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Elden Ring: Blind Lore Analysis - Aegon of Astora (video essay)
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- Опубликовано: 15 авг 2024
- I. Introduction
0:00:00 - Disclaimer
0:00:09 - Introduction
II. Theoretical Framework
0:06:28 - Trees, Mushrooms, and Relationality
0:10:36 - Agential Realism and Response-Ability
0:24:16 - Linguistic Relativity in Arrival (2016)
0:30:52 - Pioneers, Voyagers, and Interstellar Discourse
0:39:23 - Nuclear Semiotics
1:06:20 - Theoretical Framework Summary
III. Lore Analysis
1:09:40 - The Language of the Gods
1:25:19 - The Greater Will
1:59:04 - Central Themes
Credits
2:27:41 - Credits
IMPORTANT NOTE: The list of links and references for this video exceeds the maximum length for video descriptions on RUclips. As such, this video description contains only an abbreviated list of links and references. The full list can be found here: docs.google.co...
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Elden Ring Blind Playthrough series playlist: • Elden Ring: Blind Play...
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MUSIC CREDITS
“Hiraeth” by Scott Buckley*
“The Long Dark” by Scott Buckley*
“Permafrost” by Scott Buckley*
“Decoherence” by Scott Buckley*
“Shadows and Dust” by Scott Buckley*
“I Walk With Ghosts” by Scott Buckley*
“Phase Shift” by Scott Buckley*
“Analogue Cabin” by Noir Et Blanc Vie**
“Maestro Tlakaelel” by Jesse Gallagher***
* Released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
** / @noiretblancvie
*** via RUclips Audio Library
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ADDITIONAL CREDITS
NPC dialogue courtesy Sen: / @sensad
In-game text file courtesy AsteriskAmpersand: raw.githubuser...
Stock footage courtesy Pixabay (pixabay.com) and Pexels (www.pexels.com)
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WORKS CITED
Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the Universe Halfway. a.co/d/4ctNGhD
Braw, M. (1991). The atomic bomb suppressed: American censorship in occupied Japan. archive.org/de...
Davidson, K. (1999). Carl Sagan: A Life. a.co/d/iDoMBQ7
Foucault, M. (1972). The Archaeology of Knowledge. a.co/d/2GSwYpn
Foucault, M. (1980). Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977. a.co/d/eaazcjr
Fuller, F. R. (2012). The atomic bomb: Reflections in Japanese manga and anime. radar.auctr.ed...
Hall, S. (1992). The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power. In S. Hall, & B. Gieben (Eds.), Formations of Modernity. a.co/d/aeOIEpP
Haraway, D. (1988). Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective. www.jstor.org/...
Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. a.co/d/ctwV1SZ
Lorde, A. (2007). Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. a.co/d/99su2Tb
Parkin, S. (2022). Hidetaka Miyazaki Sees Death as a Feature, Not a Bug. www.newyorker....
Plaue, E. A. (2023). The Parasitical Trick: Mediating Dispossession in Early America. American Literature 95 (1). read.dukeupres...
Sagan, C. (1997). Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. a.co/d/5ZPQOXS
Sutherland, C. C. J. (2021). Sockeye at the Boundary: Controversial and Contested Salmon in the Cohen Commission, 2009-2012. yorkspace.libr...
Sutherland, C. C. J. (2022). Undergraduate Mentors' Perspectives on Equity-Oriented STEM Outreach. ojs.library.qu...
Synolakis, C. & Kânoğlu, U. (2015). The Fukushima accident was preventable. royalsocietypu...
Tessier-Burns, F. (2019). The parasite called colonization. cklbradio.com/...
Trauth et al. (1993). Expert judgment on markers to deter inadvertent human intrusion into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. www.osti.gov/b...
![Marika's Ascension was NOT legitimate; AND IT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING [Elden Ring Lore]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Uo7Froo5xS8/mqdefault.jpg)
Hi, friends! I spent virtually all of my spare time working on this video for the last 10 months, so I hope you enjoy it, even if I’m wrong about some of the major plot points.
And, yes, I am planning to do an unspoiled playthrough of the DLC, but it will take some time for me to get around to it, so I appreciate your patience.
Thanks, as always, for your kind love and support, and take care.
In light of several points raised in this video, I highly reccommend you play Chrono Trigger if you have not already done so, specifically the DS version.
Can’t wait to jump into the video after work.
The quality of editing is off the charts
absolutely incredible video, i really like the themes that you chose to focus on.
one minor timeline thing feels a bit inconsistent though;
one of the most divisive questions in the lore community is "was radagon always marika? or did he fuse with her at some point, possibly after leaving renalla?"
i'm a bit confused on where you stand on this. ( 1:48:10 ) In general, you seem to believe that radagon fused with marika for the first time after leaving renalla. But also say that ranni was GW's primary choice for successor, and that radagon was called to fuse with marika *because* ranni gave up her flesh, and because marika shattered the ring, placing radagons union with her after both of those events.
How would Ranni have been an empyrean if she was not yet related to marika in your view? Around 1:19:40 you suggest that the children of renalla did not become demigods until after radagon's union with marika, which seems to contradict the idea that ranni could have been marika's primary successor before radagon's union with marika.
That dialogue with muriel that you used, after he raises the question of why radagon would have left renalla or been chosen as lord, he then mentions radagon's "secret" hidden in the leyndell statue, which is later revealed to be the fact that "radagon is marika". to me this implies that radagon was in some way connected to marika before his official marriage with her.
Your lore ideas are very fresh and interesting, so i'm curious on your thoughts about this conundrum.
