The importance of Chapman in Yuppie Psycho

[Supleted (Spek From Infinity)]

Here is my 500 word essay on how Chapman is one of the important pillars that make this game an interesting experience as well as a literary masterpiece.


Chapman may seem like he is the polar opposite of Kate in terms of demeanor and attitude toward their job, but they're similar in that they blindly adapted to the strange and archaic rules of the company without questioning whether they make any sense at all. Like Kate, Chapman managed to adapt to the rules of the company by ceaselessly walking around without a purpose, thinking they are accomplishing something by trotting around in place; and when he tries to get promoted by undergoing the promotional exam, he is unable to pass the promotional exam due to the rules not being clearly stated. This could be a reference to real life employees, who were told to perform "busy works" because they are a superfluous addition to the company, and, despite them giving it their all to accomplish their tasks they will never be able to work on anything else, because there are no one to tell them how "actual company work" functions, and they won't be tempted to go above and beyond their roles due to fears of messing up, due to not knowing the rules. In the end, they're ultimately terminated when the company decides to remove them due to their roles being completely unnecessary. Jobs are not fair, and sometimes, despite their best efforts, employees are fired, due to no fault of their own, based on circumstances outside of their control.


On that end, I'd like to say that despite what he appears to be, Chapman is a man dealt with a bad hand. Despite his prestigious upbringings, Chapman only managed to get into the lowest and possibly the most perilous position in Sintracorp, where he aspires to climb up to the top of Sintracorp while knowing nothing of the rules on how to ascend his positions in the company. Also, due to his wealthy upbringings, Chapman obviously lived a sheltered life, and didn't know how to properly interact with other people. This had led to him being seen as a jerk in other people's eyes, which prevents him from making much friends. Essentially, Chapman is experiencing the first day of his work in a completely alien environment, with hardships all around him, doing a fruitless task he was way under-qualified for that seems downright impossible to accomplish at first glance. Chapman is experiencing exactly what Brian Pasterneck is currently going through, being given an impossible task by a higher power, seemingly waiting for him to fail. Chapman is the exact embodiment of what this game represents, he is the embodiment of Sisyphus rolling a stone up a hill, only for it to fall down right before it reaches the peak. Chapman is the Yuppie Psycho, the very representation of all the trials and tribulations that goes on in the work place; without the Yuppie Psycho, without Chapman, this story would have been missing a solid part of what makes it so accurate to the trials people face in real-life workplaces. Tony Tony Chopperman is one of the essentially additions to this game, though not as an antagonist, but as a sacrificial lamb to the workplace slaughter.

[Super Tramp]

their roles being completely (unnecessary)* I checked.. that was only 461 words.

Joking aside I never really looked at Chapman in this light. Thanks for sharing. I'd like to hear your thoughts on Spader though. Spader by far is the most intriguing character in this game. Perhaps because he plays a rather key character and yet has so little screen time. I wouldn't mind creating a guide about all the characters and my personal opinions on their on their purpose and narrative. I don't know if I would be able to get around to it.

While I enjoy games that leave lingering questions and skepticism, I feel at the same time that Jenna, Inay, and Irene are all just stereotypical office employees.

Jenna - The sultry, past her prime, apple festival queen (lol it's a Ohio thing) hoping to catch the eye of any 'fresh meat' for a quick thrill in the facilities. Her lovers all swooning around her cubicle to grovel at her feet hoping for a second go.

Irene - The office gossip. Knows everything, sees everything, and shares it with everyone. She is probably a bit of a mother hen too. Organizing the birthday parties and making sure that her chicks all stay in line.

Inay - Perhaps a little more interesting because he realizes that things aren't quite right. He is the electrician and all around handy man but could care less about fixing what's wrong with the company and would rather spend his free time reassembling the first Rei Sintra robot. Actually without going into speculation, I imagine he may very well have a much bigger role within the U.S.S.R.

[Supleted (Spek From Infinity)]

Originally posted by Super Tramp:

their roles being completely (unnecessary)* I checked.. that was only 461 words.

Joking aside I never really looked at Chapman in this light. Thanks for sharing. I'd like to hear your thoughts on Spader though. Spader by far is the most intriguing character in this game. Perhaps because he plays a rather key character and yet has so little screen time. I wouldn't mind creating a guide about all the characters and my personal opinions on their on their purpose and narrative. I don't know if I would be able to get around to it.

While I enjoy games that leave lingering questions and skepticism, I feel at the same time that Jenna, Inay, and Irene are all just stereotypical office employees.

Jenna - The sultry, past her prime, apple festival queen (lol it's a Ohio thing) hoping to catch the eye of any 'fresh meat' for a quick thrill in the facilities. Her lovers all swooning around her cubicle to grovel at her feet hoping for a second go.

