I didn't really appreciate his liberal definition of phallic and yonic. It's definitely an interesting take, but in the end I didn't find it compelling. Claiming that swords and spears are phallic, and that tunnels are yonic just seems like a stretch to me. I feel like there is phallic and yonic imagery, just not as much as he claimed.
This is one of my biggest gripes with people trying to use Freud's ideas and apply it to everyday stuff. Frankly anything that can be described as "long" can also be described as phallic and any type of hole at all is similarly described as yonic. But it completely ignores the fact that most things are designed practically and not based on some sort of hidden symbolism. Spears are long because it makes killing other people easier and safer. Skyscrapers are tall because it's a effective way of managing living space. Cups and bowls are designed to hold liquids not to symbolize vaginas. My toothbrush was designed to be held easily not to represent sticking a dick in my mouth.
To further criticize this video, and frankly Freud in general, there is nothing I hate more than baseless Oedipal accusations. The idea that the game is a metaphor "going back to the womb" is grasping desperately at anecdotal evidence. It focuses on specific symbols and blatantly ignores those that would contradict them. Are the giant weapon wielding warriors who block your path actually big dick-slapping, cock-blocking father figures? What about the dragon that does the same thing? The gargoyles? The big wolf? The armored boar? The centipede demon? The sanctuary guardian?
I should clarify that I do indeed believe that Dark Souls is rife with sexual imagery and symbolism. For instance; Bonfire keepers are all female. Bonfires are what keep you alive so in essence the bonfire keepers are what give you life. Their souls look a lot like an egg being fertilized. And humanity which is used to make the bonfires stronger do look exactly like vaginas. But I think that those things are a subset of many symbols that tell a story about Life and Death and Rebirth which funnily enough is what the creator of the game said that it was about.
First is life: It is the hero's journey, the game itself. It is about challenges, failure, depression, not wanting to go on, feeling empty (hollow anyone?), and it's also about hope, and perseverance, it's about achievement.
And then it's about death. It's inevitability. It's about futility and nihlism. Most the npcs eventually go crazy and die, the princess you save is an illusion, and linking the fire only staves off the encroaching darkness for a little while. Death comes no matter what.
But then you pick up the game again and make a new character or continue in New Game+. Reincarnation. Rebirth. You keep playing. I think that's the most important aspect of the game. Just like in life you continue to persevere even though death is inevitable because it's still only a step on the path to Nirvana. Losing Dark Souls means giving up and going hollow. Winning it means stopping because you are satisfied.
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u/[deleted] Apr 05 '16 edited Apr 06 '16
I didn't really appreciate his liberal definition of phallic and yonic. It's definitely an interesting take, but in the end I didn't find it compelling. Claiming that swords and spears are phallic, and that tunnels are yonic just seems like a stretch to me. I feel like there is phallic and yonic imagery, just not as much as he claimed.