@@bump_versino I am personally of the belief that Radagon was always Marika, but I think some of points you raise are explainable using some of the ideas in this video: namely that Marika used the language of the Gods to discursively transform the Lands Between such that when Radagon fused with her, it wasn't just that he became a God, but he became someone who was always a God, making Ranni and co. demi-Gods. Basically a weird retrocausality thing is how I think of it, and it's a bit brain-breaking, but that feels thematically appropriate, because ofc I wouldn't be able to intuitively understand Godly powers. Maybe the potential for Ranni to be a successor was part of why Radagon ended up fusing with Marika (perhaps he was summoned to become Elden Lord)
In terms of why Radagon left Rennala, it is more mysterious, so I speculate about what we know about Radagon as a character. I think some of the early info we get is that he was a champion in a war against Rennala and her dynasty, and we also later see that he tried to repair the Elden Ring, so it seems like he is someone who feels a strong sense of duty.
Like I say, I personally prefer the "they started as one entity" take, but I really enjoy that there isn't decisive evidence either way. It means that sometimes the argument about a particular take comes down to what makes the most compelling story. For example, I like thinking of Radagon/Marika from a feminist angle, imagining Radagon as an aspect of Marika that emerged to wage war because the delicate femininity of Marika's public persona would've likely made it impossible (politically) for Marika to be there on the front lines, overseeing the war at the very least. Ending the war through marriage is also likely something that Radagon could do that Marika couldn't.
Champions, welcome! The stars have aligned; the festival is nigh. Aegon of Astora, mightiest scholar of FromSoftware, awaits you. Champions, prepare for viewing, claim knowledge, and grab that popcorn. A celebration 7 months in the making, the ELDEN RING VIDEO ESSAY!!!
epic comment
THE CELEBRATION OF LORE!
🙄
This video is not just one of the best Elden Ring lore speculation videos on RUclips, but one of the best videos on RUclips period.
This is the first video I’ve ever watched from your channel, and I will now be watching as many as I can. You’re analysis of human culture and expression in comparison with Elden Ring’s excellent theming and writing transcend whatever the “correct” lore to the game may be. I hold my own opinions on events and themes of the story, but yours are incredibly thought provoking, and have changed my perspective on many elements of the story (though not all).
You have made an incredible piece of art, amazing work.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
What a wonderfully fresh and expansive take on Elden Ring - in my hundreds of hours of lore consumption I haven't seen any other content creator take such a holistic and thematic view of the whole game. I really enjoyed your blind playthrough, loved this expansion on it, and have shared it across my network of FromSoft fans. Thank you, Aegon, for this amazing contribution to the lorecraft.
Thank you so much for the kind words
I'm still early on, but I needed to pause and just be excited and grateful to hear your introduction talk about lenses and interpretations and readings of the text. One of my frustrations with a lot of lore essayist is the idea that there is a Canon story that exists and was deliberately obscure instead of the game existing as a literary work with intended ambiguity and uncertainty built in.
Also as a chemist, your explanation of the two slit experiment and wave/particle duality was very well done!
As someone also in STEM I agree this is one of the more reasonable contexts that I've seen the double-slit experiment invoked in the social sciences. I appreciate that it did not linger on some profound quantum meaning, but instead as support for the point about how data is biased by the method of its collection.
Although I do find that there is a canon chain of cause and effect (or critical path diagram of multiple causes and effects in parallel). Interpretation of this canon being more focussed on an act of discovery and translation rather than imagination. Like how we can craft historical fiction that becomes more accurate when new techniques are developed for archiving and processing the available data. Sometimes we can uncover new information that challenges previous assumptions. But when information sources are limited we have a tendency to take purposeful deception for fact or impose modern biases where they don't belong.
I agree with you. But Elden Ring is truly the exception to the rule. There is a definitive canon and world history built into the world in this case, courtesy of George R.R Martin. The need for interpretation is still essential, but that concrete story is part of what makes this game so much more complex and alive compared to the worlds of other Fromsoft titles in my opinion.
I heard the "gained insight" sound effect several times while watching this. Well done.
Can't believe I just watched through a two and a half hour video essay. A fantastic watch and thoughts to ponder on. Excited to hear your view of Miquella in the DLC after that conclusion.
By far the most concise and well constructed analysis of the game I've seen. Blew my mind when you brought up "Arrival"
Thank you!
My bonfire is so kindled right now
My bonfire got kindled without even touching it
The sheer amount of effort put into this is video essay insane
Thanks for noticing :)
I'm so excited to see how your views here change or are affirmed in the DLC. Only recently have all these themes become clear to me. Elden Ring has a lot to parse through and I'm impressed by how well you were able to get all this with a limited scope of the wider lore community!
Most of this went waaay over my head but I still found it interesting, good job!
I really appreciate the unique perspective gained not only from Aegon's personal area of study but from the fact that he made this video in isolation to the rest of the lore community.
It seems like every other lore theorist is losing their head over minuscule story details that might be answered in the DLC and not really focusing on the big picture.
With one exception. Quelaag actually does a very good job of doing this in her work.
I watched this all in more or less one sitting because it was super engaging.
A lot of lore theorist seem to filter/parse through the lore as if it was dark souls, but man they need to use GRRM story as well. Much of the minor details can easily be explainedby the fact that the shattering was a game of thrones or a war for the Elden ring and that this war extends and includes outer gods.
@@ramoraid Yes there are a TON of GRRM story tropes in this game as much as there are souls tropes.
Try Ceave Perspective's lore video. While I don't think everything he says is correct, he mentions really cool ideas that focus more on the philosophical and theological side of the game.
Tarnished archeologist?
the use of quiet moments to draw the viewer into the video are incredible
I don't agree with all of your conclusions about the lore but you are 100% dead on with the themes. Imperialism, colonialism, classism. Even if the Greater Will isn't literally a parasite, the Golden Order is parasitical. You can definitely apply all this stuff to capitalism but given the influence of GRRM I think they're more meant to reflect feudalism, and specifically the Roman Empire and its successors.
Absolutely phenomenal video essay! From start to finish I was glued to my screen, and as always just rattling off notes to myself. I really love the pacing of your videos, as your pauses leave enough time to process the information and dwell a little.
