Cloud is absolutely a bit more feminine and definitely neurodivergent. Even after the "therapy session" he still has a lot of clues of neurodivergence in how he speaks. Even at the end battle he's like "Let's mosey folks" and Cid basically admonishes him for not saying something manlier and more badass.
I really liked that moment. I hear people criticize that line as bad writing, and I think they're missing the point. That's Cloud's end point. He figured out who he was, grappled with his past, and is now paving a new road as his own self. The final "gimme" battle at the end of the game is symbolic of Cloud finally defeating that last little fake bit of his past.
@@Donut117 Exactly. If anything it was Cid himself that was being as much an asshole to him as everyone else was to begin with, trying to push him into being someone he's not. Couple that with how abusive he was to Shera and the toxic masculinity he displayed constantly of thinking he was always in the right instead of questioning things, and only ever acting out in anger, it makes far more sense who the real cool guy was all this time. Cloud.
Hey, this is an excellently-written heartfelt piece and I'm so glad I took the time to watch it. I'm finishing up the script of my own Final Fantasy 7 analysis that is more comprehensive to the whole game and most specifically focused on environmentalism but still discusses the masculinity theme, and I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head here. Your incorporation of in-text citations should really help make that interpretation more convincing to people who are less sure, and I'll probably link this video in a card if you don't mind. The primary difference in my own interpretation is Sephiroth I think. I think he is a character, and it is Jenova that is the idea, representing unjust hierarchy in a variety of forms including hegemonic masculinity. I don't really view Sephiroth's breakdown as only related to the curse of patriarchy, but rather a broader idea of dehumanization. Your self-aware counterarguments in the conclusion section are strong as well, and I agree with them in general. Ultimately I think the writers of the game lacked the perspective to fully commit to a coherent criticism of masculinity, especially given how locked-in they were to a combat-driven game. Another misstep (imo) was the gold saucer date mechanic, where important character details for the female characters are locked behind whoever the (assumed male) player likes the most. Anyway, I hope you'll share your thoughts on my video when it comes out! And I hope this video finds a larger audience eventually, because this is really strong stuff that a lot of people out there need to hear.
As someone who has recently has recovered a ton of confidence thanks to a friend helping me get in tune with myself over the course of months as late as 26 years old there really is a lot here that hits the subject very well. The finding yourself section really resonated with my experience of suppressing myself until I was finally comfortable opening to someone who eventually understood me somehow even with me subconsciously pushing them away, Ive had many friends before this point but never to the point where I was showered with support to the point where I rediscovered the sense of self I buried away due to unhealthy family expectations and even gaslighting. That aside I did want to also see someone discuss that theme about how Sephiroth symbolizes that looming presence Cloud has to overcome mentally so that Im glad I finally found in video form, very well made.
32:38 Something else about this final battle is that it mirrors the Nibelheim flashback from earlier in the game. In the flashback, everything kills Cloud in one hit, and everything that hits Sephiroth does 0 damage, including you. In the final fight, if Sephiroth hits Cloud, he does 0 damage. The thought of Sephiroth *literally* has no power anymore.
I'm extremely sorry for your friend mate. I'm proud of you for moving forward and learning from the experience, and living for yourself AND him at the same time, and living to illuminate others of the same poison that killed him.
I really love your thesis and I think there's a lot more to mine from it, specifically Cloud's relationship with Aerith. You mention her being the most feminine presenting character, but she's also the first character to push Cloud outside of his hypermasculine facade, most obviously in the Don Corneo questline. The obvious subtext of Cloud having to reject all masculine presentation to save Tifa (his catalyzing motivation to become a SOLDIER in the first place) gives a pretty on the nose argument that societally approved masculinity is not necessary to protect those we love, but it has even more layers to play with. For instance the game's ludonarrative incentivizes players to go for the most feminine options when obtaining Cloud's disguise, rewarding success at minigames with items that emphasize their feminine qualities rather than the basic items that come from failing these challenges. This reinforces the idea that Cloud exploring his femininity is a positive outcome, rather than a punishment. In addition, if we want to get Jungian, Aerith through this questline becomes a representation of the Anima; the feminine archetype and when Sephiroth kills her, he in effect destroys Cloud's Anima. From the Aerith's death to Cloud giving Sephiroth the Black Materia, Cloud has even less control and agency than before, suggesting he has completely fallen to Patriarchal thought, and it's not until he is able to discover his own identity again with the help of Tifa that he is once again able to be a functioning human. And that actually raises interesting questions around Tifa; if Aerith is the avatar of the feminine, Sephiroth the avatar of Patriarchy and Cloud is the battleground between the two, it could be argued that Tifa is Jung's Individuation of the Self; a person who has embraced both the feminine and masculine within herself. It's been ages since I've played FF7 but if I remember, outside of flashbacks every time Tifa finds herself in a Damsel situation her predicament is either intentional or she is able to escape on her own, thus subverting the traditional feminine coding that usually surrounds women in male power fantasies. This actually gives extra weight to the fact that Cloud is able to find his own Individuation with the support of Tifa, as she is able to show that the core drive of his emotional mutilation (becoming acceptable to the Patriarchy in order to protect her) is unnecessary and he does not need to define himself according to traditional masculine expectations. So yeah, probably doing some ramblings of my own but really enjoyed this.
Wow... the whole observation about the Don Corneo quest is brilliant. And the Jungian framework is also fascinating. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
This is an incredible interpretation! I'm curious what you'd have to say about Cloud in Remake, as well the type of masculinity presented by Zack. I think I missed you talking about the reason Sephiroth torments Cloud in the first place - he's taking revenge for someone below him being able to kill him. He doesn't see Cloud as an equal and has to prove to himself that Cloud is no one, or his position is threatened. He has no other reasons to interact with him at all.
