Gender & Action in Silent Hill | Analysis 

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The way this series, ever since its beginnings, portrayed abuse in such variety always fascinated me. It's also incredibly interesting how Toyama, after leaving and making Siren, also still used similar themes, Siren 2 literally has its main antagonist be simply called Mother and she's also somewhat of a metaphor for something that completely replaces one's individuality with her direct will, it's probably that game's greatest strength besides being so ocean-focused and having a stage where you play as an almost blind protagonist.

It’s so refreshing to hear a discussion about gender-and especially of how violence relates to gender-that doesn’t boil down to the conclusion that one gender is good and the other is bad. There’s too much finger-pointing everywhere and not enough people realize that, as you said in the video, it’s important to have a balance of both femininity and masculinity to remain healthy and well-rounded. Great video as always!

Also, with Angela, the "masculine" violence she suffered and is being haunted with is the most obvious and jarring, and every point about it from the video rings true, but it's the "feminine" violence, the blame and guilt she got from her mother, that's keeping her trapped in it, believing there's no way out for her, and it's her mother who she stays to keep looking for

A fantastic analysis, Muse. Rarely anyone addresses the differences in learned patterns of violence between men and women and how they affect people.

" A Detective.. Really?"

I find it really interesting that aside from moments of violence, I think the games never truly have the characters physically interact with each other. And it is that distance between the characters that truly makes you find it hard to understand who to trust and who not to. We always try to read people’s intentions through the way they act around us, but in Silent Hill everybody is distant, even the characters who never hide anything from us.

I've been a fan of Silent Hill for literally over 20 years now, and your intellect deciphers so many things about their symbolism that have gone waaay over even my head

These are themes that I hadn't noticed. But they add so much depth to the narrative. Thanks for the video.

"mother is god in the eyes of a child"

I really love how you delve into all the aspects of each silent hill game. Your voice is so soothing as i drift off to sleep xo

you're the only other person i've encountered with the Bell Jar interpretation of helen grady. i was really starting to feel silly with that observation...

Thank you! you are really keeping me going,while I'm going slowly insane from waiting for SH2 to drop on PS5 😢❤🖤

Muse, I appreciate your nuanced breakdown of this topic. No where in your assessment did I sense judgement, just observations. Which is really appreciated. As a viewer of your content for the last 2 years, I've come to expect a nuanced and fair analysis of whatever topic you discuss and you are consistent in putting out such discussion of delicate topics. Thank you!!

I consider Alessa, and then Heather, as the avatars of Silent Hill's "God". Alessa suffered, so I believe that is why she was chosen. I consider Dahlia and Claudia as heretics by attempting to resurrect God. I believe God has ritual manipulation, which is why the rituals only result in the summoning of the monster. The cult already has the origin story of God, so why add strange rituals to the religion? I think Silent Hill's Entity, as well as "her" concept manipulation, made the added lore of the religion somewhat true just to entertain the religion. If only Heather could realize her power and learn how to harness it. In my opinion, I think Heather unknowingly created the "Memory of Alessa" via her fear of mirrors, as well as concept corporealism, yet, there was no way to know that she created the monster.

What? Friday, a bottle of wine and a new video? Awesome 🖤

I could listen to you talk all day about Silent Hill, Muse. May I ask what that music was in the beginning of the video, during your ad? It was quite beautiful, I'd love to add it to my playlist.

Hope eventually we'll get Remakes of Silent hill 1 & 3

Muse, I must ask and the question is open to any/all fans reading this: Do you think Bloober will "nerf" Angela's backstory in the remake? It was never directly mentioned but strongly alluded to that she was a victim of r**e/inc**t . Times have changed since 2001.

Silent Hill 3 perfectly conveyed the price of womanhood. Heather used to be Cheryl, and the cult's connection to abuse really stood out. Harry can have feminine traits to him, but he is still male and a father. In Silent Hill 2, it took time until Angela came to notice that not all men are bad, since James made her feel that way after he faced the manifestation of her father. Now back to SH3, it delved into how being a woman can be very difficult, whether it's menstruation or pregnancy or being a mother; Heather had to face that when coming to terms of growing up and noticing Vincent and Claudia's ambitions. Either men or women could be abusive or not, it's a recurring theme in Silent Hill, not to mention Silent Hills was originally gonna have this turned on it's own head(especially with the monster you faced in P.T. known as Lisa, who's most likely the revenant of the same woman murdered by her husband before she could give birth), but it sadly never came to light due to Konami's mistreatment of Kojima, and Silent Hills tragically canceled. But still, it will possibly subvert what's mentioned here in this video if the game ever released.