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Thoughts On Dark Mirror


GregF

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I mut say, Dark Mirror has provoked some of the most interesting discussions and PMs I have seen in my time on here. It has been really interesting to see the reaction to the story, with Tuyet's Toa being branded as "evil" and "corrupt." And yet ... let's consider:

 

"Toa Tuyet announced today that the Brotherhood of Makuta poses a potential threat and should be eliminated before they threaten the peace of the universe."

OR

"The leader of a major nation announced today that the country of Gazistan poses a potential threat to the peace of the Middle East, and preemptive strikes have been ordered against their military facilities."

 

"Matoran are being monitored, and anyone who speaks out in support of the Makuta or the Dark Hunters, or against Toa Tuyet, will be arrested and imprisoned."

OR

"In the interests of national security, security cameras are being mounted in many public places, and telephone calls and email are being monitored for suspicious language."

 

"The Toa have learned the whereabouts of the dangerous Dark Hunters, a gang of criminals, and are moving in to smash their operations."

OR

"The police have learned the whereabouts of the dangerous Daniels mob, a gang of criminals, and are moving in to smash their operations."

 

Would we brand the governments or police in the real world examples "evil and corrupt?" Or would we say they were trying to keep peace? I think the answer is different for everyone ... but it is important to remember just what Tuyet did. She took the basic core belief of the Toa -- that the Matoran must be protected -- and simply spun it that the best way to protect them was to smash potential enemies before they acted. The Makoki stone engravings prove the Toa had suspicions about the Makuta from early on, and the DH had a long history of immoral acts -- so how hard would it be to persuade Toa that they should be crushed? And can you argue that, despite all the negatives about Tuyet's society, Mata Nui is still awake there, and hundreds of Toa and thousands of Matoran who died in our universe, didn't die there?

 

I am not saying she was right, by any means -- but I think it important to understand the world of Dark Mirror. It is a world really governed by the fear of external enemies, the same as many societies in our world are. Instead of finding strength in fellowship, in prophecy, in the three virtues, these Toa and Matoran let fear and hatred drive their actions. The result was shattered Makuta and DH, but also Toa who then became repressive and dictatorial, all in the interests of protecting their people.

 

So the scary thing to me about DM is not Tuyet, or what happened to Brutaka or Toa Naho ... the scary part is that these Toa are not that far removed from the ones we know. The only real difference here is one of philosophy -- the Toa in DM act without provocation, the Toa in our universe normally wait for provocation and then react. The Toa in our universe wish to set an example and be looked at with respect, and so they don't stoop to the lethal level of their enemies; the Toa in DM believe that the best way to protect the Matoran from a foe is to kill that foe and don't care if they are looked at with fear. There are probably some Toa on Tuyet's side who aren't 100% comfortable with what they have become, but they look around and see a universe with no BOM and no real threat from the DH or anyone else, and so they do nothing.

 

Lesovikk is really the one who sees the slippery slope -- who understands that today it's Makuta who have to be wiped out, and tomorrow it's Turaga who object to new laws, and the day after it's Matoran who aren't working hard enough. Fear of enemies, real or imagined, can be used to justify any action, and often have been. Any of us can look back in our history and see instances where otherwise good people sat by and did nothing in the face of repression or even murder, because they believed the victims constituted some kind of threat.

 

So lots to think about in this story, at least for me ...

 

Greg

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I must admit this, I didn't thought the similarities of DM with our real world...But being sincere, most rulers in history wanted to do something good, maybe with good intentions or in the other hands with the worst of them...

It is all power... Hitler was a good leader for the shattered and depressed Germany in 1920's; Fujimori ,here in my country, was opressive, but saved the economy of our country... Resuming what I intend to say, is that the way to ###### is floored with the good intentions of people... maybe is what I understood of what you wrote here Mr Farshlee...

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Very interesting comments, greg. Dark Mirror sure is giving us a lot of interesting stuff to think about - which in my opinion is really cool.

 

I think the main difference between the Dark Mirror goverment and goverments like the U.S.A and England is that our goverments always seek to use force only as a last resort. First they try peace talks, then diplomacy, than sanctions, and they only use military force if nothing else works. This is because the goverments wish to be respected by people without being feared, something Toa Tuyet doesn't understand and can not relate too. She puts her job first, and takes it to an extreme level - which corrupts her way of doing things.

 

However, sadly goverments like the Toa Empire do exist today - and they view the "peace by force" way of governing as the best way to handle things. This is a prime element of communism and socialism, two systems that are unfortunately still alive in today's world. In fact, the Toa Empire really is a form of communism - which is really quite scary if you think about it. :unsure:

 

I REALLY look foward to the last two chapters of Dark Mirror, Greg. :)

 

~~END~~

 

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I think the main difference between the Dark Mirror goverment and goverments like the U.S.A and England is that our goverments always seek to use force only as a last resort. First they try peace talks, then diplomacy, than sanctions, and they only use military force if nothing else works. This is because the goverments wish to be respected by people without being feared, something Toa Tuyet doesn't understand and can not relate too. She puts her job first, and takes it to an extreme level - which corrupts her way of doing things.



Only at last resort? Wars are started because of OIL! Because some countries have ignorant leaders or a dumb way of ruling a country.

Interesting, how Greg showed us just how our world is so similiar to DM. We just don't care aboutit, because we grew up with it.