Ya know, that's a fantastic point that I missed. I was mostly focused on Cloud's perspective with this, so I don't think I realized that Sephiroth was potentially way more malevolent towards him than the other Reunion members. And yea, it fits perfectly: powerful patriarchal men frequently amp up the domination and humiliation of those "beneath" them out of retribution or desire "to put them back in their place." I am probably going to hold off commenting on the Remake until the whole project is done. Seems like a lot of things are changing, especially with regards to Zack. I'm very curious where they're going, and from the scenes with Sephiroth we've seen so far it does appear to be going down a similar thematic lane.
This video did a sublime job of concisely and clearly conveying some feelings about the commentary of the patriarchy FFVII offers. I've read some of the comments that really delve into the symbolism of the Wall Market side quests, so I won't linger there, but the fact that two women, Aerith and Tifa, choose to work to help Cloud free himself from his patriarchal shackles, demonstrates the clear importance of women. Tifa is a woman with male power fantasy appearance but she has male power fantasy strength herself and doesn't tend to act the part she looks like she'd fill in a stereotypically scripted game. Aerith meanwhile is the most traditionally feminine presenting party member, but she's also the most tied to the literal nature lost to the conquest of the Shinra men. Additionally - you mentioned you didn't have a lot of knowledge of Judaism to comment so I'll just throw this out - amid all the Kabbalah references throughout the game, the combination of Tifa and Aerith's names give us the word "Tifaret" which is one of the sefira, emanations, of the divine. It means balance, integration, beauty, miracles, and compassion, and I think that speaks to them well enough I'll stop there. Additionally, I've found Aerith's journey to be the most relatable to my own as a trans woman navigating this world. She's a unique individual, she's trying to find her place in a world that hates everything she believes in, she's seen as a scientific oddity who has to advocate for the validity of her self and her right to live as her true self to doctors and to the people around her, and she's ultimately killed in an act of senseless, bigoted hatred for who she is
I love when folks add observations like this... thank you! It's awesome that Aerith resonates with you as a character. Given how scarily and increasingly transphobic the world is at the moment, I must say that I hope that you have a safe, happy and long life in stark contrast to poor Aerith's fate.
From a feminine perspective, Tifa and Aeris both break the traditional molds you'd expect from them. Tifa shows more skin and, works at a bar, and does martial arts, so you'd expect her to have an attitude to match. But she *doesn't*. Tifa is constantly portrayed as the meek, supportive, mother figure to Cloud. She gets herself out of trouble, but she's as humble as humanly possible about it. She'd probably literally carry Cloud on her shoulders if she had to. Meanwhile, Aeris is super feminine, seems to love all the stereotypical feminine things like flowers, dresses, and animals, but like Tifa, her attitude does not match at all. She's blunt, cocky to the point of recklessness, and sometimes outright domineering. For the first half of the game, she's one of the main things driving the party forward. That recklessness is what gets her killed, too. She runs off on her own to try to stop Sephiroth so Cloud can stop worrying about it and focus on himself. I think it's no coincidence that the entire group falls apart for a while after her death.
Easily one of the best videos I've seen on this game. Incredibly well researched and it makes me happy to see people talk about how ff7 portrays masculinity One of the most interesting things to me abt sephiroth as a villain is that going into the game on my first playthrough I made the assumption that he was simply just going to be another conniving overtly handsome anime villain but as the game goes on u learn he was stripped of his identity, his true origins, a sense of family, community, and so on thanks to shinra and the company only saw use of him for when they needed something dead. These aspects are what lead to his inevitable corruption and it's just so heartbreaking to watch. And the end of the day sephiroth was never the true villain But more so a tragic victim of a broken system.
Excellent video, and thank you for sharing your story along with your analysis. While I am one of those rare gamers that has never really interacted with the Final Fantasy series, I did find myself resonating with many of the themes you brought up, especially as I too am grappling with many of them at this stage of my life. Sometimes, though losing my father was a huge trauma for me as a young boy, in some ways, I feel lucky to have been raised by more of my female family members, such that I don't think I had to absorb quite as much toxically masculine programming as others have. In some ways though, that has left me with some of the more subtle programming that has been harder to spot and root out, around elements of how I approached interpersonal relationships and sexuality. It is deeply painful to think of things I could have done differently where I might have wronged others, or how much more fulfilling some parts of my life might have been without it. It has led to a lot of guilt and anger that continues to be difficult to deal with appropriately. And yet, I'm still grateful that I'm able to see it now, for how much worse it could have been. Sometimes, though, there are things that I feel I perceive in society that I want to talk about, but can only sort of baselessly speculate on. For example, it's certainly true that patriarchy encourages boys and AMAB youth to become stoic and strong, but I feel there is also something to be said about the idea of toxic positivity (showing a positive, happy, or even comical-to-a-fault face to the world despite one's hardships and negative emotions) being a sort of mutation of that concept. I feel that there is a general societal pressure to do this by default in most relationships and I think it's very destructive. Perhaps it is partially due to my own particular brand of neurodivergence, but I feel it makes it very hard to navigate interpersonal relationships and find/make truly meaningful friendships. I don't think I can really strongly make the connection between patriarchy and toxic positivity, since I'm just one perspective trying to propose an entire systemic link, but I do think the latter is also something that we should all take a look at in our culture. I often wish I could be more open with many of the feelings I have, but it feels like I would be engaging in some form of taboo; only displays of superficial happiness and comic wit seem to be appropriate for most interactions. I think it would be much easier to find the kind of communities you advocate for if we were better about this as a society. But thank you again for this video, regardless. I genuinely enjoyed your thoughtful take on this game, despite having very little knowledge of the source material myself, and I think that's always a measure of quality. I hope we both find the support and healing we need and can work to change this system for the better.