Irene - The office gossip. Knows everything, sees everything, and shares it with everyone. She is probably a bit of a mother hen too. Organizing the birthday parties and making sure that her chicks all stay in line.

Inay - Perhaps a little more interesting because he realizes that things aren't quite right. He is the electrician and all around handy man but could care less about fixing what's wrong with the company and would rather spend his free time reassembling the first Rei Sintra robot. Actually without going into speculation, I imagine he may very well have a much bigger role within the U.S.S.R.

I won't take this challenge lying down! I'll expand it to 500 words!

...joking retorts aside, I must agree that Spader is a character I'm not too familar with, primarily due to the fact that we see so little of him, so my interpretation of him may be very much flawed in this respect.

Remember when it was mentioned over and over that this company has no bosses anymore? Spader is as close to a boss in this company as it comes. Spader is a contractual worker, but this fact alone is rather strange, since Sintra Corp has no bosses to sign any form of contract with Spader. This fact, coupled with the fact that Spader know of the Sintra prototypes, gives me the impression that Spader may be a scientist or an engineer previously working on floor 6, in order to design many of the machines seen in the company. Judging by the fact that there is a Dot Matrix right in the gallery where he works, Spader may be responsible for bringing that abomination to life.

As to Spader's representation to real life, I believe Spader could serve as a symbol for the wealth investors that backs up every company. Like the Great Gatsby has taught us, the rich and the wealthy will ultimately not be punished. Spader has left the canteen right before the witch invasion, citing work reasons, when he clearly have no work to be done in the art gallery where he resides. It's actually quite curious, but you can actually see Devilman makes his appearance right as Pasternack is talking to Hugo about him sabotaging Brian's job as super Toad. You can see it here in this video at 57:08; devilman is to the left of the screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LlRRUjUOoI
So this could mean, to me, that Spader returned to his office because he was waiting for Devilman to show up and offer his "blood trick" to him, which could involve bleeding himself and pouring the devil's blood into a cup for Spader to enjoy.

What I can gather from this encounter is that Spader's "work" involves pleasuring himself by drinking Devil Man's blood; if the devil man represents the ills of the company, then Spader is literally cavorting with the devil, drinking from the sins of the company, and ultimately getting away with it all scot-free. This could serve as a representation of mega-corporation investors, who gets to make money by spending money, be free from any work-related grievances, and when the going gets tough, they could simply withdraw their funds, and disappear without any consequences being impressed upon them. Spader is not the yuppie devil, but the one who dances with the devil and left without even a scratch on him. He is the person Fitzgerald warned us about.

[Super Tramp]

The one who dances with the devil. I like that analogy if not straight up reality of him. I decided to make a little essay of my own about Spader. I'll share a link when I'm done. We have some different views on who he is but I think we can agree that he has a strange relationship with SintraCorp.

[Supleted (Spek From Infinity)]

Originally posted by Super Tramp:

Irene - The office gossip. Knows everything, sees everything, and shares it with everyone. She is probably a bit of a mother hen too. Organizing the birthday parties and making sure that her chicks all stay in line.

Regarding Irina Rostov, I believe before Brian had officially met her, he has had a rather spooky encounter with "zombie Rostov" in the elevator having obtained all three clues on the R-301 form in the archives. Zombie Rostove mentioned 4 things in her dialogue with Pasternack:

"Yes, because there is a new boy who just started, haven't you heard? I can tell you whatever you want to know about him."

"How delicious... Delicious indeed! Have you not brought more lunch boxes?"

"If he's gone mad, it'd be the best to lock him up and let her take care of that nut, don't you think? Hehe. A pleasure, my name is Rostov, I work on the fifth floor." (This line of dialogue may be referring to the madman locked in office D, and Irina suggesting to let the witch devour him)

"Someone's written obscenities on the canteen whiteboard again. Hugo, I suppose."


These are all what Rostov would have said to other employees. During Brian and Rostov's official meeting, Irina makes no mention of their encounter at the elevator, possibly not remembering what had transpired. I believe it is possible that the "Zombie" Irina Brian met in the elevator could be due to the witch's corruption, or perhaps a side effect from the "sleeping pills" given to her by Hugo; it is very apparent after the party that Hugo doesn't care in the least about his work mates, so it could be possible that the sleeping pills with the strange side effects are a way of getting Irina fired, or be lured to the witch.

[Koop]

I am assume we are just all good with spoilers ya?

Hugo is such a good character. Coming from an even lower class than the main character and getting as far as he did within the company through any means necessary. The Super Hugo ending scene is so sad. Poor guy just wanted to succeed and be more than a number. I wonder what the final scene represents. I can only imagine that the final falling scene is him just giving up since he lost it all. But I can't help but dwell on the significance of him wearing the 'magic' cape given to him. I wonder if he wears it out of regret for betraying the hunters. I doubt he really thought it was magical. Obviously it was Hugo who got them all killed so he could work towards his master plan. I wonder if in the end he regrets all the evil things he did to end up nowhere.