Harrowing points made, and by the end my heart hurt so much - in a good way, an empathetic way. There’s much in this game (as in other fromsoft titles) that have fantastic parallels to our own world and history. You bring that out so wondrously in your analysis. Thank you so much for making it and sharing!
Thank you, as ever, for your kind and thoughtful comment. So happy to hear that you enjoyed the video.
I find it venerable that you would make a lore video completely blind to the rest of the community’s theory’s and findings
It’s a great video and one that offers a quite unique perspective on the game as a whole
He didn't though
Didn’t he say in the beginning that as of making the video he hadn’t consumed other lore media from folks? What do you mean he didn’t?
If he had, there’d have been a lot of the same points by TarnishedArcheologist, Quelaag and so on. Everything in the video was pretty unique.
@@_neolucky He didn't make "a lore video completely blind to the rest of the community’s theory’s and findings"
@@_neoluckyi believe they’re talking about how aegon read comments on his videos about the lore, im sure the other commenter knew exactly what you and OP meant though and are just being unnecessarily pedantic about it for the sake of being obnoxious
@@FinneousPJ1you cant just say no and not explain why. With that logic i can say that you were born with half a brain, and you cant disagree.
It's about that time for my favorite segment "fun with definitions!" Very excited and happy to have Aegon back.
This was a great video. I loved seeing each Great Rune slide perfectly into place to actually create the full Elden Ring. That was so cool to see.
I greatly value your interpretation of the events and characters of Elden Ring.
I have heard so many distinct theories of the game’s lore that it is apparent to me that more than anything, this game’s lore is a catalyst of each individual person’s world, cultural, and political views.
When you make a game that mimics society, it makes sense that a player would look at the lore of the game in a way that mimics their world views. It takes a masterful creator to make something like it.
Exactly this. It really is a masterclass. The fact that I am having arguments with people about whether the greater will is an actual big bad in the sky or just a concept/force of nature given godhood by those in the game world is testament to what they were trying to accomplish with this story. Mimic real life, just like you said.
I don't think the Erdtree is the complete Greattree in itself, but a graft set upon the roots of the Greattree at the time of the Crucible.
I also believe this.
Tarnished archaeologist popularized that theory. Sounds plausible.
In hindsight, that makes more sense
i managed to see the whole live premiere but i just had to watch this again. This is such an interesting essay and reaches far beyond the realms of media analysis into a wonderful philosophical exploration of our relationship to the world. Thank you for the hard work you put into this, Aegon
Thank you! The pleasure is mine.
Excited to see your playthrough of the DLC when you get time!
absolutely fantastic essay! ive always felt like a bit of a crackpot with my consideration of the greater will as a colonizing force, so im glad to see someone whos thought way more about it come to that conclusion. (also, UC santa cruz mention :D)
I finally caved and watched Arrival after all the times we discussed it in this playthrough.
Interesting you say this. I just watched arrival for the first time last week and couldn’t help but wonder if it had influenced Miyazaki or if the shared elements I was noticing were merely coincidence.
Came for elden ring stayed for aliens and nuclear discussions.
Thats the beauty of this game. Its open to interpretation. Its what good art is supposed to be(in my opinion), open to speculation and deriving our own meaning from it. Ive learned all kinds of new things about philosophy, alchemy and several other topics I probably would never have if not for my interest in the lore of this game.
Particle physics in my elden ring video? This is gonna be a banger the likes of which has never been seen before
What a fantastic essay!
In this game, which takes place in a violent world with a colonial framework, you underscore the importance of kindness. Not only kindness towards each other, but kindness towards the world itself, of which we are but one small part.
What a triumph, Aegon. If ever your voice truly fades from discourse surrounding FromSoft games, we as a community will be lesser.
I hope things are going well for you and your family, and I hope to hear more from you in the future. I hope you are having a fantastic day, whenever you find yourself reading this.
Take care!
Thanks so much, friend
The waste problem of nuclear power plants is actively being solved, if hasn't been solved already, by BN series reactors (see BN-800). Until humanity has nuclear fusion, nuclear power is the best bet for the environment.
@@aramkaizer7903 Wait, what? Well, thank you for mentioning.
Kinda takes the wind out of my sails for the excitement of this video.
@@aramkaizer7903 Oh okay! That makes sense too. Thanks for the info!
@@aramkaizer7903 I take issue with your stance, and the way you discredit this person's words. Ignoring the propensity for humans to contradict themselves, what he's "forcing" is far from harmful. What he's a proponent of are rational things- war is bad, colonialism is bad, classism is bad, exclusion is bad, exploiting others is bad. If you do not believe any of those statements, I dunno what to tell you.
@@aramkaizer7903 Perhaps not. However, just because something was the case does not mean it has to be the same in the future. We have the power to change, or at least to try to, and that's a worthwhile endeavor in my eyes.
@@aramkaizer7903 Hierarchy is one thing, but offering people less opportunities based upon their lower status in that hierarchy is another. And anyway, I disagree with the idea the world cannot be improved. You miss all the shots you don't take, so giving up before we're started only lets the problems persist. Humanity is worse off for war's existence, and saying the sacrifice is only the soldiers'- and not the millions upon millions of dead civilians- is misleading. Not that the soldiers aren't part of the equation, but war is more than those who fight- it is everyone who is bombed, starved, and forced out of their homes.
Beautiful editing and photography reflects the sophistication and aspiration of the ideas
Thank you! I put a ton of work into this one, so I'm overjoyed to hear all that effort hasn't gone unnoticed.
Holy crap my dude, this video is actually amazing. I have only watched it one time so I feel like I need a rewatch to retain more of the talking points. That being said I’m confident this may be the best look at elden ring’s lore and story design on the platform. Not only that, but I think this is by far the best video on this channel, and I have watched the ds3 and bloodborne LTL series for years. Incredible work.
I've never hit a 'notify me' button so fast. I loved your blind playthrough, and I can't wait to hear your condensed thoughts on this game!
One of the best Elden ring videos ever
The video is interesting for sure. As far as yor timeline is concerned, it seems like Marika's children were all born prior to the shattering of the elden ring, meaning her marriage (rejoinging) to Radagon and the birth of Miquella and Malenia would have occured prior. I'm also in agreement with some of the other comments in that it seems like the Greater Will is more focused on creating and maintaining *an* order on thebpands between, with no real preference for what kind of order is maintained. As opposed to sucking up world energy.
The colonialism angle fits well and maps on to a lot of Marika's actions. On a larger picture of the plot, I think leaning more into the competition of dominant religions makes more sense for me. Especially with the conflicts between other outer gods and the idea of the tree taking on different forms and names.
AMAAAAAAZING video especially for all of us social science sickos. This theory was presented in such a way that it really does appeal to me and make me think you are on to some things here. Well made and fantastic work. This would also suggest that Marika DID have a hand in the Night of the Black Knives.
The legend returns and I couldn't be more ecstatic.
Would be interesting to do a spectrum of GRRM's hiveminds specifically. He has at least a half dozen across all of his sci-fi short stories (in addition to the weirwood net of course) and some noticeably parasitic.
Can’t wait for this. Had a convo about linguistic relativity and the movie arrival in an ER lore sub the other day- really compelling idea, you’ve got the golden order, coded sword with golden language, golden elden beast golden tree- is it all stemming from marikas configuration of the elden ring? Did the marika impart the gold to the ring and on to the beast? Does the elden ring define the “language” of the universe and that’s how it’s like the fabric of reality? The red language on the coffin underground- previous red elden ring, red order red language?
Don't forget the coffin that teleports you up the waterfall in Nokron after the Gargoyles. It has the same language
Hi Aegon, I'm still working through your blind playthrough but I'll be back to watch this in full later! Hope things are improved for ya job-wise and in general! Peace, love, and harmony be with you!
This made me cry.
I’m glad you kept the voice for the ghosts even I this video 😂
From needs to hire him for the next game hahaha the ghost voice absolutely caught me off guard but I’m so happy he kept it!
I always felt that Miriel's dialogue souned a bit too important. When he talks about the "Famed sculptor" and specifically The sentence "When he glimpsed the skeleton in Radagon's closet" felt like he collapsed some sort of wave function (which could explain why Radagon left Renalla - he collapsed from their duality back into Marika).
An interesting idea came into my mind while watching your video from a little bit different perspective than particle-wave duality: What if Greater Will represents particles and Primordial current represents antiparticles. Radagon might be positively charged antiparticle and Renalla negatively charged one. And in golden order when you have grace, you have a negative charge and when you are stripped of it you have positive charge (and when you are living in death you have no charge). Chaos is the vacuum energy.
Kinda crazy, when you couple Elden Ring's lore with semi-understanding of physics, how it all sounds so esoteric.
You can definitely project anything you want on to Elden ring. That's certainly something people do
A bit random, but the way Ranni describes the greater will/her two fingers reminds me of how the character Aizen from Bleach describes the Soul King from that series.
"That thing," as a descriptor raises interesting implications in both series.
Loved the editing, presentation, background music, everything. Honestly this was a lot more interesting than the more conventional lore videos we're getting at this point.
Thank you!
I cannot say enough how powerful, emotional, real, wonderful, well thought out, and so eloquently expressed this video is. Such an amazing job.
great video, as always. thank you for the countless hours you put into making this, it was well worth the wait.
The pleasure is mine. Thanks for watching!
This is a highly fascinating video, definitely made me think!
This video essay really outlines a good example of conclusion you can come to within a closed group with a lack of conflicting outside ideas and a level of cultural bias. I think you did very well to create an example how personal and cultural bias can effect your thoughts on a subject matter.
I'm glade you outline this before your conclusion in this video, with all the confirmation bias in it, mixing in with personal beliefs.
I be very interested to see what conclusion you come to once you examining yours and others thoughts on Elden Ring, and take a step back to reflect outside of isolation. I think you'll find a few of your ideas really hold up, like the hive mind.
Really insightful work.
Thank you!
Thank you.
I never comment. I don’t have much to contribute outside of superficial musings. But I do want to express my sincere gratitude for this video.
I had watched the blind playthrough videos when they were coming out, and really enjoyed the ideas you presented throughout. To see them condensed and organized into this three-part thesis has been one of the most rigorous and thought-provoking perspectives I’ve seen on this game, or any game.
Elden Ring has contributed adecent amount to my views of religion, politics, psychology, sociology, and philosophy. Your well-structured essay provided much to agree with on all of those fronts, and some to disagree with. Overall, it provided a unique point of view that has opened new vistas of reflection for me.
So, thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much for the kind words! I really do tremendously appreciate it.
Nice video with thoughtful interpretation of themes at the end.
Good points about how language shapes reality. To connect more directly this part to Elden Ring, language and culture shapes selection bias. There is as much evidence that the game is drawing on Celtic mythology as for Norse mythology as for Tolkein's Middle Earth. A person with Celtic bias sees the name "Radagon" and things "aha, its a play on the Irish 'Reachtagain'" and thinks no deeper of it. A person with Tolkein bias thinks "aha, its almost like 'Radagast' which makes it Tolkein inspired" (and then if you're lucky actually looks up an Adunaic dictionay to find out that "Radagon" means "beastly"). And a person with Norse bias ignores the names and takes a close look at Ranni/Rykard/Radahn and concludes "so if they're Hel, Jormungandr, and Fenris Wolf that makes Radagon 'Loki'. The noted shapeshifter who would have no issues being also Marika". Or you can toss the bias and realize that "All of the above" was always an option.