I'm with you in that toxic positivity can be just as pernicious as the "stoicism" perscribed by patriarchy (which differs from actual Stoic philosophy, why I stress the quotes there), and also in that I'm not sure where it is rooted either. One of the problems we face is that patriarchy is but one of many systems of oppression in our world, and the intersections of these systems themselves create emergent harms. Toxic positivity may be one such harm. And I definitely feel like there's an even more nefarious aspect of it - when I hear of toxic positivity, I think of people who argue that "the world has never been better... (thus, you should stop pointing out any problems that exist.)" It's an argument that's meant to encourage inertia and complacency, which sadly can be very alluring as taking action is difficult. I also agree that our culture promotes a lot of artifice in the name of comfort, and that being authentic with ourselves and each other helps up solve festering problems. It's kinda buzzwordy so I'm wary to promote it, but I like the concept of "radical candor" in this regard. I.e. we should encourage each other to be frank with each other, but making sure to be caring and empathetic when we do so. Thank you so much for watching and for your thoughtful comment. Wishing you the best going forward.
I’ve not gotten around to FF7 yet, but have been thinking a lot about masculinity recently, so when I saw this I knew I had to watch it. Really interesting stuff. I can’t comment on your interpretation of FF7 having not played it, but I definitely agree with your assessment on the mindfrick that is post-industrial manhood. That socialisation is a lot of work to shake off for sure, I know I’m still in the process.
This was a wonderful analysis and message, certainly one of my favorite video essays. This video seemed to truly be heartfelt, and I feel that authenticity gives this video a lot of value. I'm truly sorry about your friend. I'm not religious, but I believe his soul will live on. I hope you'll live the life you have to the fullest and be yourself regardless of how the evils of patriarchy may seek to keep you down. Thank you for your fantastic video and stay strong.
What a well thoughtful essay! As someone with little knowledge of FF7 baring some memes and kingdom hearts lore, I definitely feel like I got an aspect of the story that otherwise would go untalked about
It's intriguingly apt - and likely intentional - that the game about toxic masculinity and patriarchy's original villains are a multi-billion dollar corporation as well as someone who's allegedly never been seen crying and is a sadistic psychopath who takes the role of Shinra's leader.
I'll admit I started watching out of a morbid curiosity about the title, but I really enjoyed the video and came to agree with a lot of what you said! You have a very calming voice and I'm looking forward to seeing more from you. It's sad you have such few views, especially on this video, but maybe that's a blessing in disguise due to how dividing the central topic of the video is.
Identifying Sephiroth as a representative of hegemonic masculinity that young boys are encouraged to look up to has now given me the mental image of Sephiroth as a manosphere influencer.
For some cultural context that may or may not be helpful (or relevant! who knows!), when Japanese stories refer to an evil character or governmental body or system that traces its lineage back to a single female, they are often referencing the country’s founding myth and historical power structures. The power of the emperor (and thus the power/identity of Japan), is traced all the way back to Amaterasu, the Sun goddess. Your analysis of patriarchal power structures sourced from a misunderstanding a/o willful misinterpretation of the origins and intent of a founding female (being used for fascism and destruction) is spot on, and you can find this theme recurring in stories like Attack on Titan. In a modern context it often refers to Shinzo Abe (rip bozo) and those like him traced all the way back to the fascist Japanese state of the 30s and 40s. But historically this has always been the issue, that so long as you have the emperor (or his equivalent) on your side that you have attained the Mandate of Heaven (regardless of how little power or respect for women this next reign eventually legitimizes).
loved this video. i have a friend who would benefit from the teachings of this video, his life resembles what you said in the video, raised by only his mother, angry and hostile to women, seems to try to abide by a standard of masculinity i hope that this video inspires him to change for the better also can i get this videos script? i would like to translate it to my home language, and then you maybe could include it as a translated subtitle?
loved it! I didnt even play FF7, but of course I still know the game well, due to years of exposure. great reading, finally to add something substantial to the discourse.
Anger is also a motivating and engaging emotion. For example, see all the ragebait on the internet. In regards to why we have billionaires, that's because we dismantled a tax structure in the 1980s that prevented that. When you incentivize investments as the lowest taxable assess class, you incentivize everyone to become investors. As investors bet against other investors, it's only natural that a few end up on top (Buffett, Icahn, etc.) The result of this is billionaires get to play Batman. Their companies create the problems that plague society and they get to put on the mask and pretend to fix them with their foundations. Capitalism will always be hierological, though, and while we could diminish that effect with more socialist policies, even in the Nordic countries the hierarchy always exists. As someone who has lost a friend very close to suicide, everyone always looks back and thinks they missed the signs, but after studying suicide thoroughly because of how many friends and acquaintances I've lost to it, I've had to accept a hard truth. Most suicides are impulsive actions. The unfortunate side effect of this is even though you might've been able to help him in the moment, it's unlikely that you, alone, would be able to cure the disease. Regardless, my condolences for your loss. In response to your thesis, personally, I don't believe FF VII reconstructs masculinity at all. Cloud and Tifa's relationship, expressed throughout the game, reflects very traditional patriarchal values and the culmination of the game is how Cloud simply acquired more power than Sephiroth and defeated him with violence. If anything, it shows the story of how a man with limited power under the patriarchy reinvents himself under it, has a crisis about his new identity, and uses a woman, Tifa, to navigate through his feelings, helps him rise through the hierarchy, until he (or they, depending on your interpretation of the final boss) is strong enough to defeat Sephiroth. Additionally, Tifa's primary role throughout the story is Cloud's girl next door and potential love interest. Cloud's arc, also, reads much more like a fake it until you make it strategy. He doesn't fit in, he doesn't make it, ends up faking, then when he realizes that he has been faking it, finds the strength within to embrace who he was and makes it. It's a nice try at an analysis, but I'd say it almost always falls flat in most RPG or ARPG games because the system is always mass killing to increase your power and wealth. The only exception would be Undertale as it subverts this trope by allowing you to go through a peaceful run. Perhaps Earthbound also subverts this trope a bit, too. You don't defeat Giygas with violence. You defeat Giygas by tapping into the relationships you made throughout the journey by praying with Paula so it's much less about one party's domination over a great evil as much as the strength of the community they've built rejecting Giygas.
