Who Set All These Lab Monkeys Free?

In an effort to combat the abundance of boredom that has the tendency to be brought forward by having nothing do -- and which, despite being contrary to what I probably often say, I must say I appreciate a great deal -- I have started playing StarCraft again for the first time in a long time. In fact it is probably several years since my last seriously avid stint. It's a great, although strange, sensation to have all those memories and feelings from intermediate school come flooding back.

I've noticed that I can appreciate the storyline of the game much more now, too. Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of StarCraft, are well-known for their exciting and well-integrated narratives. It must not be easy to get it to function so well with a real-time strategy game. My new perceptions on the storyline are obviously reflective of the fact that the last time I was really into this game was back before 11 September, 2001, when I possessed virtually no political or sociological consciousness to speak of. I was blissfully unaware.

There is an organisation within the game known as the Kel-Morian Combine, an interplanetary mining coalition and renegade pirate group that operates outside of the law of the Terran Confederate government (that is, the main representation of human empire in the game -- they all have southern United States accents). One would expect the Combine to be in the bad books of the Confederacy -- not so however, because the pirates actually supply the dominant power with fuel and resources. As such, no military action is taken against them. Personally I can't help but draw parellels between that in-game scenario, and the real-life situation that exists in the relationship that the United States has with Saudi Arabia.

The case of the cracks forming in the culture of the highly spiritual, alien Protoss race also seem poignantly relevant. Since its inception, Protoss society had operated under a complex tribal system. Although this did afford extra significance to the members and specific cultures of individual tribes, some Protoss of the more recent generations saw it as an archaic and ancient tradition that had the potential to breed separatism and they sought to discard the tribal set-up in favour of a simple heirarchical caste system. The transition was not made, however, until post an extended period of tribal conflict known as the Aeon of Strife that resulted in the subjugation of many tribes' values. This seems to me, to almost mirror the forced real-world decline of religion being perceived as relevant to societal politics, particularly when one takes into account the fact that individual Protoss still refer back to their tribal ties, but merely for tradition's sake as opposed to practicality's sake.

Even if I am reading too much into all of that, I'm having a lot of fun doing it. I guess you'll only really get the relevance if you've played the game. I saw The Exorcism of Emily Rose at the cinema with Alison and Cynthia last night. Leitch made some interesting comments over at his space. I think that the motive of the narrative certainly was to encourage the viewer to question their beliefs; indeed, it made me think a lot. Not believing in angels and demons as such, but also not believing in the non-existence of a spiritual plane, I found it quite thought-provoking. At some points I found myself trying to refer back to my own spiritual beliefs as I thought it all over, however I was so immersed in the film that it was hard to stray from the path that it had set out, which I think is a credit to the director (sorry for omitting names here). There was also some very solid acting in the film, and Father More was portrayed endearingly. The casting really couldn't have been better.