To make sense of the reason why the player character gains ephemeral 'runes' from defeating enemies and passively wandering the land, you may wish to consider the second definition. Runes are chapters of Finnish poetry - of which 'rune singing' was a loose type of poetry where a story would be expected to hit certain consistent beats but the particular execution varies. Kindof like how each player can choose the order of the adventure and the equipment brought to the fights, but the same bosses will be found in the same place in every instance of the game and there are still a select few mandatory bosses to overcome. Golden runes are story fragments and the player collects then in the course of their overall story experience.
I also support the characterization of Scarlet Rot as having nuclear fallout as one of its meanings. It comes through in the way that the fight between Malenia and Radahn is characterized, where Radahn expected a certain type of fight and was not prepared for Malenia to change the rules of engagement and cause massive collateral damage.
Made some longer comments on your Reddit post.
Your explanation with the mechanic of the runes reminds me of the power of the alphabet in the Kabbalah. i think Sufi traditions hold that thought as well but with Arabic rather than Hebrew, will need to double check on that though.
Its very imformative and alot to take in, so im going through bit by bit, looking forward to Greater Will and Central Theme sections
>"i'd like an elden ring lore video"
>"elden ring or quantum physics?"
>"elden ring please"
>*looks inside*
>"This is called the double slit experiment"
Outstanding work! Thank you so much for this, and for the blind playthrough! Somehow despite the 'bind' nature of the playthrough and the threat of inevitable 'inaccuracies' you mention in the preface, you ended up right on the money with the central themes, and the big picture stuff is more important than immediately getting every minor detail 100% right. Superb!
Thank you so much! Always happy to see you commenting, and I'm glad that you enjoyed it despite the inaccuracies :)
So i gave this an honest shot, I did. And I was interested in where you were going with the framework section. As we reached the nuclear semiotics sections, I think you lost the thread. It is both the largest section and seems to be the least relevant to a discussion of Elden Ring. It felt more like "i've got a bone to pick with nuclear power promotion."
I dont see myself having the patience to sit through this part, so I won't really understand the framework you're working with when you try to make an argument for the themes of Elden Ring. So any feedback wouldn't be productive to that end either.
Applied Hermeneutics, like what you are doing here, is a worthwhile form of analysis. I believe some people will get a lot out of it. I believe this. However, the first half seems like an entire essay unto itself without a strong direction toward a conclusion, because you point at the transition to the second essay on Elden Ring. My only suggestion would be, for next time, try to develop your lens/Hermeneutics through and from the subject you are analyzing, rather than situating yourself in a variety of real subjects and then situating the subject-analyzed into that context.
Or, instead, engage with the subject in a non-blind way. Actively participate in discourse around the game and keep sources along the way. That way you can offer your perspective in dialogue with the art-object and the social-imaginary forming around the art object.
In either case, I feel as though an analysis of an art piece should be able to center the art piece more thoroughly throughout. I recognize the attempts in the graphics which foreshadowed what you'd present later, but in execution is seemed like dangling the carrot on a string.
I want to echo your frustration here and say that I too gave this an honest shot, but found the necessity of the framework extremely dubious by the time we arrive at Elden Ring, especially because so little of the primary text is engaged with.
The direct comparison of rot to radiation for example omits the bulk of the context provided by the primary text of Elden Ring's item descriptions, and how that text describes what rot is. What we're left with is an off the cuff "Raya Lucaria dumped nuclear / magical waste" hypothesis shot from the hip, which is so close to an actual compelling theory supported by primary text (that just isn't engaged with) that it hurts. Why spend over an hour setting up a framework simply to ignore swathes of context provided by the subject of the analysis itself?
Kudos to the editing and some interesting explorations of a few isolated topics, but this essay casually reaches towards the conclusions it wants to reach in spite of the evidence far too often.
Now that I’ve finished your essay (I commented half way through because I couldn’t help myself. It’s too good). Wow! Just wow. I love this game because of all the ways the story gets interpreted and yours is easily my favorite. The fact you went in blind makes it all the better. I learned SO much not just about a myriad of topics you discussed, but I learned about myself. I’ll stop before this gets any more cheesy but yeah. I can’t WAIT for your take on the dlc. Never stop.
What a fucking masterpiece of a video.
hey aegon. i dm'd you once when this site still had that function. i guess it got looped into google+ and deleted. your stance of i wont take no stinking ad money was the hardest most badass thing i ever saw. my eternal respect and graciousness!! lets stay occluded :)
I wonder if since working on this video you’ve come across The Tarnished Archaeologist’s stuff. It’s really amazing work and will definitely help a lot with your interpretations of the story
I've heard lore RUclipsrs make the argument that Marika+Radagon had a stillborn child that was purposefully not directly mentioned anywhere in the lore to create mystery (Miyazaki style) but when you went over the runes one by one (@ 1:18:00) only to come to the rune of the unborn and say you didn't know what to make of it! Hah! I think that's it.
The rune of the unborn fits in the same location as Malenia's rune because the Unborn was Marika+Radagon's third, hidden, stillborn child.
Sorry I can't remember which podcast/lorehunter video was the first to argue about a stillborn child of Marika's to credit them properly! But I believe this, since it fits so well with the readings of the runes.
The moment it clicks and you're like, "I know exactly where he's going with this." Well done.
Thank you! I'm curious, do you remember what that moment was?
@@Aegon_of_Astora 100% as soon I saw "nuclear semiotics" appear on screen. Everything prior is just as important to your overall thesis, but as soon as nuclear semiotics appeared, the light bulb exploded..."Oh yeah! GRRM co-wrote this story!" (dragons as an allegory for the use nuclear weapons). Being familiar with his writings, writing styles/recurrent themes/ideas/use of symbology, I had not yet brought that into my attempt to work through the Elden Ring lore. GRRM is a science fiction writer at his core. Even his "fantasy" writings (A Song of Ice and Fire series) are science fiction works simply dressed as fantasy (Iji's mirrorhelm protecting from external telepathic control is 100% a GRRM device, just as one example).