All of this got me thinking about if you could reuse most of the bones of FF VII to support your thesis with some minor changes. I do believe it's possible while changing some details of the story. First, you'd need to introduce another character. For the sake of our discussion, we'll call him Mack. Additionally, Sephiroth and Mack would have to be around Cloud's age or older, be born or raised in Nibelheim. I'm on the fence about if Tifa should still be included or not, but we'll keep her included for now. You'd also have to introduce some background girls to make it so Tifa doesn't suffer from Smurfette syndrome, but they can be minor characters. In terms of characterization, we'd see Sephiroth > Mack > Cloud. They'd all voluntarily join the military. Sephiroth would be the premiere soldier because of Hojo's experimentation on him. Flashbacks would show how Sephiroth always had enhanced abilities while the kids were growing up, imbuing him as the local child hero. Mack would be similar to Zack except that it's Sephiroth, Zack, and Cloud that get sent back to Nibelheim. Mack also becomes a soldier first class, too. A lot of the flashbacks would fixate around how Sephiroth bullied Cloud and Mack felt pressured to join in, lest he also end up at the bottom of the hierarchy with Cloud. Cloud would further reflect on how they were both better than him while he was only an average foot soldier and not part of an elite soldier. The events of Nibelheim would unfold as they did in the game and that would spur Mack to leave or abandon the military. Cloud's character arch would continue as normal, but when the life stream events happen, it would be Mack, not Tifa, that reconciles his memories. Part of why I'd consider removing Tifa is because she can't become Cloud's emotional support clutch. If we're reconstructing masculinity, it's important that Mack and Cloud sort it out. Mack's role would also be to realize that he only bullied Cloud to fit into the hierological structure and his confessions to how he treated Cloud are part of what helps Cloud heal. I wouldn't be against Tifa being present during this, but it'd need to be clear that Mack is helping Cloud, not Tifa. Finally, everything else would proceed identically up to the last boss fight with Sephiroth with two paths available to the player. The player could try and defeat Sephiroth traditionally, but they would be unable to defeat him. Instead, Mack and Cloud would both appeal to the Sephiroth they knew growing up. The three would go through a similar but not identical adventure of what Mack and Cloud went through earlier with Sephiroth eventually realizing the costs of his relentless quest for power. Instead of summoning meteor to destroy the planet, the three invoke the white materia, and save the planet from near annihilation. Sephiroth, rather than dying through heroic sacrifice, instead relinquishes his power. He is arrested, tried, and sentenced to life in prison. The ending would revolve around Mack and Cloud visiting Sephiroth in prison and continuing to work through how their childhoods shaped their future. There are, obviously, some clear weaknesses to this type of narrative divergence and I believe great care would've had to be taken so that what Sephiroth, Mack, and Cloud go through isn't written off as homoerotic or that they're all secretly gay or bisexual. This is not because there's something wrong with being gay or bisexual, but that gay and bisexual men already reject the partiarchy by not conforming to strict heterosexuality so it'd dampen the message. I can already imagine how this "remake" of FFVII would be called controversial, woke, etc.
Amazing analysis 😊 Regarding Cloud’s personality post life stream I agree to some extent. His sense of humor and motion sickness may be examples that distinguish him from his faux Zack persona although superficial. Doesn’t he also have a panic attack while in the submarine mission? I know you excluded other FF7 compilation sources but I do believe the remake is already addressing how unlike his former self Cloud is mainly through the eyes of Tifa. And the one in game sequence after the sector 5 reactor bombing in which true Cloud talks to faux Cloud. I trust it will be more well rounded in future installments.
Yea, I really like how the Remake is adapting Cloud's backstory so far, and I'm hoping that it further develops this reading. So far it looks that way. (And yea, I lied, I do care about the Remake story with regards to this, but since it's not done yet I didn't want to bring it in just in case they do some major swerves.)
Gotta be honest, I almost liked this video jst frm the disclaimers alone. The video as a whole convinced me, but I was almost there before it even really got going.
Great watch. I watch most of youtube at 1.5x speed. But for your video's I need to drop down to 1x and really pay attention. There isn't a wrong way to interpret art. I just really don't think the FF7 writers meant for the story to have anything to do with examining patriarchy. I say that. But as I'm typing I'm recalling storylines that have a father/son dynamic, and there's quite a few. Red XIII and Seto, Rufus and President Shinra, to name a few. And we know the parentage and young life of quite a few characters. Maybe there is something intentional about it. I don't know. I'm not convinced its a thing. But there's enough there to make one think about it.
Cloud is absolutely a bit more feminine and definitely neurodivergent. Even after the "therapy session" he still has a lot of clues of neurodivergence in how he speaks. Even at the end battle he's like "Let's mosey folks" and Cid basically admonishes him for not saying something manlier and more badass.
I really liked that moment. I hear people criticize that line as bad writing, and I think they're missing the point. That's Cloud's end point. He figured out who he was, grappled with his past, and is now paving a new road as his own self. The final "gimme" battle at the end of the game is symbolic of Cloud finally defeating that last little fake bit of his past.
