DmC Allegory

[Happy Friend]

I am writing this to clear up any confusion about the story. This may seem a little complex so I want to be as clear as possible. I have read some inaccurate understandings of what is actually a pretty brilliant story...

First of all, ignore any fundamentalist religious interpretations of the story that try to warn that this game promotes Satanism or any other such nonsense. The original Japanese story elements come from a culture that is not Christian so they really do not bring the same baggage onto the scene when they deal with angels and demons. These are as significant metaphysically as the Greek gods in God of War - that is to say that they exist for dramatic purposes.

Dante and Vergil are Nephilim - part demon, part angel. They represent humanity, being capable of good and great evil.

The arch villain Mundus is NOT ‘the government.’ He is essentially an Illuminati bankster, or rather he represents all Illuminati banksters... If you want to get more academic, he is the embodiment of the Transnational Corporate Class. If you would like to increase your knowledge, you can read about that by Googling:
"Exposing the Financial Core of the Transnational 
Capitalist Class"

That is the title of an article by some very smart sociologists.

In DmC, Mundus states outright that he controls nations, corporations and individuals with debt. This is what the banksters do in the real world, using the IMF and powerful states to dominate the world. In DmC, Mundus calls the US President and makes a demand of a trillion dollars, to which the President agrees. This is like when Bill Clinton was elected President and he spoke about all the things he wanted to do to make America more prosperous and fair. His bank lobbyist advisor Robert Rubin and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Allen Greenspan took him aside and told that he was not in charge and had better learn to follow orders. Clinton’s response: "You mean to tell me that the success of the economic program and my re-election hinges on the Federal Reserve and a bunch of f**king bond traders?" Yes, Mr. President. And if the President angers his overlords, he will end up like JFK. If you doubt this, look at Obama now trying to attack Syria despite no support from other countries or the American people. Obama fears the wrath of Mundus…

The mass of humanity in DmC is perpetually sedated and stupefied by consumerist indulgences and distractions. This is most clearly represented by Virility soda which of course delivers the opposite of virility. Consuming this demonic product makes one fat, stupid, and docile, i.e. a typical American mesmerized by consumerist spectacle and oblivious to the evils of the prevailing power structure. Likewise, this stupefaction via spectacle is also represented by Lilith’s club, “Devil’s Dalliance” where all the celebrities and athletes flock to engage in demonic bacchanalia thereby being placed even more firmly under the control of Mundus. Of course this is a metaphor for pop music idols, Hollywood, and pro sports – all the opiates of the masses that we enjoy in the 21st century. There is no reason to add video games to this equation because this aspect should be obvious (and amusing) to anyone who discerns the allegorical nature of DmC anyway.

In DmC, the eyeball cameras and the murderous federal agents represent the national security state. They supposedly exist to protect humanity from ‘terrorists’ but of course this is a pathetic farce. In reality, this police state apparatus serves to protect the hegemony of Mundus. Despite his seemingly limitless power, Mundus is paranoid that his reign will be brought to an end because humanity’s illusory perception of reality is maintained and built upon innumerable lies and massive criminality. Humorously, DmC was made before Snowden blew the whistle on the massive NSA spying operations...

Ultimately, the message of DmC is emancipatory. The hero fights and sacrifices to free humanity from its illegitimate master. This could not be clearer: “We are awake!” Someday, we here in Meatspace may overthrow our illegitimate Overclass. In the final summation, we are many and they are few…

You may not agree with Ninja Theory’s political analysis, but I hope that I have made it clear what the game is trying to say. I personally think that DmC is one of the most brilliant things I have seen in the realm of video games and that is why I took the time to write this.

 

[DragonMaster2010]

huh, interesting observation. It really paints the picture on how close NT made DmC to the secrets of the government. However, most of this stuff is already known about DmC and its connection to how government can really be.

 

[Loopy]

This message in the game is pretty clear. They even say about this consumerism and debt keeping people slaves during the making of DmC actor videos, and how fitting the theme is for this day and age considering what is happening to the world.

Vergil says that Mundus sees the human world as little more than a farm for his human cattle. Mundus literally feeds off the humans through the hellgate. So he needs to keep the population unthinking and docile so that they will live long enough to breed and give him the next generaton of human cattle.
Now, if you want to apply that to the real world, think of the articles that say the recession is causing a dropping birth rate, and how that could be worse for the economy than the actual recession itself. Like Mundus, this society only lives because people are kept happy enough to breed the next generaton of tax payers who pay for the people who are retiring, pay their taxes to support the banks and government. The existence is like a ponzai or pyramid scheme where more people need to join the bottom to support the people at the top who have most of the wealth.

The Fox news and Bill O'reilly satire was really in your face. It was very clear who Raptor new was supposed to be and that they were able to control the people through lies and propaganda to keep everyone unthinking
Then there's the prison that Bob appears to run on the side of his news anchor job. Anyone who finds out the truth or says things that could be dangerous to the demonic rule are put there and punished...I think it's clear what they're alluding to there. It gives the image of Orwell's 1984 or even North Korea where people who find out the truth or speak out are quickly imprisoned before they start an uprising or some kind of independent thought in the general public.

DmC also talks about how hard and dangerous it could be to take out someone like Mundus. Mundus would fight back, he would end up killing a lot of humans just to keep his power. Phineas also makes Dante think about who would take Mundus' place? Would that person end up being just like Mundus?

Then there's the issues of the humans themselves. Demonic rule and demonic lies are all they have ever known.Makes me think of any country in any period in time that has been run by a dictator who rules with lies and propaganda.
DmC raises the question of: Is it safe to take that away not knowing how the humans will react? Vergil seems to think that humans would be better off under an enlightened rule by him instead.
The whole theme of what would happen if demonic control is taken away makes me think of the modern day example of North Korea.
The people there are fed lies, have been for generations by the Kim family who keep their power through lies, propaganda and a personality cult around their current leader, Kim Jong Un. They keep their people in ignorace of the wide world and imprison or kill people who speak out. If you took away the Kim family rule, how would the people of North Korea react? What who who would take the place?

DmC is about a lot of things. Dictatorship, the current real world financial situation, ruling through lies, liberation of the people, rebuilding society, rebellion against corrupt power, and fighting for what you believe in, maybe even becoming just as corrupt as who you want to overthrow in the process.

 

[Happy Friend]

Except that it isn't really about dictatorship. In a dictatorship, the population knows who the ruler is. In DmC's world, they have the illusion of democracy, but the leaders are puppets of Mundus - like Obama is a puppet of the banksters, corporate oligarchs, military industrial complex, and the Israel lobby.

 

[Loopy]

Except that it isn't really about dictatorship. In a dictatorship, the population knows who the ruler is. In DmC's world, they have the illusion of democracy, but the leaders are puppets of Mundus - like Obama is a puppet of the banksters, corporate oligarchs, military industrial complex, and the Israel lobby.

True, Obama is a puppet, but I mean in a sense of Mundus does create a false public image like a dictator does. He makes himself into Kyle Ryder, saviour of the banks and the financial crisis. He also controls what the humans watch on TV, what they drink, imprisons those who speak out against him and controls every other aspect of their lives though debt like a dictator does. Just because he does it through covert means does not mean he's not acting like a dictator.

And people certainly find out who their ruler is when Bob tells them to worship their god Mundus during the prison level.
Plus, how long would it have been before Mundus did decide to just make himself President. He'd already replaced Kerry Prettik (the guy in the game article) as head of finance by causing the crisis in the first place and then making himself look like a saviour. Maybe it was only a matter of time before he took the next step. It's not like the humans would have stopped him considering how doped up they were.

And what abut Vergil? The way he was going on about humans being his subjects...Vergil did seem like he was going to make himself into some kind of dictator with a personality cult surrounding him.

 

[Lionheart]

This was all very clear from the get-go. I don't understand why you think nobody understands this; all people I've talked to understand the messages behind DmC.

Of course, I don't agree with the 'Illuminati' part, since the word Illuminati refers to several societies of the 18th century, of which most haven't been proved to exist. The Illuminati today are only significant in Dan Brown's novels. It's nice for conspiracy theorists, but not really for anyone else.
As for Obama being a 'puppet', I'm not sure what you mean. He serves the American people (and the majority of opinions), of course, so in that sense he does not have absolute power, which is obvious, because a president is a democratic concept. By that I don't mean that there are no non-democratic presidents.

 

[Loopy]

This was all very clear from the get-go. I don't understand why you think nobody understands this; all people I've talked to understand the messages behind DmC.

Of course, I don't agree with the 'Illuminati' part, since the word Illuminati refers to several societies of the 18th century, of which most haven't been proved to exist. The Illuminati today are only significant in Dan Brown's novels. It's nice for conspiracy theorists, but not really for anyone else.
As for Obama being a 'puppet', I'm not sure what you mean. He serves the American people (and the majority of opinions), of course, so in that sense he does not have absolute power, which is obvious, because a president is a democratic concept. By that I don't mean that there are no non-democratic presidents.

The Illuminati has been connected to loads of groups from the Masons, the British royal family, Rothschild banking family, demons and even to lizard aliens.:lol:

Thinking about it, it's like aliens have become the new demons, Before it used to be that demons secretly ran the world, now it's all about alien abductions, alien brainwashing and lizard people walking amongst us in positions of power.

 

[Lionheart]

The Illuminati has been connected to loads of groups from the Masons, the British royal family, Rothschild banking family, demons and even to lizard aliens.:lol:

I know. All unproven, as far as I know. The Illuminati ceased to exist in around the year 1785. The Illuminati is no more credible to me than the Twin Towers' (World Trade Center) destruction having been an 'inside job' (as in, perpetrated by the US government). Besides, saying the Illuminati are the government is a foolish statement; the whole point of secret societies (which is what Illuminati means nowadays) is to stay secret. If not, they will attempt to take control of government - they are not already part of government.

 

[Happy Friend]

I don't literally mean the "Illuminati." I said this explicitly in my post. I am referring to the class of politically active, organized private wealth that dominates the political system, the economy, and the media. I had to write the name of the sociology article describing this because I couldn't post a link.

You say that everybody gets this, but I only wrote this because when I did Google searches, the only summaries of the plot that I found failed to grasp what Ninja Theory was saying with the DmC story. I am sure that many people did get the general allegorical thrust of the story, but in the time I spent searching I never saw the allegory broken down in a succinct fashion. I understand that gamers are not social theorists, but I also do not think that they are idiots, so I wanted to point some people in the right direction...

If you think that Obama (or Tony Blair or Osbourne or Hollande, etc, etc.) is not a puppet of much more powerful forces, I would have to say that you are politically naive. You may want to reduce your Virility intake. Why do you think that he has continued the worst (Bankster bailouts/protection from prosecution, endless wars, assassinations, spying, persecution of whistleblowers, etc.) of Bush's policies?

 

[Lionheart]

Alright, but I think you're posting your summary of the theme behind DmC in the wrong place. Most people here, if not all of them, have played the game and already know all this. You might want to post it in a more general forum, like Gamespot or IGN.

If you think that Obama (or Tony Blair or Osbourne or Hollande, etc, etc.) is not a puppet of much more powerful forces, I would have to say that you are politically naive. You may want to reduce your Virility intake. Why do you think that he has continued the worst (Bankster bailouts/protection from prosecution, endless wars, assassinations, spying, persecution of whistleblowers, etc.) of Bush's policies?

Right, so please prove to me that Obama is a puppet. Everyone who has said something similar to you, or the same thing, has failed to produce factual evidence. I have not seen any sign of him being controlled by anyone, other than him simply being influenced by foreign affairs, the department of defense, and other things. He does what he does in the interest of the American people, and of course he listens to the majority of votes. Most likely, the majority of votes includes a LOT of wealthy businessmen. Edward Snowden, a whistleblower, is prosecuted because what he did is against the law, whether we like it or not. I believe he has said Snowden's concerns are being researched. General Motors was very important to the US economy. Without it, everybody would be adversely affected. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I will not argue with somebody who already has their ideas seared into their brain; I might as well try to convince 9/11 truthers that they're wrong; no amount of evidence will sway them. Also, nice way to disguise an insult, but a smiley face does not conceal anything to me.

 

[Happy Friend]

I have not seen all the plot elements succinctly explained. You state that everyone here is aware of everything that I wrote, but I personally think that one has to be fairly well-educated in terms of politics, history, and sociology to get the nuances. A lot of people are smart enough to get the gist about how we are lied to by powerful forces that want to hold on to their power and wealth, but our media and educational system do not do very much to inform us about how this actually works in practice. In fact, much is done to stupefy and distract us. If you have a link to a post that lays all this out, I would like to see it.

It wasn't my intention to get into a long political argument about that non-entity Obama here. Really, Obama's puppet/non-puppet status is not germane to my original argument. In DmC, the President is clearly a puppet. So if you want to argue with Ninja Theory, that is totally fine, but their assessment is clear and it is different than your high school civics class version of how politics works.

 

[Loopy]

I have not seen all the plot elements succinctly explained. You state that everyone here is aware of everything that I wrote, but I personally think that one has to be fairly well-educated in terms of politics, history, and sociology to get the nuances. A lot of people are smart enough to get the gist about how we are lied to by powerful forces that want to hold on to their power and wealth, but our media and educational system do not do very much to inform us about how this actually works in practice.

I'm sure there are a few topics on here where various nuances of the plot have been explained, maybe not all at once, but the information is around here somewhere.

It's pretty clear what the game is about, and each person is free to draw their own conclusions about other aspects of the story. Some people don't want to focus on the plot or dig too deeply into it...then again, the plot is not exactly subtle or nuanced enough to require much education in understanding the social and political themes. They even spell the themes out in the 'making of' actor interviews.

Some people see it as a social satire about what is going on in the world, others about the importance of family, and one person even wrote a long essay on here about how this game describes the abuse and hatred of women. Then there was the guy who wrote a long essay about how the game was here to convert us to satanism, and we must all repent before we go to hell.:lol:

And people who do say they are smart enough to realise what is going on in the world, then the best thing to do is be smart enough not to have children. If the world is as bad as this, you wouldn't want to bring a child into it, a child who will be dumbed down by TV, indoctrinated by a failing school system and then trapped in debt for the rest of their lives, all while struggling against consumerist culture led by puppet celebrities.
If this is really going on in the world, then people should do something about it instead of sitting around and complaining about how a small amount of people control all the weath, about how people are born into this world with no real control over their lives, their only purpose to be a wage slave for the wealthy until they die.
That's what truly smart people would do. But, what would replace the system? This is all we have ever known. DmC touches on this. It's all well and good saying this system is corrupt, but what would replace it and who would run it? And would humanity end up repeating the same problems as before, or make an even worse problem.

 

[TWOxACROSS]

Well, the main point of why you don't see this stuff you've written in other peoples' summaries of DmC's story is because, obviously, yours is allegorical, while the summaries you can find already on the 'net are simply that - summaries. They're nothing more than a quick rundown of the plot.

On the other hand, however, so many disliked DmC for whatever reason that finding such in-depth allegorical pieces about it is gonna be difficult.

 

[DragonMaster2010]

Its funny actually how people try to explain so much meaning into DMC3 about the relationship of Dante and vergil and Dante's apparent true emotions, but when people do the same for DmC its called looking too into it.

 

[TWOxACROSS]

Its funny actually how people try to explain so much meaning into DMC3 about the relationship of Dante and vergil and Dante's apparent true emotions, but when people do the same for DmC its called looking too into it.

The only thing I think people look far too into is Vergil. Everyone claims he's this honorable and highly respectable character when he's consistently taken actions on the contrary, especially killing those unarmed and unaware, and the constant use of anyone to further his goals, regardless of others' well-being.

 

[Happy Friend]

Well, the main point of why you don't see this stuff you've written in other peoples' summaries of DmC's story is because, obviously, yours is allegorical, while the summaries you can find already on the 'net are simply that - summaries. They're nothing more than a quick rundown of the plot.

On the other hand, however, so many disliked DmC for whatever reason that finding such in-depth allegorical pieces about it is gonna be difficult.

Right, that is what I meant. The story is an allegory, but plot summaries will not go into the symbolism, metaphor, etc. I am a radical academic so I thought that I might be able to lay it out in a way that could be interesting to some people who like the game/story...

Myself, having played DmC and the older ones, I cannot hold in high regard the opinions of those who hate the new one.

 

[TWOxACROSS]

Yeah, usually the closest you get is quotes from the devs about how DmC parodies a lot of societal ills, but it never gets too far into it. Granted, some of it is fairly easy to see if you're astute enough, but yeah...usually it gets bumped to the side when you're too busy going "Oh mai gaaawd~" from the gameplay

 

[Happy Friend]

It has the most anti-establishment story I have ever seen in a video game. I actually think it outdoes the original Matrix in terms of blasting away at the legitimacy of the prevailing powers that be. The very step of making the antagonist an evil demon is more courageous because the metaphorical evil in The Matrix can be seen as systemic or structural evil rather than a conspiratorial Overclass that dominates systemically, structurally, and institutionally.

 

[Demi-fiend]

but when people do the same for DmC its called looking too into it.

No, it's not. You think too much. Stop thinking.

 

[EllDawn]

No, it's not. You think too much. Stop thinking.

That's impossible for some of us.

On topic: A lot of this is pretty easily recognizable, though this thread gives something for people to read if they don't want to think about it themselves. Hopefully this doesn't turn into another debate about the idea being over used, or a rip-off of something else.