I was blind to any Shadowtree lore on first view and now that I've caught up....I think your theory is stronger than ever. Working on a longer write-up that i'll share once done. Included topics: Reproduction methods in the lands between are not what we have assumed they were and yes...there are multiple methods (including an answer for you on the unborn rune.) Cosmic and empyrean interpersonal/intrapersonal relational dynamics (Mommy Metyr has let us all down) and the psychodynamic concept of repetition compulsion. Generational curses ("inner" collective trauma as "outer" gods) . Where true agential realism and response-ability manifests from in The Lands Between (Understanding the size and scope of the influence operation of the two fingers/ finger readers and how best to solve it.)
@@coalesced wonderful - thank you for sharing! This has me even more excited to play the DLC, and I was already pretty excited about it!
Appreciate you Aegon❤️ hope the family is well and thanks for sharing your insight.
Thanks very much, Kevin!
What an amazing piece of work. Loved this exploration
Thank you!
I think you put too much weight on the Greater Will’s attachment to the Golden Order in particular. It seems like the Greater Will is unconcerned about what kind of Order is established so long as some Order is present. The Greater Will, for instance, tolerates the Order installed by the Blessing of Despair, in which no one can return to the Erdtree.
I also think it’s strange that you believe the Greater Will is draining the life from the Land’s Between when the purpose of the Golden Order is to ensure its subjects are immortal and no longer destined to die.
It seems to me as though the vision of the Golden Order, an Order of Life without Death, was Marika’s own, which like a genie’s wish became a curse upon its realization, producing a stagnant death-in-life of which Those Who Live in Death are an ironic parody.
The “flaw” in the Golden Order is that life without death is indistinguishable from living death.
The Elden Beast brought the golden fate of the stars to earth, which is embodied in the Elden Ring, and which is made of the runes that are shaped into the order, meaning, and destiny of life. I don’t believe it cares what Order is established, as long as there is some Order.
Here we go. It’s clear that he was too focused on the oppressor/oppressed dynamic and let it color his interpretation. The Elden Beast was trapped and controlled by Marika and the new story trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree all but confirms that the Crucible was flesh and blood and that Marika subverted the natural order of things. Not all hierarchy is inherently evil.
@@thomaslamptonbickham2939An argument could be made that Marika suppresses the Elden Beast, and yet the Beast is the one in control. It is not shown that Marika wields the power of the Beast. It is instead conveyed that it is the Elden Lord who "brandishes" the ring. It is shown directly that the Beast wields the body of Marika/Radagon as a sword. Puppeteers and puppets being telegraphed.
Yeah, definitely the greater will couldn't careless if for example malenia had won the war and made the rot god the new god of this world. The silver lining to this outcome is that with the rot god now dictating the "laws" of the lands between life, death and rebirth would be re-established again, akin to the time of the early erdtree and the crucible.
I think this is my actual favourite youtube video ever made. It's just perfect. The music, editing, wording. I feel like I should pay for this.
Thank you for making this two and a half hours enjoyable and educational.
This is the best Elden Ring video I’ve ever seen. Thank you for such a thoughtful take on the themes of the game.
That's extremely kind of you. Thank you :)
Still watching, with my eyes wide and jaw on the floor - what a video! Not even halfway through, and I can already tell it will be replayed many a time. I was always fond of "Aegon's lecture corners", and this - this is IT! Amazing! ❤
Thanks so much for the kind words!
I feel so lucky to exist in the time and place in which I am able to experience this essay as it releases. This is incredible.
Thank you kindly, as always!
Great video so far 1:16:14 ,the first thing you weren't completely informed about in regarss to in game lore:the reason margott rune is burning is that omen blood is a sort of firey blood.you can see in his phase 2 he refers to his fire blood as his curse(also thats why omens cant get erd tree bruial cause they will burn down the root because their blood can erupt into fire)
This ending was so profound and beautiful
I've been checking back so often hoping I missed this in my subscriptions. I am so excited!
I want you to do an analysis of fear and hunger SO BAD!!!!
Oh my g o ddddd that’d be amazing. It’s been incredible to see lore folks dip into that game series lately, it’s so rich with its writing and world.
Maybe one day!
Commenting to appease the Greater Algorithm. Banger video!
Thanks, friend!
This is hands down the best well put together analysis of this game’s philosophy.
That's extremely high praise. Thanks very much
First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. I found out about your channel quite a while ago when you were on Sinclair Lore and specifically said you wouldn't be uploading anymore because you would be too busy with college.
I don't know if you're going to read this comment, but I cannot even begin to articulate how much you saved my sanity with the thumbnail of this video. Long story short, I'm really interested in metaphysical subjects like ontology, epistemology, and semiotics, but I technically only have a high school diploma. I'm not going to pretend I have an in depth understanding of those subjects, but you just quantified COUNTLESS hours of Wikipedia and RUclips research just by acknowledging that linguistic relativity is not only a thing, it might be in my videogames.
Edit: Btw I haven't even watched the video yet, and I only just now saw there's a chapter on semiotics, LETS GO!
I hope the video didn't disappoint!
@@Aegon_of_Astora It did not disappoint! It actually had me going back and looking at a couple of other games through a different lens, like The Witness, and (surprisingly) Fallout 76.
hail! aegon of astora, last of all kings. fort, night
the "rebranding" from "red to gold" is in the DLC trailer. And it isn't "rebranding" of the greater will or marika or the erdtree but rather the shift from red crucible to the golden erdtree worship. plus when the two fingers chose miquella and malenia as empyreans they were cursed already
I know you gave a disclaimer at the beginning of the video that you’d be going on tangents but man, I’m really struggling to see how nitpicking the sociopolitical tensions that came about during the Voyager program has any valid place in an Elden Ring video essay.
@@aramkaizer7903what does this even mean, it’s a guy making a video essay about a game with political and philosophical themes. It’s like asking someone to write about Berserk and not “impose their views” on people
Aegon that title has me hyped beyond belief. I was expecting a video essay not an academic thesis. Idk why, i ought to have known better!
I just looked up the definition of 'material discursive relationality' and it's already changed how I think about all from games and media in general. And that's just the title.
Comments for the RUclips algorithm chain because this is the kind of video that needs more recognition.
I'm especially impressed by this being a lore analysis that actually focuses on the sociopolitical aspects of this story. So... SO many people ignore it, despite those elements being so obvious when you step back and look at the lore.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed that aspect of the video
@@Aegon_of_Astora I'm glad you included it!
Also, do you have a list of the music in this video? I tried to find some of the songs before but couldn't
@@Agenta-df3gb The music credits can be found in the video description. Additionally, music credits for each segment can be found here: docs.google.com/document/d/1j8auMaL7GvtokSCu9PVcralKH3d5ZWHgs1Gfi70Dg4U/
Amazing video Aegon! I agree with a lot of it, especially the conceptual parts regarding Agential Realism/Reponse-ability, Linguistic Relativity, Nuclear Semiotics and the analyses of Central Themes.
I do have an issue with the idea that the Greater Will is a willful/sentient entity or parasite. I belive the Greater Will is rather simply the Concept of Order. The force which pushes life and all things in the universe to distinguish itself. I believe those who inherit/usurp/earn the title of Vessel for the Elden Ring, shape what Order looks like, particularly in the Lands Between. Hyetta's dialogue, in my opinion, is alluding to both the beginnings of life in The Lands Between(Crucible where all life was blended together) as well as the very start of the universe where everything was presumably an amalgamation of Oneness before the "big bang" caused disparity. Rather than Two and Three fingers diametrically opposed there was One Hand.
From there, division and disparity began and life started to become "Ordered". Everything is by and of the same origin while still intra-acting despite distictions. In my opinion, it is the inhabitants of the Lands Between, living beneath the structures of life dictated for them by the Golden Order who personify the Greater Will and other Outer Gods as sentient beings with motives rather than forces of nature that they live within and about. Of course, this view only benefits those in power as they can invoke the name of their "Outer God/Greater Will" as justifcation for their actions while shedding themselves of any responsibility.
I also believe, like you, that the Item Descriptions are written from the perspective of someone who inhabits The Lands Between and as such their perceptions are colored by the prevailing systems therein. In my reading those events attributed to the Greater Will could just as much be spontaneous cosmic events(a meteor carrying the Elden Ring/Beast) or the acts of a ruler wielding its power(Marika/Any prior Gods). Your analyses regarding colonialism, classism and war would hold true while adding more to the Response-ability of those in power in-game. I say this while also believing that Marika started her age with good intentions before realizing she was just as much a slave to Order as those beneath her(Master-Slave Dialectic) ultimately attempting to break order so a new one can form in its place and she can be free of her captivity. And Radagon, a devotee to the Golden Order tries to mend her shattering. Causality and Regression at play.
Regarding what you stated at the end about Godfrey and strength befitting a crown: It is actually Queen Marika who intended for the tarnished to return to brandish the Elden Ring(as well as Kill her; Hewg's dialogue on creating a godslaying weapon). At the Church of Pilgrimage Melina says, "In Marika's own words. Then, after thy death, I will give back what I once claimed. Return to the Lands Between, wage war, and brandish the Elden Ring. Grow strong in the face of death. Warriors of my lord. Lord Godfrey."
It is implied that it was Marika's long laid plan to return Grace to the tarnished who would return and wage war to become Elden Lord, just like she intended to happen with her children when she shattered the ring.
Marika earned her Godhood through conflict. A crucible of strife and war. It is what she knows and what she believes is necessary to enact a new Order and so that is what the Tarnished, granted grace by her, are doing by waging war on the corrupted Demigods.
I think this is interesting when juxtaposed with how Miquella attempts to begin a new age. Rather than through conquest and subjugation of others he instead chose to sacrifice his own blood to water the Haligtree. He also allows those shunned by the Erdtree/Golden Order to inhabit it, perhaps trying to use compassion and empathy unlike his mother.
I dont know if youve seen the newest DLC Story Trailer, but it sheds A LOT of light what Marika potentially did to begin her Golden Age.
Anyway, this was a GREAT watch. I hope you continue to put out your thoughts on this game especially if you dive this in depth. NO ONE else in the communnity is using higher level concepts like this to analyze the game and we need more of it.
This is a good comment. It also makes me understand and feel a bit more sympathy for Marika. I have a feeling she had some well-meaning intentions but ultimately made the a lot of bad decisions. My theory is that she had to kill Melina to get what she wanted and the sealing of Destined Death was the rash decision of a grieving parent.
@thomaslamptonbickham2939 thanks! And yeah, I think we will find out that ultimately, Marika did all that she did for her children or because she was incapable of having healthy ones.
When she finally does(Melina/Godwyn/Messmer?), she decides to take away the possibility of them dying, but by doing so, in a very Oedipal way, actually sets them on the path to do just that. I think the NoBK was actually intended and planned by Marika for Godwyn to die a full death as a way to reintroduce the concept of death to TLB once Marika realized her Forever Age wasn't working.
What she didn't anticipate is that her sealing of DESTINED Death is exactly what allowed Ranni to steal a fragment of the Rune of Death and kill herself which caused Godwyn to die only a half death at the same time. Further corrupting Marika's Golden Age. Again, very much like Oedipus, Marika's actions led her down the path she wished to avoid. Also fits with part of Aegons thesis regarding intra-action.
Marika pulled the strings of fate, and it came back to haunt her. She finally decides to end it all by shattering the ring and enacting her contingency plan for someone else to begin a new order.
