"Moms are Tough."

[Dave 5,715]

When Final Fantasy branches into the realm of philosophy and does well, it does it exceptionally well.

 

However, when Final Fantasy branches into the realm of philosophy and botches, it fuels my rage.

 

For instance, let us consider the seemingly unobtrusive statement in FFXIII, "Moms are tough," spoken by Hope's mother, first when she accepts a weapon from Snow to assist in the breakout, again after using a rocket launcher to save Snow again. At face value, this is a throwaway line trying to invoke some sense of admiration in the player, much like the idea of "Real heroes don't need plans." The writers are counting on you to not analyze it and to simply accept it much like it expects you to accept most things in XIII: as a superficially and aesthetically pleasing thing which sounds and looks good, which therefore means it must be good.

 

However, these three little words are far more problematic than one might initially think.

 

The very first thing one should ask when looking at this quote is perhaps the most obvious of the five Ws: WHY, exactly, are Moms tough? It's important to ask this, because for the short time we know Hope's mother in this game, this is the only line of dialogue which gives us any insight to her character. It's what is supposed to make us feel sad for her when she dies, while, much like Snow, remaining completely indifferent and emotionally void in regards to everyone else who dies on that bridge. So if the game wants you to feel bad for this character, it's worth wondering WHY this mother is tough.

 

The immediate answer that the game provides is because she is willing to pick up a weapon and fight. Fair enough. Yet this in turn raises the question: is that the only reason she is considered tough? The willingness to fight? The game answers yes, because on a completely superficial and skin deep level, this is what it considers bravery to be. But what about the other half of this little scenario: the fact that she leaves her son completely alone, without any kind of guidance, who might become lost or get injured in her absence, and who has shown that he is somewhat incapable of standing on his own at this young and impressionable age. Also, she is willingly and knowingly placing herself in a position of extreme danger which, as we see, may result in her death, which would then leave her son completely and totally alone and forced to fend for himself in the middle of a subterannian prison with.

 

Is that complete and total disregard for the wellbeing of her child also considered being tough?

 

The response, of course, is that the reason she goes to fight is because she wants to protect Hope from further disaster. On one level, yes, this is true. On the other, it does not excuse an incredibly irresponsible piece of parenting which winds up traumatizing the son in question.

 

At any rate, this is not so much a discussion about whether or not her going to fight was necessarily morally right, but rather that this act that the game triumphs as being "tough" is, in fact, far more complicated than it lets on. There is a negative consequence to this action which the game does not stop to think about when it's busy congratulating Hope's mom on going to fight. It wants to say that she is a figure of complete and total admiration, thus warranting our sympathies when she dies, and wants us to not think about how the situation is clouded.

 

A second way to look at the sentence is to put more emphasis on the first word: Moms. This is where the true flippancy and disregard of the quote can be seen, and it's overall value further crushed. If viewed this way, the phrase means that Moms (note the plural) are tough simply by virtue of being moms. What this then means is that the actions of Hope's mother mean absolutely nothing in dictating why she is tough. She didn't need to pick up a gun and go fight: she's already tough, because she is a mom. The end.

 

A further complication: given that the tone of the quote is to use the word "tough" as a strictly positive thing, therefore meaning that the toughness present in all mothers is admirable, then if we apply this sentence to FFIX, does that mean that Queen Brahne, too, is tough and deserving of our admiration? Of course not: the actions of Queen Brahne are extremely questionable. But that is exactly what this quote by Hope's mother is saying! By value of her own words, Hope's mother is admirable simply by virtue of her existence and not through her actions, and that this applies to all otehr parental figures regardless of their actions or their personalities.

 

Why does this matter? First, you should always be thinking about what it is you're consuming for entertainment: you should know what it means for the game and what it means for you. Don't just appluad something because it's cool or catchy. Second, as I said prior, this is the only line of dialogue which sets us up for the death of Hope's mom, and is the only thing that tries to make us feel sorry for such an event. Yet the line is empty and without merit, and thus the attempt to make me feel sorrow about her death fails.

 

Then again, Snow get's over the death in about two minutes, so maybe in the context of the game, this emptiness is acknowleged.

[hatok 6,413]

I always interpreted it more as "Moms have something to fight for, and that makes them strong" kind of thing

The thing is, it's a philosophical statement only if you acknowledge the fact that it was written by a writer as opposed to coming directly from the character. To me, it seems like more of an anecdote meant to encourage Snow more than anything else

Or, alternatively, she could be talking about tough love, and the whole thing was an elaborate suicide in an attempt to get her son to stand on his own feet.

Or something

[Think Pink 1,967]

I like how far you're reading into this. It's always fun to analyze stuff. /weird

 

I have to agree with Hatok on the "why moms are tough". Because a parent loves their child enough that they are willing to do anything for them. When you have something you love enough, you can be tough enough to get through even the scariest things. It's not "she's tough because she's a mom", it's "she's a mom who loves her child enough that she will die for him and that makes her tough". Hope's mom is thinking, my child is going to die if I don't do something. She's not thinking about the repercussions of what will happen if she dies. All she's trying to do is save his life. And on a certain level, I think she'd be okay with him having some emotional trauma after losing her if it meant he could still live.

 

It does excuse her behavior--leaving her son there saved him. Again, most parents would rather their child have some emotional struggles but be alive, rather than just dead.

 

I think it really does make you feel sympathy, too. Because all you see is a woman who loves her child enough that she picks up a gun to go fight for his life. That's kind of all the backstory needed to make you care about his mom and see her as an admirable figure.

[theultimatesorafan 684]

Maybe I should just read the post lol.

Edited October 19, 2012 by theultimatesorafan

[Tails 6,690]

1- But you didn't read it. that must mean you're not Tails

So I'm not the real Tails just by not feeling like reading this whole thing? I will read the whole thing at some point but I just don't feel like it right now. I have other business to take care of like helping Sonic defeat Eggman again, gathering all 7 chaos emeralds and making sure they're safe from Eggman, and building more machines to help Sonic.

[hatok 6,413]

So I'm not the real Tails just by not feeling like reading this whole thing? I will read the whole thing at some point but I just don't feel like it right now. I have other business to take care of like helping Sonic defeat Eggman again, gathering all 7 chaos emeralds and making sure they're safe from Eggman, and building more machines to help Sonic.

 

Okay. This is just getting ridiculous. We're on the second page. There have been two posts that relate to the actual topic

Respect the writer, or just leave. You're wasting time at this point

[Kishira 2,854]

If you're not going to bother reading the post, don't bother commenting. Keep those friggin fingers off your keyboard and don't. bother. It makes things go off topic in a snap, and it's rude for the one who took the time to write out their thoughts in hopes of intelligent and equally thought out responses. >

[Kirux 1,224]

Then again, Snow get's over the death in about two minutes, so maybe in the context of the game, this emptiness is acknowleged.

 

That's pretty much how I feel about it, especially in conjunction with how Hope handles the situation. She died trying to save you, and the only thing you seem capable of is trying to take down Snow out of some unjustified sense of revenge? Not flying buddy.

 

I love how this is just ONE of the many examples of how shallow FFXIII is, and it happens in the first 20 (give or take) minutes of the game.

[Ultima Weapon 71]

I'm totally agree with Dave

 

That was the most stupid quote I ever heard from a final fantasy game( and I played the FF X-2), and thats just one example of why the FF XIII has a terrible script and hollow characters.

 

when I played the train scene, I didn't know if that was a joke or they were talking seriously.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Ultima Weapon