@@Donut117 Exactly. If anything it was Cid himself that was being as much an asshole to him as everyone else was to begin with, trying to push him into being someone he's not. Couple that with how abusive he was to Shera and the toxic masculinity he displayed constantly of thinking he was always in the right instead of questioning things, and only ever acting out in anger, it makes far more sense who the real cool guy was all this time. Cloud.
The personal anecdote about your friend was sobering. I'm sorry for your loss.
Hey, this is an excellently-written heartfelt piece and I'm so glad I took the time to watch it. I'm finishing up the script of my own Final Fantasy 7 analysis that is more comprehensive to the whole game and most specifically focused on environmentalism but still discusses the masculinity theme, and I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head here. Your incorporation of in-text citations should really help make that interpretation more convincing to people who are less sure, and I'll probably link this video in a card if you don't mind.
The primary difference in my own interpretation is Sephiroth I think. I think he is a character, and it is Jenova that is the idea, representing unjust hierarchy in a variety of forms including hegemonic masculinity. I don't really view Sephiroth's breakdown as only related to the curse of patriarchy, but rather a broader idea of dehumanization.
Your self-aware counterarguments in the conclusion section are strong as well, and I agree with them in general. Ultimately I think the writers of the game lacked the perspective to fully commit to a coherent criticism of masculinity, especially given how locked-in they were to a combat-driven game. Another misstep (imo) was the gold saucer date mechanic, where important character details for the female characters are locked behind whoever the (assumed male) player likes the most.
Anyway, I hope you'll share your thoughts on my video when it comes out! And I hope this video finds a larger audience eventually, because this is really strong stuff that a lot of people out there need to hear.
Thanks so much-I'm really looking forward to your video! (And also: yes, please go ahead!)
As someone who has recently has recovered a ton of confidence thanks to a friend helping me get in tune with myself over the course of months as late as 26 years old there really is a lot here that hits the subject very well.
The finding yourself section really resonated with my experience of suppressing myself until I was finally comfortable opening to someone who eventually understood me somehow even with me subconsciously pushing them away, Ive had many friends before this point but never to the point where I was showered with support to the point where I rediscovered the sense of self I buried away due to unhealthy family expectations and even gaslighting.
That aside I did want to also see someone discuss that theme about how Sephiroth symbolizes that looming presence Cloud has to overcome mentally so that Im glad I finally found in video form, very well made.
32:38 Something else about this final battle is that it mirrors the Nibelheim flashback from earlier in the game. In the flashback, everything kills Cloud in one hit, and everything that hits Sephiroth does 0 damage, including you. In the final fight, if Sephiroth hits Cloud, he does 0 damage. The thought of Sephiroth *literally* has no power anymore.
I'm extremely sorry for your friend mate. I'm proud of you for moving forward and learning from the experience, and living for yourself AND him at the same time, and living to illuminate others of the same poison that killed him.
I really love your thesis and I think there's a lot more to mine from it, specifically Cloud's relationship with Aerith.
You mention her being the most feminine presenting character, but she's also the first character to push Cloud outside of his hypermasculine facade, most obviously in the Don Corneo questline. The obvious subtext of Cloud having to reject all masculine presentation to save Tifa (his catalyzing motivation to become a SOLDIER in the first place) gives a pretty on the nose argument that societally approved masculinity is not necessary to protect those we love, but it has even more layers to play with.
For instance the game's ludonarrative incentivizes players to go for the most feminine options when obtaining Cloud's disguise, rewarding success at minigames with items that emphasize their feminine qualities rather than the basic items that come from failing these challenges. This reinforces the idea that Cloud exploring his femininity is a positive outcome, rather than a punishment.
In addition, if we want to get Jungian, Aerith through this questline becomes a representation of the Anima; the feminine archetype and when Sephiroth kills her, he in effect destroys Cloud's Anima. From the Aerith's death to Cloud giving Sephiroth the Black Materia, Cloud has even less control and agency than before, suggesting he has completely fallen to Patriarchal thought, and it's not until he is able to discover his own identity again with the help of Tifa that he is once again able to be a functioning human.
And that actually raises interesting questions around Tifa; if Aerith is the avatar of the feminine, Sephiroth the avatar of Patriarchy and Cloud is the battleground between the two, it could be argued that Tifa is Jung's Individuation of the Self; a person who has embraced both the feminine and masculine within herself. It's been ages since I've played FF7 but if I remember, outside of flashbacks every time Tifa finds herself in a Damsel situation her predicament is either intentional or she is able to escape on her own, thus subverting the traditional feminine coding that usually surrounds women in male power fantasies. This actually gives extra weight to the fact that Cloud is able to find his own Individuation with the support of Tifa, as she is able to show that the core drive of his emotional mutilation (becoming acceptable to the Patriarchy in order to protect her) is unnecessary and he does not need to define himself according to traditional masculine expectations.
So yeah, probably doing some ramblings of my own but really enjoyed this.
Wow... the whole observation about the Don Corneo quest is brilliant. And the Jungian framework is also fascinating. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Another great example of Xenogears' blueprint bleeding into FFVII.
This is an incredible interpretation!
I'm curious what you'd have to say about Cloud in Remake, as well the type of masculinity presented by Zack.
I think I missed you talking about the reason Sephiroth torments Cloud in the first place - he's taking revenge for someone below him being able to kill him. He doesn't see Cloud as an equal and has to prove to himself that Cloud is no one, or his position is threatened. He has no other reasons to interact with him at all.
Ya know, that's a fantastic point that I missed. I was mostly focused on Cloud's perspective with this, so I don't think I realized that Sephiroth was potentially way more malevolent towards him than the other Reunion members. And yea, it fits perfectly: powerful patriarchal men frequently amp up the domination and humiliation of those "beneath" them out of retribution or desire "to put them back in their place."
