User:Revolverman/Bioshock

BioShock is a video game series, composed of BioShock, BioShock 2, and Bioshock Infinite. The series features what is probably the best-known example of Seasteading in popular culture, and scathing criticism of several extremist ideologies. The first is a harsh look at libertarianism and Objectivism in an underwater city, the second being a less-interesting retread of the first just with the philosophy flipped around. Bioshock Infinite is set in a Dominionist flying city named "Columbia" (As in "District of", not to be confused with Colombia, the nation).

BioShock

Its setting, known as Rapture, is an undersea city built by a billionaire industrialist named Andrew Ryan along Objectivist principles. Before building Rapture Ryan owned a track of forested land. When the US government claimed Eminent Domain to take the land for a national park, Ryan simply burns it to the ground and flees the country. He envisions Rapture as a place where any man can live by the sweat of his brow, and not worry about the Government or Church. In reality this ends creating an extremely top heavy society where those in the lower or working classes are expected to be happy with their lot and any misery they have is their own fault as "any man" can reach the top in Rapture. A New York gangster, Frank Fontaine, comes to Rapture and sets up a smuggling ring, bringing contraband goods into the city (those goods being Bibles and Christian Iconography). Ryan is overcome by fear of the Superpowers finding the city and taking it from him, as well as anger at Fontaine's smuggling religious paraphernalia that offends his atheist sensibilities. Ryan jettisons his much-vaunted belief in freedom, to the point of passive mind control, and declares war on Fontaine. Fontaine fakes his death during a raid on his operation, and then re-emerges as "Atlas", an underclass hero, leading a rebellion that was brewing due to the hypocrisy of Ryan's regime.

At the same time, an incredible medical breakthrough comes in the form of a strange stem cell like material created by a strange sea slug. A complete amoral, monstrous scientist begins to commit atrocities to find ways to extract more and more of the stem cells, such as grating the slugs into young girls (as they were the most receptive to the process) and forcing "undesirable" people into diving bell like suits in a permanent fashion as protectors of these young girls as the population becomes more and more addicted to the stem cells. The city has plunged into anarchy before the protagonist arrives, forcing him to piece together what happened as he explores the city.

Bioshock 2

The second game takes place some time after the first, and this time a socialist named Sofia Lamb has taken over and is little more then a collectivist Ryan. Poorly revived for being a rehash of the first game gameplay wise, and causing plotholes that didn't exist before in the overarching story.

Politics

Libertarianism

BioShock was a very well-received game in general, though much more mixed reactions from those with Objectivist and Libertarian ideas. Many simply claimed that Ryan wasn't a real objectivist and that the game didn't get Objectivism. This argument has merit, as Ryan sells out his beliefs for the sake of power. A less popular argument is that Ryan was completely in the right, and there was nothing wrong with Rapture until Frank Fontaine showed up. This argument holds less weight as its clearly laid out that Fontaine simply manipulated the angry and misery of the underclasses rather then creating it out of thin air. It was clear if it wasn't him, it would have been someone else to spark the powder-keg that was Rapture. An even crazier argument is that nothing is wrong at all with Rapture as is. Anyone who's played the game can most definitely tell you otherwise.

Socialism

Aside from being a control-freak, Sofia Lamb is too flat a character for any socialists to really take offense.

The implications of elimination of the self are never fully explored.

American Exceptionalism

Beatification of the Founding Fathers is taken to an extreme, turning into outright deification. Columbia became so enamored with American Exceptionalism as to Secede from the less-dogmatic United States.

Tea Party activists believed BioShock Infinite to be an attack against them. Although the game designers did admit to some influence from current events, the Tea Party is not unique. There have been other movements that have given voice to the xenophobic cheapskates of America.

Quantum mechanics

Infinite delves into the popular and misunderstood field of Quantum mechanics, indulging in speculative fiction themes about parallel dimensions and time travel.

See also

• The Citadel
• Ethics
• Going Galt
• Transhumanism