SarracenianKaijin

Are we going to also include Carl Jungian archetype theory into the mix? It seems very fitting given how there are clear personality epitomes in early Bionicle.

Suppose someone finally realized building robots was a terrible waste.

I thought Lewa died.

That'd be nuts. I mean, not too familiar with WoD outside of the Vampire PC games, but the idea of oWoD co-existing with Bioncle is kind of hilarious. Especially with how Bionicle fits Exalted's lore a good deal better. Nah, too overblown. Changeling: the Dreaming and only that would be nice.

Sure they are. Just that sometimes, people aren't advocating for the right ones. Nobody says you can't talk. Its just that we don't like what you are saying, so we have thus the equal right of saying why you are wrong. Free speech ;3.

I got that kind of PM once. It was dumb, meant to silence me, and clearly made to avoid any sort of repercussions from the public.

If Bionicle started ten years later, with the exact same stuff as 2001 had, with all the same sets and MNOG's and promos and all that, honestly? I think it might turn out a heck of a lot better. What I mean is if you really look at the pop-cultural landscape of 2001 compared to 2011 you will notice there is a huge difference in what is and what isn't more acceptable. Nowadays people not only have easier access to various pop-culture media, they are also more receptive and tolerant of what they consume. Not to mention different priorities in what people want. Things like Adventure Time or Steven Universe would just not be possible in 2001. Those things also have a larger community filled with older people, compared to Bionicle which pretty much only had children to maybe early-teen if lucky. With a larger, more mature community discussions become a lot more constructive, and horrible storytelling practices would be a lot less tolerated. Greg Q&A and BZPower's domination of Bionicle fandom would not exist. With that kind of feedback comes a more solid chance of executives listening to the demands. Bionicle might have turned out a whole lot different post-2006, or even post-2004.

Chageling: the Dreaming

It does. It answers Phovos' question. Besides the interpretation is a lot more interesting to read. What, off-topic like every other person who also responded to the "gender question"?

No.Time Trap. One decent-ish book versus a few dozen years worth of franchise history that smothered it. Try again.

The person asked about Makuta's gender issues, and I answered it. If you have problems, talk to him/her and the other people before me who also talked about gender and not your on-topic "evolution".

Curious little story, albeit not particularly special. A standard fish-out-of-water scenario. I do find the choice of using Bohrok-Kal interesting though. Surely with creatures like the Bohroks, the thought process would be something much more incomprehensibly alien than this?

Gender is an artificial construct.The Makuta knows this. After all, we know that Makuta are essentially born from the same base energy (or, given their association with Nothing and anti-life, "anti-energy"). Inevitably, when you part of the unifying force of void and entropy, it would stand to reason that some Makuta would have the false sense of grandeur and paradoxical self-hatred to proclaim themself as "the individual", the one amidst many. Of course, this becomes fallacious when inevitably they all serve the same purpose anyway, and in many ways all have the same mind, this only further drives them to doing stunning and horrible feats of power, literally sacrificing all else to chase that doomed desire, and that drives them further into pure madness. Which, as stated, only serves to accelerate the grand purpose of that Makuta-nature. Gender in Makuta are thus, only a side-product of this failing endeavor of finding the Self.

Yep. A boring, trite Megatron-wannabe only vaguely more interesting than a bucket of paint. ... Wait, that was the upside?

A wonderful little story, unfortunately and cruelly met by a coarse and forced revelation. Had it not been so blunt and boorish, I would have liked the story much better. As it is, its alright.

This misses one problem though, and its that Monomyth is overtly generalizing and eurocentric, and takes many of the stories and myths and forcibly makes them follow a rigid structure despite their context, and has since then become a mass-produced limitation that fooled itself into being "a fundamental aspect of human though". More on this subject discussed on this excellent blog: http://www.philipsandifer.com/2011/12/pop-between-realities-home-in-time-for.html

I find it funny how you guys treat the idea that "super cheesy and impossible to take seriously" and "extremely disturbing" are somehow mutually exclusive with the Joker. You are saying that as if its a bad thing.

Yep, sounds like something that someone that is only vaguely aware of Joker until The Dark Knight would say.

Makuta aren't gods though, not even close. You have very strange idea about gods.

[What} about prophesies, legends, pantheistic gods and demigods, symbols, idol worship, and Maori-inspired ideas[?] Also, saying that "there aren't mythological and religious ideas in Bionicle because LEGO" is like saying "possibility of death doesn't exist in cartoons because TV network censorship." You are supposed to imagine that the myth&religion-shaped holes aren't there.

Bionicle, since its conception, had its inspirations from religion and mythology. If calling the base story setups of your franchise as "the story bible" wasn't enough of an indication (... Okay I know it doesn't actually mean that hush I'm trying to sound impressive here). And let us not forget Bob Thompson's own philosphy on the importance of stories. Which also means saying Bionicle and religion are exclusive from one and other is nonsense. How would a worship of god who is all around you maintaining the universe through your own power, the symbosis of the worshipper and the idol, be anything but numinous?

Here's a thought. What if the Matorans don't keep Mata Nui from living and provinding not through some vague, techical mechanics like "fix-this-part-of-Mata-Nui's-spleen-without-any-one-realizing-for-bizarre-reasons". Rather, the simple act of work in itself is what keeps Mata Nui functioning. After all, everything about Matoran society has to do with work. Different individuals are chiefly defined by what they do. People who don't focus their work are considered "freaks" or "weirdos" by everyone else (see: Takua). Also notice how criminal activity is described as "interference with their own duty and endanger the health of Mata Nui". The matoran's work takes the chief priority in that sentence. Let's not forget the idea of the Three Virtues are essentially, based on working. Or how Arthaka, "the heaven", is where all the "good workers" go. Notice also how free-time activities seem to also have a great significance, such as the important Coliseum and the religious Princibles having correlations with Kohlii-playing. This wouldn't exist without the presence of the vitality of working. So here, the culture, philosphy and religion can be described as based on work. We can say there is a mythopoeic relation between Matorans and Mata Nui. The idea of god needing religious worship to function and live, which in the pantheistic universe of MU means the continuing survival of the matorans themselves. So I'd say the "body metaphor" isn't entirely literal, but obviously exists. After all, why else would Karda Nui, the heart-world, "The World that Feeds the World", contain the base form of Matorans who are also notably Beings of Light. Light being chiefly important element in the very manichaeistic world-view of the matorans

And Pomengranate's answer can effectively summarized into the all-encompassing phrase of "Well atleast I liked it". Which, I guess is valid of an arguement. So I'm just gonna answer with an equally circumlocutionary statement of "I really think you are severely lowering your standards on "mystery" and "awe-inspiring" here. Or good story and world-building."

Except Great Intelligence and Meddling Monk had actual character and personality and thematic significance other than "Muhaha". Not so much with Makuta. Let's not even get into how obviously non-comparable Daleks are with the Rahkshi, or that Makuta/Rahkshi creator-creation relation is way off.