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful comment. It's apparent that I got many of the details wrong, and so I appreciate your honest appraisal.
what I expected: Elden Ring lore
what I got: multiple existential crises
I absolutely love this, and thank you for your passion and time! Both inspiring and insightful
Thank you!
Aegon! It is so amazing to have you back! I pray everything is going well for you. And what a timely release. Now time to unravel the Shadow. 😊
Life is great, albeit a tad busy, thank you!
Fantastic video. Another central theme I heard another creator talk about is that of identity. You have the visual representation with ranni and her using the moniker of Renna. You have Marika and radagon being the sane person. You have miquella and st. Trina. There are beings called shadows. Godrick is obssed with his identification as the lord of all that is golden. There are twins with forgotten and mohg, malenia and miquella. There is the D brothers. Ect.
Well said. I also think the game has a lot to say about transhumanism, but hadn't developed my thoughts enough to address it in this video.
Crazy good video essay. Thank you for taking the time to bridge the metaphor to the real world, kinda made me sad
As fromsoft games are want to do
This is the kind of analysis Miyazaki's games need. Glad you stayed true to your goal and delivered this masterpiece.
Me too. It was not easy working on this so slowly over such a long period of time, so I appreciate you for saying that. Thanks very much.
I'm always saddened when someone makes rhe mistake of calling the Greater Will an 'outer' god, "it" is more or less THE God of the realm, the "inner" god so to speak. The collective will of all life, yet also the collective unconscious, the anima mundi and the entity responsible for the creation of the universe as we know it
@@copyninja8756This is Lightseeker Hyetta’s dialogue regarding why the followers of the Frenzied Flame want to consume the Erdtree:
... Thank...thank you... I have touched them. The words of the Three Fingers. As your maiden, allow me to divine them. All that there is came from the One Great. Then came fractures, and births, and souls. But the Greater Will made a mistake. Torment, despair, affliction. Every sin, every curse. Every one, born of the mistake. And so, what was borrowed must be returned. Melt it all away, with the yellow chaos flame. Until all is One again.
Based on this, we can surmise that the One Great was the homogenous essence of creation, split into all that is and given distinction by ther Greater Will. Interestingly, Ragnarok concludes with the fire giant Surtr setting fire to Yggdrasil, which is then put out by flooding waters, rejuvenating and creating a new world. We already have one half of proper Ragnarok…
It's impossible for something to be the collective will of all life when things existed *before* the Greater Will arrived in the Lands Between. ESPECIALLY since other competing gods canonically exist there, and existed before the Greater Will arrived
Agreed, I think its a perfectly valid take to go as far as to say that the GW doesnt even exist. the GW is just what people call the "source" of the universe, its the original point from which all causality flows, we have no idea what it is, we will never know, and the TLB doesnt know either. Its our logic alone, based in causalty that makes us believe it must exist
Just completed Dlc. So good, may be the best of from software. Bosses, lore and world.
Excited to see your reactions on certain reveals. I know you are busy with job but any ideas when you will start dlc😅
This video essay was unfathomably based. Thank you so much for all your hard work. Subscribed and eagerly awaiting your thoughts on the DLC when it comes.
The pleasure is mine. Thank you for watching.
Oh, it’s always so great to see new takes on the lore! Im so glad this pop up for me.
My take on the rune mechanic is that they are literal vestiges of past experiences left by the wavelength of light hitting someone's eye when they see grace, and that they give you command over the ruins of Farum Azula, which seems to be a metaphor for the fall of Babylon leading to the language and cultures of the world. Ruin fragments can also be crafted into rainbow stones, which kind of implies it is also tied to wavelengths and light spectrums, and seem to be related to the concepts like the Veil of Maya, the Akashic Records, or the Library of Babylon as metaphors for the totality of experience and knowledge. For a bit of context, the Veil of Maya seems to be pretty explicitly referenced in Dark Souls' Lost Izalith, where the tiered towers are modelled after Angkor Wat and are visual representations of the Veil of Maya or Indra's Net.
It also seems like they use a similar concept in a lot of Fromsoftware's Soulslikes, at least as far as you seem to gain influence by collecting some trace of the past experiences of others, and the gear system seems to reflect that concept as well. Ultimately, I think it has a lot to do with actualizing metaphysical concepts or plutonic forms into the stream of causality in order to warp causality, and the way they convey that idea in each game is related to how each society quantifies authority.
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
You did phenomenal work with this one.
Thank you!
Just 30 minutes in and I’m already enjoying this a lot! I love that you take the time to develop the analytic framework - as much as I enjoy watching lore videos, writers presenting their readings as ‘objective’ vs interpretive bc they don’t acknowledge their own biases always low key annoys me haha
Thank you! I actually wasn't sure that anyone would appreciate it.
Incredible work, Aegon!
Oh hey, I don't know if anyone knows this, but there's a lost interview from Glixel/Rollingstones where Miyazaki briefly mentioned he has reference books by the semiotician Umberto Eco, along with a book called "The Occult" by Colin Wilson that I think explores a similar philosophy from this video using esoteric philosophy in leu of semiotics.
Colin Wilson was a great and underrated writer, I permitted myself a wry smile when he died because all the tributes on the radio (where I spend a lot of time) and not one of them mentioned "The Occult" or it's follow up written some 30 yrs later.
Cool -- thanks for pointing this out!
this is the most beautiful essay I've ever had the joy of experiencing. I'm completely blown away.
Thank you kindly!
Speaking of runes, Marika's elden rune is an overflowing up of blessings that drips from her to the rest of the world. Her crucified position reflects Lilith's from Evangelion. While Lilith is crucified so they can farm her blood, the soup of life, Marika and the marty's pose are there for farm for their runes.
Excelent work!
we get it you're educated
"hmm, a blind lore breakdown of elden ring, might at least not just be retreading the same points every lore video makes then"
*Segment criticising Carl Sagan for not putting transgender representation in the voyager 1 discs*
"...okay, okay, we may be onto something unique here"