Patch 5.4 Trailer, Predictions, and Hints

[Kesey]

Things are false until they are proven true. That's science, kiddos!

Since the game story is a work of fiction, a literature analysis--which allows for implicit evidence and reading between the lines--is more valid than a scientific one. The story is a work of art, so what is said and what not is said, obvious choices made by the writers, are decisions they explicitly make when crafting the story. So to disallow a speculation or theory, in a speculation or theory thread, in a lore forum about a fictional work because the evidence is implicit doesn't really do justice to the story--story that I want to believe we all care about, which is how we got here in the first place.

I'm worried that this kind of closed minded thinking about literature analysis has lead to the "Red Door" memes. For those who don't know, "a red door represents anger," which is implicitly read from a text, and for those who are frustrated by that level of thinking react with "but what if the door was just red," because it's easier to just stick to explicit evidence. I want to believe this is a symptom of our education system's move away from a humanities education in favor of a stem focused education, but sometimes I fear it is just laziness and closed mindedness that won't see the forest for the trees.

[Cilia]

Since the game story is a work of fiction, a literature analysis--which allows for implicit evidence and reading between the lines--is more valid than a scientific one. The story is a work of art, so what is said and what not is said, obvious choices made by the writers, are decisions they explicitly make when crafting the story. So to disallow a speculation or theory, in a speculation or theory thread, in a lore forum about a fictional work because the evidence is implicit doesn't really do justice to the story--story that I want to believe we all care about, which is how we got here in the first place.

I'm worried that this kind of closed minded thinking about literature analysis has lead to the "Red Door" memes. For those who don't know, "a red door represents anger," which is implicitly read from a text, and for those who are frustrated by that level of thinking react with "but what if the door was just red," because it's easier to just stick to explicit evidence. I want to believe this is a symptom of our education system's move away from a humanities education in favor of a stem focused education, but sometimes I fear it is just laziness and closed mindedness that won't see the forest for the trees.

Condescension aside...

The problem is there are explicit statements going against your speculative theories (hypotheses, to use the proper term). In "An Unpromised Tomorrow" it's shown that 100+ years after the Eighth Umbral Calamity Zodiark still has not broken free of his lunar prison and Midgardsormr explicitly states he is going to protect the survivors as they usher in a new Astral Era; nowhere has it been said or implied the Eighth Calamity is the endgame, nor has it been suggested Midgardsormr intends to ferry those selfsame survivors to a new planet.

The issue with literary analysis is that without the author's input it's nothing more than speculation and/or interpretation. A "red door" may represent anger, something else, or nothing at all. Lacking context it's utterly meaningless, and without author commentary there's no way to know whether or not there's a deeper meaning to be had. One can read into just about anything looking for a deeper meaning; that said there's no way to know if there really is one, or if there is whether or not the author intended for one to be there.

I'm fully capable of appreciating a story rife with symbolism (Borderlands 3's MSQ is crap, but the Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot DLC is excellent from a storytelling perspective because of how much more attention is paid to characterization and symbolism without being "in your face" about it like Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck) but you're looking for deeper meanings that are explicitly contradicted by details and dialogue in canon material. You're going to need a much more convincing argument than "You're supposed to use literary analysis, not scientific analysis" delivered with a patronizing attitude to convince people.

But then again I'm just a humble factory worker with an Associate's Degree in psychology; literary analysis is... what's the term my acquaintance used... "outside my lane," so my opinion on the subject isn't relevant.

[Jandor]

So to disallow a speculation or theory, in a speculation or theory thread, in a lore forum about a fictional work because the evidence is implicit doesn't really do justice to the story--story that I want to believe we all care about, which is how we got here in the first place.

Dude, no one has an issue with you sharing your thoughts, theories and speculation on the lore forum.

Firstly though: you weren't presenting them as your thoughts, theories and speculation though, you were presenting them as if they were incontrovertible fact.

Secondly: you can't expect that you will present your thoughts and everyone will just immediately agree with them. People will have their own theories and speculation that are different to yours, they'll want to know how you arrived at your conclusions, they'll basically want to discuss things.

[Iscah]

I'm worried that this kind of closed minded thinking about literature analysis has lead to the "Red Door" memes. For those who don't know, "a red door represents anger," which is implicitly read from a text, and for those who are frustrated by that level of thinking react with "but what if the door was just red," because it's easier to just stick to explicit evidence.

The thing with this "red door" analogy is that if the author has deliberately mentioned that the door is red, then there's probably some significance to its redness.

You are trying to argue a case for something that isn't in the text of the story. It's like the author didn't mention what colour the door was and you're trying to claim that "because she's angry, the door must be red".