Bring up your dead!
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Only at last resort? Wars are started because of OIL! Because some countries have ignorant leaders or a dumb way of ruling a country.

 

Yes, but they aren't started straight away, with no consideration. The Toa empire in Dark Mirror sees a potential threat and crushes it without second thought. In contrast, many of our home countries resort to diplomacy and sanctions first, as war is costly and can reap many tolls on the country.

 

~~END~~

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You and your writing kick up very many good moral points, Greg. I have to say, it really does please me to see that connections can be made back and forth. It's a thin line, and I don't want to say anything that sparks any political debates on BZP, but I do want to say that your views that you've provided give much room for mature and (now) politically active members to have a very good basis for thinking. I mean, you can't base everything in the Bionicle world on something back in the real world, but it is very helpful to be able to make a deeper connection sometimes.

 

-Taki

 

 

Exacly.

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It's good that a lot of people are "reflecting"(sorry) on DM. I noticed that too. Tuyet wiping out the Nynrah ghosts because the might make a weapon that could defeat her......we're at a war with the Middle East because some countries might make WMDs.... I just didn't mention it because I couldn't talk politics on BzP. Really great that you aren't becoming a shallow sellout like the rest of Lego.

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Greg, it takes a pretty good writer to put that kind of thought into a children's story.

 

Better be careful, if Scholastic catches on they'll stop letting you write books. Introducing children to controversy is a terrible thing, after all.

 

(Sarcasm)

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(Gasps) Poisoning children's minds with unpure thoughts different than those of our leaders!? How will the brainwashed masses thrive in peace and sameness!? He must be hung from the gallows! (or fired by scholastic...you do know what I'm getting at, right? It's sarcasm)

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I think the main difference between the Dark Mirror goverment and goverments like the U.S.A and England is that our goverments always seek to use force only as a last resort. First they try peace talks, then diplomacy, than sanctions, and they only use military force if nothing else works. This is because the goverments wish to be respected by people without being feared, something Toa Tuyet doesn't understand and can not relate too. She puts her job first, and takes it to an extreme level - which corrupts her way of doing things.

 

 

Only at last resort? Wars are started because of OIL! Because some countries have ignorant leaders or a dumb way of ruling a country.

 

Interesting, how Greg showed us just how our world is so similiar to DM. We just don't care aboutit, because we grew up with it.

 

Bring up your dead!

Please try not to get this entry closed, rather than deliberately attempting to incite flame wars. Hey... flames... oil... You're right! Oil DOES start wars! :P

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I always thought about what would happen if toa tuyet got the mask of time.

This is a very interesting concept and it is something a lot of minds could ponder about.

But another thing I'm wondering about is if Bomonga and Kualas will be sold as toa at stores

in the near future.

(PS: you don't have to answer that-It could become a spoiler warning.)

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Dark Mirror reminds me of communism, I bet there's gonna be a civil war between Tuyet's toa and the resistance led by Lesovikk or the new and improved Takanuva!

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I never knew what a hard decision of what to think was until this day. The idea of the bloodthirsty alternate Toa still keeping the peace is really one that can mess with one's head. It's messing with mine a lot.

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I think what Tuyet did was the right thing, but, she took it to far. Of government, the American government is doing the same, but on a far more healthy level. I don't think I would consider my own country 'evil' or anything like that, at least, not yet. But, America as a country is falling, it's just a sign of the times. But lets not get political on BZP, lets keep it bionicle.

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Which of these (wo)men is more evil?

The man who does wrong thinking it to be right, or the man who does wrong knowing it to be so?

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That's an interesting post, Greg. I agree that Dark Mirror resembles our world somewhat, as people often have a great fear of external enemies. There's nothing wrong with that-if we tried to act in "love and peace" to everyone with no defenses at all, we'd get trampled by people who had no interest in peace-but it can lead to extreme actions, like the monitoring of communications.

 

The difference, I think, is that most of the Toa in DM are probably motivated by other things, more than just fear or hate(such as greed or pride), and I think at least some of the people in our world really are motivated to stand against evil. The difficulty is how it's done. There's definitely a right way and a wrong way to do so. And you're definitely right-when any power at all starts trying to become overbearing in any way, or take away any freedoms without good reason(such as putting someone in prison because of a crime), it's a bad thing, and there's not really any definite stopping point. Those who have more fear will(as pointed out in an earlier post by someone else) want the government to have more power. I don't think there's really a way to make a system that will allow for protection without tyranny, as people will always find loopholes around the law(or be overly legalistic about the law, in other cases) if they don't like what it says at face value. What any power needs to function well is a citizenry that is brave and hard working, and that cares about freedom.

Interesting perspective though.

 

-LB

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Wow, excellent entry greg. The things you talk about in Dark Mirror remind me of China a bit... How the Goverement rules the country and such the Chinese police being like Toa in DM for the Olympic. Montiring you almost all the time checking your residence permit and must report to the police ifyou are just staying at a friend's house in Beijing for 24 hours. I know this from real experience cause I live in Beijing currently. :) So I think you have a excellent entry. Bravo to Greg!

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Which of these (wo)men is more evil?

The man who does wrong thinking it to be right, or the man who does wrong knowing it to be so?

 

No, no, it's really this:

 

"Which of these men is more evil?

The Man who does wrong in the guise of right, or the Man who does wrong openly?"

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