I am probably going to hold off commenting on the Remake until the whole project is done. Seems like a lot of things are changing, especially with regards to Zack. I'm very curious where they're going, and from the scenes with Sephiroth we've seen so far it does appear to be going down a similar thematic lane.
That's a really interesting point!
This video did a sublime job of concisely and clearly conveying some feelings about the commentary of the patriarchy FFVII offers.
I've read some of the comments that really delve into the symbolism of the Wall Market side quests, so I won't linger there, but the fact that two women, Aerith and Tifa, choose to work to help Cloud free himself from his patriarchal shackles, demonstrates the clear importance of women. Tifa is a woman with male power fantasy appearance but she has male power fantasy strength herself and doesn't tend to act the part she looks like she'd fill in a stereotypically scripted game. Aerith meanwhile is the most traditionally feminine presenting party member, but she's also the most tied to the literal nature lost to the conquest of the Shinra men.
Additionally - you mentioned you didn't have a lot of knowledge of Judaism to comment so I'll just throw this out - amid all the Kabbalah references throughout the game, the combination of Tifa and Aerith's names give us the word "Tifaret" which is one of the sefira, emanations, of the divine. It means balance, integration, beauty, miracles, and compassion, and I think that speaks to them well enough I'll stop there.
Additionally, I've found Aerith's journey to be the most relatable to my own as a trans woman navigating this world. She's a unique individual, she's trying to find her place in a world that hates everything she believes in, she's seen as a scientific oddity who has to advocate for the validity of her self and her right to live as her true self to doctors and to the people around her, and she's ultimately killed in an act of senseless, bigoted hatred for who she is
I love when folks add observations like this... thank you!
It's awesome that Aerith resonates with you as a character. Given how scarily and increasingly transphobic the world is at the moment, I must say that I hope that you have a safe, happy and long life in stark contrast to poor Aerith's fate.
From a feminine perspective, Tifa and Aeris both break the traditional molds you'd expect from them. Tifa shows more skin and, works at a bar, and does martial arts, so you'd expect her to have an attitude to match. But she *doesn't*. Tifa is constantly portrayed as the meek, supportive, mother figure to Cloud. She gets herself out of trouble, but she's as humble as humanly possible about it. She'd probably literally carry Cloud on her shoulders if she had to.
Meanwhile, Aeris is super feminine, seems to love all the stereotypical feminine things like flowers, dresses, and animals, but like Tifa, her attitude does not match at all. She's blunt, cocky to the point of recklessness, and sometimes outright domineering. For the first half of the game, she's one of the main things driving the party forward. That recklessness is what gets her killed, too. She runs off on her own to try to stop Sephiroth so Cloud can stop worrying about it and focus on himself. I think it's no coincidence that the entire group falls apart for a while after her death.
Easily one of the best videos I've seen on this game. Incredibly well researched and it makes me happy to see people talk about how ff7 portrays masculinity One of the most interesting things to me abt sephiroth as a villain is that going into the game on my first playthrough I made the assumption that he was simply just going to be another conniving overtly handsome anime villain but as the game goes on u learn he was stripped of his identity, his true origins, a sense of family, community, and so on thanks to shinra and the company only saw use of him for when they needed something dead. These aspects are what lead to his inevitable corruption and it's just so heartbreaking to watch. And the end of the day sephiroth was never the true villain But more so a tragic victim of a broken system.
Excellent video, and thank you for sharing your story along with your analysis.
While I am one of those rare gamers that has never really interacted with the Final Fantasy series, I did find myself resonating with many of the themes you brought up, especially as I too am grappling with many of them at this stage of my life. Sometimes, though losing my father was a huge trauma for me as a young boy, in some ways, I feel lucky to have been raised by more of my female family members, such that I don't think I had to absorb quite as much toxically masculine programming as others have. In some ways though, that has left me with some of the more subtle programming that has been harder to spot and root out, around elements of how I approached interpersonal relationships and sexuality. It is deeply painful to think of things I could have done differently where I might have wronged others, or how much more fulfilling some parts of my life might have been without it. It has led to a lot of guilt and anger that continues to be difficult to deal with appropriately. And yet, I'm still grateful that I'm able to see it now, for how much worse it could have been.
Sometimes, though, there are things that I feel I perceive in society that I want to talk about, but can only sort of baselessly speculate on. For example, it's certainly true that patriarchy encourages boys and AMAB youth to become stoic and strong, but I feel there is also something to be said about the idea of toxic positivity (showing a positive, happy, or even comical-to-a-fault face to the world despite one's hardships and negative emotions) being a sort of mutation of that concept. I feel that there is a general societal pressure to do this by default in most relationships and I think it's very destructive. Perhaps it is partially due to my own particular brand of neurodivergence, but I feel it makes it very hard to navigate interpersonal relationships and find/make truly meaningful friendships. I don't think I can really strongly make the connection between patriarchy and toxic positivity, since I'm just one perspective trying to propose an entire systemic link, but I do think the latter is also something that we should all take a look at in our culture. I often wish I could be more open with many of the feelings I have, but it feels like I would be engaging in some form of taboo; only displays of superficial happiness and comic wit seem to be appropriate for most interactions. I think it would be much easier to find the kind of communities you advocate for if we were better about this as a society.
But thank you again for this video, regardless. I genuinely enjoyed your thoughtful take on this game, despite having very little knowledge of the source material myself, and I think that's always a measure of quality. I hope we both find the support and healing we need and can work to change this system for the better.
I'm with you in that toxic positivity can be just as pernicious as the "stoicism" perscribed by patriarchy (which differs from actual Stoic philosophy, why I stress the quotes there), and also in that I'm not sure where it is rooted either. One of the problems we face is that patriarchy is but one of many systems of oppression in our world, and the intersections of these systems themselves create emergent harms. Toxic positivity may be one such harm. And I definitely feel like there's an even more nefarious aspect of it - when I hear of toxic positivity, I think of people who argue that "the world has never been better... (thus, you should stop pointing out any problems that exist.)" It's an argument that's meant to encourage inertia and complacency, which sadly can be very alluring as taking action is difficult.
I also agree that our culture promotes a lot of artifice in the name of comfort, and that being authentic with ourselves and each other helps up solve festering problems. It's kinda buzzwordy so I'm wary to promote it, but I like the concept of "radical candor" in this regard. I.e. we should encourage each other to be frank with each other, but making sure to be caring and empathetic when we do so.
Thank you so much for watching and for your thoughtful comment. Wishing you the best going forward.
I’ve not gotten around to FF7 yet, but have been thinking a lot about masculinity recently, so when I saw this I knew I had to watch it. Really interesting stuff. I can’t comment on your interpretation of FF7 having not played it, but I definitely agree with your assessment on the mindfrick that is post-industrial manhood. That socialisation is a lot of work to shake off for sure, I know I’m still in the process.
This was a wonderful analysis and message, certainly one of my favorite video essays. This video seemed to truly be heartfelt, and I feel that authenticity gives this video a lot of value. I'm truly sorry about your friend. I'm not religious, but I believe his soul will live on. I hope you'll live the life you have to the fullest and be yourself regardless of how the evils of patriarchy may seek to keep you down. Thank you for your fantastic video and stay strong.
Tifa assisting Cloud as his therapist is an incredible recontextualization.
What a well thoughtful essay! As someone with little knowledge of FF7 baring some memes and kingdom hearts lore, I definitely feel like I got an aspect of the story that otherwise would go untalked about
I wanna hear your thoughts on FF8's deeper themes now. :)
It's intriguingly apt - and likely intentional - that the game about toxic masculinity and patriarchy's original villains are a multi-billion dollar corporation as well as someone who's allegedly never been seen crying and is a sadistic psychopath who takes the role of Shinra's leader.
Thank you for this video, and may Rob rest in peace.
Great video! Thanks for putting this together.
Excellent video, mate! This is an incredibly insightful interpretation that rings very true. Well done!
Thank you Tom! :)
Going to sit down and take this in pretty soon, haven't had the time unfortunately. Truly excited for this one :)
I'll admit I started watching out of a morbid curiosity about the title, but I really enjoyed the video and came to agree with a lot of what you said! You have a very calming voice and I'm looking forward to seeing more from you. It's sad you have such few views, especially on this video, but maybe that's a blessing in disguise due to how dividing the central topic of the video is.
Identifying Sephiroth as a representative of hegemonic masculinity that young boys are encouraged to look up to has now given me the mental image of Sephiroth as a manosphere influencer.
For some cultural context that may or may not be helpful (or relevant! who knows!), when Japanese stories refer to an evil character or governmental body or system that traces its lineage back to a single female, they are often referencing the country’s founding myth and historical power structures. The power of the emperor (and thus the power/identity of Japan), is traced all the way back to Amaterasu, the Sun goddess. Your analysis of patriarchal power structures sourced from a misunderstanding a/o willful misinterpretation of the origins and intent of a founding female (being used for fascism and destruction) is spot on, and you can find this theme recurring in stories like Attack on Titan. In a modern context it often refers to Shinzo Abe (rip bozo) and those like him traced all the way back to the fascist Japanese state of the 30s and 40s. But historically this has always been the issue, that so long as you have the emperor (or his equivalent) on your side that you have attained the Mandate of Heaven (regardless of how little power or respect for women this next reign eventually legitimizes).
loved this video.
i have a friend who would benefit from the teachings of this video, his life resembles what you said in the video,
raised by only his mother, angry and hostile to women, seems to try to abide by a standard of masculinity
i hope that this video inspires him to change for the better
also can i get this videos script? i would like to translate it to my home language, and then you maybe could include it as a translated subtitle?
loved it! I didnt even play FF7, but of course I still know the game well, due to years of exposure.
great reading, finally to add something substantial to the discourse.
Absolutely wonderful.
Thank you!
Anger is also a motivating and engaging emotion. For example, see all the ragebait on the internet.
In regards to why we have billionaires, that's because we dismantled a tax structure in the 1980s that prevented that. When you incentivize investments as the lowest taxable assess class, you incentivize everyone to become investors. As investors bet against other investors, it's only natural that a few end up on top (Buffett, Icahn, etc.)
The result of this is billionaires get to play Batman. Their companies create the problems that plague society and they get to put on the mask and pretend to fix them with their foundations.
Capitalism will always be hierological, though, and while we could diminish that effect with more socialist policies, even in the Nordic countries the hierarchy always exists.
As someone who has lost a friend very close to suicide, everyone always looks back and thinks they missed the signs, but after studying suicide thoroughly because of how many friends and acquaintances I've lost to it, I've had to accept a hard truth. Most suicides are impulsive actions. The unfortunate side effect of this is even though you might've been able to help him in the moment, it's unlikely that you, alone, would be able to cure the disease.
Regardless, my condolences for your loss.
In response to your thesis, personally, I don't believe FF VII reconstructs masculinity at all. Cloud and Tifa's relationship, expressed throughout the game, reflects very traditional patriarchal values and the culmination of the game is how Cloud simply acquired more power than Sephiroth and defeated him with violence.