[Supleted (Spek From Infinity)]

Originally posted by Koop:

I am assume we are just all good with spoilers ya?

Hugo is such a good character. Coming from an even lower class than the main character and getting as far as he did within the company through any means necessary. The Super Hugo ending scene is so sad. Poor guy just wanted to succeed and be more than a number. I wonder what the final scene represents. I can only imagine that the final falling scene is him just giving up since he lost it all. But I can't help but dwell on the significance of him wearing the 'magic' cape given to him. I wonder if he wears it out of regret for betraying the hunters. I doubt he really thought it was magical. Obviously it was Hugo who got them all killed so he could work towards his master plan. I wonder if in the end he regrets all the evil things he did to end up nowhere.

The cape given to Hugo, in my opinion, was Corvo's way of showing Hugo how he could get ahead in life. The cape works slowly, and will only bring Hugo fortune if he works hard his entire life, and if he wants to fly, he needs to jump first. Hugo may have been angry, but he had done exactly as the cape prescribed his entire life, working slowly and methodically to eliminate his seniors, so that he could come up on top, and he did come up on top, albeit for a few moments. When he lost everything he had to Sintra, Hugo had only one more thing to do; to learn how to fly.

I'd also like to point out how the magazine in the canteen depicts a man with a red cape standing atop of Sintra tower, which is a powerful forshadowing of the super Hugo ending.

[Henrique]

This is super interesting. Thanks to all of you for your comments about the characters.

[flex]

Imo, Chapman is just a comedy character and is the opposite of Hugo rather than Kate. A stuck up jerk with an upper class background who turns out to be not such a bad guy, compared to a goofball with a lower class background who turns out to be a backstabbing jerk.

[Clown Reemus]

Sorry Asian folklore rip-off twist that makes this corporative satire a "literary" masterpiece? My nonsense gauge bursting.

[Koop]

Originally posted by Sprite of Lore Whistling:

Originally posted by Koop:

I am assume we are just all good with spoilers ya?

Hugo is such a good character. Coming from an even lower class than the main character and getting as far as he did within the company through any means necessary. The Super Hugo ending scene is so sad. Poor guy just wanted to succeed and be more than a number. I wonder what the final scene represents. I can only imagine that the final falling scene is him just giving up since he lost it all. But I can't help but dwell on the significance of him wearing the 'magic' cape given to him. I wonder if he wears it out of regret for betraying the hunters. I doubt he really thought it was magical. Obviously it was Hugo who got them all killed so he could work towards his master plan. I wonder if in the end he regrets all the evil things he did to end up nowhere.

The cape given to Hugo, in my opinion, was Corvo's way of showing Hugo how he could get ahead in life. The cape works slowly, and will only bring Hugo fortune if he works hard his entire life, and if he wants to fly, he needs to jump first. Hugo may have been angry, but he had done exactly as the cape prescribed his entire life, working slowly and methodically to eliminate his seniors, so that he could come up on top, and he did come up on top, albeit for a few moments. When he lost everything he had to Sintra, Hugo had only one more thing to do; to learn how to fly.

I'd also like to point out how the magazine in the canteen depicts a man with a red cape standing atop of Sintra tower, which is a powerful forshadowing of the super Hugo ending.

Pretty much makes sense to me

[Secanho]

Very interesting points except by the humanization of scum people like Tony. Don't "joker card" him.

[Supleted (Spek From Infinity)]

Originally posted by Secanho:

Very interesting points except by the humanization of scum people like Tony. Don't "joker card" him.

I completely understand how you feel about Tony; he's rude and crass at the best of times. However, I believe it was his upbringing that made him the man he was. Having been taught that interacting with the lower class will put a literal stain in his career, Tony, a low level employee (hence a low class worker) never knew how to properly interact with his peers, or Brian. Because he never knew how to talk to people, Tony sounds incredibly rude to others, and his reputation ultimately suffered because of it. However, Tony learned fast, and turned his attitude around on day after he got his job, which, to me, looks like Tony had the capacity to be a polite individual, and he turned polite the first chance he got. Unlike Hugo, Tony wasn't actively kicking people just to get to the top; he may have used Brian to get his promotion, but he paid him his proper dues, and in the end, didn't try to kill Brian after he had exhausted his usefulness. Tony is a novice with very poor social skills, who had gotten better at the end of Yuppie psycho, and I believe he doesn't deserve the public backlash he had been getting.

[ranarif]

Interesting reading! I loved the references, the symbolisms and the parodies between the working/job searching environment and Yuppie Psycho. I wrote an article talking exactly about this, here is the link if somebody is interested:

surrealandcreepy.wordpress.com/2019/05/27/world-analysis-of-yuppie-psycho-horror-symbolism-and-the-stereotypes-of-a-working-environment/