bravely default narrative meta
Dec. 12th, 2014 11:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
splinteredstarOne of the really fascinating things Bravely Default does is take rules that in most fantasy stories would be perfectly safe - anything the other side tells you is a lie (because they're bad guys, come on), battles are philosophical conflicts and no one needs to talk to each other to discover the truth, you will have a mystical guide that will lead you to your destiny. Fairly standard Rules of Sword and Sorcery fantasy. We know how these stories go.
But in this case those rules backfire - the characters know how those stories go too, and that's what get used against them. Because human beings /believe/ in stories, more than we believe in facts. Human beings need narrative, and we tend to place ourselves in the slot of Chosen One at the beginning of our Hero's Joureny. At worst, we'll be a contributor the Great Cause. Everyone wants to be important, and any politician or propagandist knows it and knows how to manipulate it.
Frame the facts in the right narrative, and you can get people to believe whatever you want. They'll maintain it themselves, even, once they're invested in it, and ignore any possible flaws in the story. Wonder how politicians can take the exact same facts and get completely different responses out of them? It's because they're fitting the information into different narrative contexts. They may even believe it whole heartedly, because they have their own stories too, but not always. Sometimes it's just manipulation, knowing the narratives that get the right response out of people.
Bravely Default takes the fantasy narrative and turns it against itself, takes the human need for the Hero's Quest and shows how easily it can be manipulated. Human beings need stories, but it's very important to know who's telling the tale.
But in this case those rules backfire - the characters know how those stories go too, and that's what get used against them. Because human beings /believe/ in stories, more than we believe in facts. Human beings need narrative, and we tend to place ourselves in the slot of Chosen One at the beginning of our Hero's Joureny. At worst, we'll be a contributor the Great Cause. Everyone wants to be important, and any politician or propagandist knows it and knows how to manipulate it.
Frame the facts in the right narrative, and you can get people to believe whatever you want. They'll maintain it themselves, even, once they're invested in it, and ignore any possible flaws in the story. Wonder how politicians can take the exact same facts and get completely different responses out of them? It's because they're fitting the information into different narrative contexts. They may even believe it whole heartedly, because they have their own stories too, but not always. Sometimes it's just manipulation, knowing the narratives that get the right response out of people.
Bravely Default takes the fantasy narrative and turns it against itself, takes the human need for the Hero's Quest and shows how easily it can be manipulated. Human beings need stories, but it's very important to know who's telling the tale.
