Hard Light Productions Forums
General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: Janos on November 27, 2009, 11:01:46 am
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A computer game known as Descent: Freespace – a Great War and it’s sequel, Freespace 2, have declined in popularity but maintain a steady following. The games are superficially about intergalactic war between humans, an humanoid alien race known as “Vasudans” and a more alien force known as “Shivans”, named after the Indian god Shiva, a god of destruction and rebirth. Destruction of sexuality and rebirth by rejecting traditional roles forced upon one by society are a recurring theme in the entire Freespace universe. I will now explain how Freespace games are not about war, but about repressed sexuality and loss of patriarchal gender roles and the uncertainty that follows this.
Seemingly innocuous, the war between humans (which is an obvious “us” metaphora) and “vasudans” - which represent “them” – has raged on for 14 years. 14 years is about the time humans start universally become more thoughtful and conscient of their own sexuality and is the time when traditional sex roles are enforced by both commercial organizations to further their own goals AND by families, an institution firmly entrenched in tradition. The word “vasudan” has a striking resemblance to word “vagina”. Therefore, one can interpret this war as the coming of age – the vaginal enemy, the woman, has been the enemy and “mankind” – a masculine, almost repressive term – is getting exhausted with war. Certainly one can see similarities in the schoolyards, where old bullying steps aside and sexual domination and tensions rise. Yet, mankind decides to resist this inevitable change. They “launch an operation” – a thinly veiled euphemism for penetration – called “Thresher”, a word familiar from adult entertainment movies, yet another highly masculine and chauvinistic expression of male domination.
However, this metaphoric rape is interrupted by an unknown force, Shivans. Their black ships – here we should note that using black has some racist motives and should be a target of another critical essay – are named after Indian mythology. The Indian naming deserves some attention: with stereotypes combining Indian culture with sexuality, one can easily see how Shivans, with their almost inpenetrable vanguard, Lucifer, are actually just a sexual revolution of a new and unknown kind. Together, the Vasudans and mankind unite their forces (this obviously means consensual copulation) and turn against this new threat. Their newfound sexual conformity, found only in duress, is threatened by these black aliens with very phallic imagery: a quick look at Shivans’ prominent theme, long and hard destructing pipes and spikes, is too obvious to miss. The Shivans, however, seem to resist the standard consensual heteronormative sexuality’s flaccid prods, but “penetrate the defences”. In an illustrative scene, an ejaculation-like pale beam violently penetrates and destroys GTD Galatea, a father figure that, with both the illusion of power and obvious impotence, no longer can challenge the change even if it tries. The great climax of Freespace is the rejection of home and complete sexual revolution – vaginal Vasudans have “lost their home”, in other words sexuality, and mankind will sacrifice theirs to save it’s face. Still, they are only left with imagery of what has been, their newfound gender roles more defined by the force interpreted as enemy as the history of their patriarchy. Thus, the Shivans represent a sexual revolution that changes and morphs the worldview among us.
Discuss. I would be very interested in your experiences with sexuality and Freespace. I have given just the basics.
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yes
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:lol:
This is the best satire. Or at least I think it's a satire...
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If it's satire, then :lol:
If it's not, then: Vasuda is another name for Earth in Sanskrit.
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wow.. just, wow :p
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paragraphs
learn how to use them
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Trolling... learn not to. :wtf: