- Joined
- Jul 26, 2011
- Messages
- 19,411
- Reaction score
- 1,553
Bit of a big and intelligent topic today guys.
So we all followed Naruto, the story that developed into a message about unity and peace. It's major villains are tragic outliers who all have their own way of achieving a peace. It's handling of war and peace were amazing and maturely handled at times but ultimately it only managed to really scrape the surface of the true topic and themes that come with being a messiah and a pacifist. I feel like Naruto couldn't actually exist and adheres to too many shonen-main character cliches to be identifiable to an actual reader or a real life messiah.
He's a role model sure but that's about it, Naruto would truly struggle in our world and we through the birds-eye-perspective of this Ninja World (a luxury that comes from being a reader) we use the Shinobi World as a microcosm of our own, that distance we have allowing us to think about themes and judge everybody equally. Ultimately- the peace theme becomes somewhat two-dimensional through Naruto by the end of the series- that said I still appreciate it & try to live day by day with the meaning of that story in mind- even if it may not be applicable to my world and it's issues.
A LOT of my fiction is about these themes. Being the better man, uniting the world, finding out what 'peace' truly is. Korra deals with Anarchy, Monarchy, Communism, Theocracy & Fascism. It's teen-adult fiction in a fantasy world where adult real world themes are being used. Korra learns that beating the bad guys doesn't make the threats to her short-sighted vision of peace go away. That the world needs equality, these stories promote understanding, not condoning war....So why is the reality so very different Is it different? Or have we just not come as far as a society as those ones yet?
The artist and the soldier will always be different roles but as an everyday society, ARE we above this? I'm sure many of us know that violence begetting violence is a flaw, just as it is in our fiction. But then I look around and i'm not so sure. How do we use these solutions that fiction has taught to us through example- and apply it to real life? I don't know. That scares me. Yet our Government and societies answer- ultimately seems to be retaliation, something that simply doesn't feel right.
Does the bigger picture exist on a real world universal scale? Or are we naive trying to apply a narrative to real life?
You'd be surprised how much fiction can teach us about contemporary issues. There's no shame in feeling driven or motivated by pieces of fiction. It's what they're there for. But to what degree can we follow their example and message?
So we all followed Naruto, the story that developed into a message about unity and peace. It's major villains are tragic outliers who all have their own way of achieving a peace. It's handling of war and peace were amazing and maturely handled at times but ultimately it only managed to really scrape the surface of the true topic and themes that come with being a messiah and a pacifist. I feel like Naruto couldn't actually exist and adheres to too many shonen-main character cliches to be identifiable to an actual reader or a real life messiah.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
He's a role model sure but that's about it, Naruto would truly struggle in our world and we through the birds-eye-perspective of this Ninja World (a luxury that comes from being a reader) we use the Shinobi World as a microcosm of our own, that distance we have allowing us to think about themes and judge everybody equally. Ultimately- the peace theme becomes somewhat two-dimensional through Naruto by the end of the series- that said I still appreciate it & try to live day by day with the meaning of that story in mind- even if it may not be applicable to my world and it's issues.
A LOT of my fiction is about these themes. Being the better man, uniting the world, finding out what 'peace' truly is. Korra deals with Anarchy, Monarchy, Communism, Theocracy & Fascism. It's teen-adult fiction in a fantasy world where adult real world themes are being used. Korra learns that beating the bad guys doesn't make the threats to her short-sighted vision of peace go away. That the world needs equality, these stories promote understanding, not condoning war....So why is the reality so very different Is it different? Or have we just not come as far as a society as those ones yet?
You must be registered for see images
The artist and the soldier will always be different roles but as an everyday society, ARE we above this? I'm sure many of us know that violence begetting violence is a flaw, just as it is in our fiction. But then I look around and i'm not so sure. How do we use these solutions that fiction has taught to us through example- and apply it to real life? I don't know. That scares me. Yet our Government and societies answer- ultimately seems to be retaliation, something that simply doesn't feel right.
Does the bigger picture exist on a real world universal scale? Or are we naive trying to apply a narrative to real life?
You must be registered for see images
You'd be surprised how much fiction can teach us about contemporary issues. There's no shame in feeling driven or motivated by pieces of fiction. It's what they're there for. But to what degree can we follow their example and message?