If anything, it shows the story of how a man with limited power under the patriarchy reinvents himself under it, has a crisis about his new identity, and uses a woman, Tifa, to navigate through his feelings, helps him rise through the hierarchy, until he (or they, depending on your interpretation of the final boss) is strong enough to defeat Sephiroth.
Additionally, Tifa's primary role throughout the story is Cloud's girl next door and potential love interest.
Cloud's arc, also, reads much more like a fake it until you make it strategy. He doesn't fit in, he doesn't make it, ends up faking, then when he realizes that he has been faking it, finds the strength within to embrace who he was and makes it.
It's a nice try at an analysis, but I'd say it almost always falls flat in most RPG or ARPG games because the system is always mass killing to increase your power and wealth. The only exception would be Undertale as it subverts this trope by allowing you to go through a peaceful run.
Perhaps Earthbound also subverts this trope a bit, too. You don't defeat Giygas with violence. You defeat Giygas by tapping into the relationships you made throughout the journey by praying with Paula so it's much less about one party's domination over a great evil as much as the strength of the community they've built rejecting Giygas.
All of this got me thinking about if you could reuse most of the bones of FF VII to support your thesis with some minor changes. I do believe it's possible while changing some details of the story.
First, you'd need to introduce another character. For the sake of our discussion, we'll call him Mack. Additionally, Sephiroth and Mack would have to be around Cloud's age or older, be born or raised in Nibelheim. I'm on the fence about if Tifa should still be included or not, but we'll keep her included for now. You'd also have to introduce some background girls to make it so Tifa doesn't suffer from Smurfette syndrome, but they can be minor characters.
In terms of characterization, we'd see Sephiroth > Mack > Cloud. They'd all voluntarily join the military. Sephiroth would be the premiere soldier because of Hojo's experimentation on him. Flashbacks would show how Sephiroth always had enhanced abilities while the kids were growing up, imbuing him as the local child hero. Mack would be similar to Zack except that it's Sephiroth, Zack, and Cloud that get sent back to Nibelheim. Mack also becomes a soldier first class, too.
A lot of the flashbacks would fixate around how Sephiroth bullied Cloud and Mack felt pressured to join in, lest he also end up at the bottom of the hierarchy with Cloud. Cloud would further reflect on how they were both better than him while he was only an average foot soldier and not part of an elite soldier.
The events of Nibelheim would unfold as they did in the game and that would spur Mack to leave or abandon the military. Cloud's character arch would continue as normal, but when the life stream events happen, it would be Mack, not Tifa, that reconciles his memories. Part of why I'd consider removing Tifa is because she can't become Cloud's emotional support clutch. If we're reconstructing masculinity, it's important that Mack and Cloud sort it out.
Mack's role would also be to realize that he only bullied Cloud to fit into the hierological structure and his confessions to how he treated Cloud are part of what helps Cloud heal. I wouldn't be against Tifa being present during this, but it'd need to be clear that Mack is helping Cloud, not Tifa.
Finally, everything else would proceed identically up to the last boss fight with Sephiroth with two paths available to the player. The player could try and defeat Sephiroth traditionally, but they would be unable to defeat him. Instead, Mack and Cloud would both appeal to the Sephiroth they knew growing up. The three would go through a similar but not identical adventure of what Mack and Cloud went through earlier with Sephiroth eventually realizing the costs of his relentless quest for power. Instead of summoning meteor to destroy the planet, the three invoke the white materia, and save the planet from near annihilation.
Sephiroth, rather than dying through heroic sacrifice, instead relinquishes his power. He is arrested, tried, and sentenced to life in prison. The ending would revolve around Mack and Cloud visiting Sephiroth in prison and continuing to work through how their childhoods shaped their future.
There are, obviously, some clear weaknesses to this type of narrative divergence and I believe great care would've had to be taken so that what Sephiroth, Mack, and Cloud go through isn't written off as homoerotic or that they're all secretly gay or bisexual. This is not because there's something wrong with being gay or bisexual, but that gay and bisexual men already reject the partiarchy by not conforming to strict heterosexuality so it'd dampen the message.
I can already imagine how this "remake" of FFVII would be called controversial, woke, etc.
Thanks
cool video thank you.
Amazing analysis 😊 Regarding Cloud’s personality post life stream I agree to some extent. His sense of humor and motion sickness may be examples that distinguish him from his faux Zack persona although superficial. Doesn’t he also have a panic attack while in the submarine mission? I know you excluded other FF7 compilation sources but I do believe the remake is already addressing how unlike his former self Cloud is mainly through the eyes of Tifa. And the one in game sequence after the sector 5 reactor bombing in which true Cloud talks to faux Cloud. I trust it will be more well rounded in future installments.
Yea, I really like how the Remake is adapting Cloud's backstory so far, and I'm hoping that it further develops this reading. So far it looks that way.
(And yea, I lied, I do care about the Remake story with regards to this, but since it's not done yet I didn't want to bring it in just in case they do some major swerves.)
Interesting.
Gotta be honest, I almost liked this video jst frm the disclaimers alone. The video as a whole convinced me, but I was almost there before it even really got going.
Great watch. I watch most of youtube at 1.5x speed. But for your video's I need to drop down to 1x and really pay attention.
There isn't a wrong way to interpret art. I just really don't think the FF7 writers meant for the story to have anything to do with examining patriarchy.
I say that. But as I'm typing I'm recalling storylines that have a father/son dynamic, and there's quite a few. Red XIII and Seto, Rufus and President Shinra, to name a few. And we know the parentage and young life of quite a few characters. Maybe there is something intentional about it.
I don't know. I'm not convinced its a thing. But there's enough there to make one think about it.
Any chance you talking about the bioware games?
Maybe! I've been meaning to replay the Mass Effect trilogy.