prisoners know nothing but this cave and the pictures they see on the wall, projected there by firelight. The pictures are shadows cast by statues that are in turn manipulated by men standing on a raised walkway in front of the fire.
The prisoners of this cave remain as they are for their entire lives, unless one should somehow escape. When this escapee flees the cave he or she sees the world for what it truly is, instead of the moving pictures of the reality once shown to them. They may at first be unable to accept this, but should they return to the cave, their former home, they'll find it to be unreal or lacking.
The old saying, "You can never go home," comes to mind.
At that point, the escapee has a choice: he or she can either return and attempt to set the other prisoners free, or remain where they are. Should they choose to return and set their brethren free, the others may react violently or calmly accept their new reality.
The IRIS Network serves as the prisoner. Recognizing Jade's photojournalistic skills, they decide to free her next, testing her skills with a mission before showing her the truth. When Jade decides to join IRIS Network and out them to the people, she learns the horrifying truth behind the invasion. As the game progresses, more people start to question the DomZ propaganda and believe the IRIS Network reports. By the last act of the story, the entire planet is allied against the DomZ and Alpha Sections due to an attempt to kill Jade.
The world of Hillys, then, is a parallel to the imprisoned. When the game begins, they see only what the DomZ, through the Alpha Sections, want them to see. As Jade's exploits continue, they come to see the situation for what it is, actively protesting against the Alpha Sections.
The DomZ and Alpha Sections are represented by all things projecting images onto the cave wall. They manipulate the statues and images by directing the Alpha Sections, who are in turn supported by the majority of media at the story's outset. They're the gatekeepers, allowing very little that questions them to slip through to the public.