The Meatrix

I didn’t even know about this cute little advocacy film until I saw Grocery Wars.

The Meatrix film highlighted four ways in which factory farms affect us – animal welfare, antibiotic resistant bacteria, pollution and destroyed communities

Web link of note: The Meatrix
(At http://www.themeatrix.com)

Tivo Derby

The Kentucky Derby was last weekend. It’s the big horse race; it’s actually about 2 minutes long, but the TV material was an hour and a half.

Thank goodness for Tivo. I wonder how many suckers actually watched the entire thing? Maybe it’s like football where you generally know the schedule and only tune in for the actual game, skipping all the commentary in the pre-game, or even skipping the first three quarters.

The Gospel of Zelda

Recently I’ve been analyzing narratives similar to the Gospel- one of the things I find interesting about the Gospel, is its Rashomon-like quality of being told several times by different authors, and after that, its repeated treatments in thousands of different artworks over thousands of years.

In the New Testament, the life and death of Christ are described as chronicled by different people- each of the apostles. In religious art throughout the world, key episodes out of these accounts are portrayed by thousands, perhaps even millions of different artists… but the interesting part is, since no one knows what any given scene actually looked like, they represent it how they visualize it, with only a few consistent elements.

Example: “Christ is born” needs a baby in a manger (Christ), a woman (Mary), a man (Joseph), three other men (the wise men), possibly some animals (it’s in a barn), and possibly some shepherds. But what animals? What is everyone wearing? Is Mary black or white? and so on. In thousands of versions of this scene, the details change, but the subjects stay the same in a general sense.

So… Just for fun, I did a short analysis of the symbolism and visual language of the Legend of Zelda. The game is a full-on franchise now, with many different episodes, each slightly different from the others. As in the Gospel, the details and emphasis change, but the general story framework stays the same.

The Zelda setting (“Hyrule”) has a Creation story, and an epic, in which Link triumphs over Ganon with the help of Zelda. Rather than be aligned along Good/Evil, this epic has a three-valued moral system, using Power, Wisdom, and Courage.

Symbols in Zelda

  • The Triforce is the symbol of everything in Zelda. The three pieces of the Triforce – correspond to the three goddesses that created the world:
    • Din, goddess of Power
    • Nayru, goddess of Wisdom
    • Farore, goddess of Courage
  • Ganon, the Avatar of Power, always tries to take over the world. He leads a society of outcasts, and starts from the dregs of society to become a warlord.
    • dark skin, red hair. Very large. Generally “adult,” possibly balding, but not old.
    • his symbol is the pig (he sometimes takes the form of a demon pig)
    • black, ornate armor
    • ability to use “magic,” usually involving teleportation, flying, turning invisible, or throwing fire
    • Ganon always remembers his identity
  • Zelda, the Avatar of Wisdom, is born to priviledge, and always leads others, but is passive. She is always captured by Ganon, but is instrumental in his destruction.
    • pale skin, light colored hair. Short and slight.
    • pink or white floor-length dress, circlet crown/tiara
    • Zelda will generally have some crystal imagery associated with her. See “sages” below.
    • Zelda knows the roles of the three Avatars through priviledge
  • Link, Avatar of Courage, is born a commoner, but at some point gains his birthright and is linked with a Hero legend.
    • light skin, sometimes tanned. short, very young.
    • green tunic, green shoes, cap
    • carries a sword and shield with the Triforce on it.
    • Link learns of his role as the Hero during his adventure
    • Link’s various weapons have their own symbolism (as in Hindu art):
      • the sword – the sword is earned by Link on his trip, like his other weapons. However trial of the sword in particular has a greater emphasis and difficulty associated with it. This sword is usually unique and is imbued in some way to fight Ganon.
      • the shield – always has belonged to a great warrior. Along with the sword it represents honor, and a past glory.
      • the boomerang- a weak weapon, but acts as a remote hand
      • the bomb – always given to Link by strangers
      • the mallet – used for hitting the ground
      • the silver arrow – always needed to defeat Ganon- Ganon’s only weakness
      • flute, ocarina, or other magical instrument – used by Link to “get places”- either by actually physically moving him there, or clearing the barrier in between him and the place. These instruments are ancient tools imbued by magic, left by ancestors or prophets.
  • Sages – there are Saint-equivalents called Sages.
    • They may be associated with the various elements.
    • In some versions they are trapped in crystals by Ganon or other evil forces.
    • There are generally seven of them
    • Each of them may be commoners who are “recognized” (in the Tibetan sense) as being incarnations of whatever sage.
  • The elements:
    • Light
    • Dark / Shadow
    • Forest
    • Fire
    • Water (occaisionally replaced by Air)
    • Spirit
    • Time
  • Episodes: The order of these episodes may change in different versions of the gospel of Zelda
    • Zelda calls for help to Link
    • Zelda kidnapped by Ganon. Link watches.
    • Ganon and Link meet for the first time
    • Link gains the Sword
    • Ganon and Link fight- Zelda aids in some magical way
    • backstory: world created
    • backstory: Ganon rises to power

Example links: