Social Commentary in Psychopomp

Meaning and purpose behind Psychopomp's social commentary.

Introduction

It occurs to me that a sizeable fraction of the people who have played Psychopomp has most likely missed the more or less obvious meaning behind certain stylistic choices and events in the game's universe, so I have decided to take the time to explain to you, the reader, my own, personal interpretation of the social commentary in Psychopomp, and why such commentary is warranted in the first place.

Before we go on to the properly explanatory part of this guide, allow me to say one thing that you ought to keep in mind during the entirety of this lecture: Psychopomp is a libertarian narrative. Of course, I don't mean it in a politically usual way, but rather in the sense that it's a story centered around the basic, universal concept of freedom, that is, the freedom to think differently, the freedom to reject the values of our forbears, erecting new ones, and even the freedom to fight the "system" and the powers that be.

If this strikes you as unikely, then, by all means, stick around, for I do not intend to make claims without providing the evidence that they require.

The Protagonist

At first glance, the protagonist can be understood to be someone suffering from an unspecified mental condition. Her actions and the whole story can, indeed, be viewed through the lens of such an assumption. However, this basic premise has a very serious flaw: it does not account for how amazingly fantastical the world of Psychopomp is. If we are to understand this world as the mere result of abnormal mental phenomena, then - we ought to ask ourselves - why is it so creative, why is it so colorful? It should have been a much more somber thing, a constantly dreadful experience, were it only supposed to convey the perspective of someone who is mentally unwell. Of course, I'm not saying that the protagonist is mentally sane, but the purpose of the game's world, of the protagonist's experience cannot be limited to the simple representation of the frame of mind of being mentally unwell. No, there must be more to it, and, indeed, there is, as you'll soon begin to understand.

The Protagonist's Skepticism

Given that neither the plot nor the idiosyncrasies of the protagonist can be reduced to the effects of mental illness, we now face a new question: if they're not there solely for that reason, then what other reason is there? By noticing the critical tone that permeates the game, we can safely conclude that the protagonist's opinions and mannerisms are the result of an extreme form of skepticism (including in a philosophical[en.wikipedia.org] sense) brought about by the knowledge of how the reality of appearances, be they social, physical and whatnot, mask the true, ontologically superior reality that exists beyond sensation and common sense, that is, that exists beyond traditional knowledge and what can be apprehended by the senses alone. Note that the protagonist, in order to be able to better "see" such a reality, has to rely on her trusted Psychopomp, which is placed over the head and does not seem in any way to auxiliate the senses per se, but rather appears to provide better "perception" by way of altering how intellection works, that is, by augmenting the intellectual capabilities of its user. This solidifies our interpretation that the protagonist's skepticism has an inherently philosophical character, and that her idiosyncrasies are rooted in a deeper understanding of reality, an understanding based on a noumenon-phenomenon duality, that is, an understanding based on the idea that there is, first, a world as it is perceptible to us, and, second, a world of the things in themselves, of the things as they really are, independently of appearances, points of view and even perception itself, and one that we can only begin to understand through thought, abstraction and the workings of the intellect. Although we can never truly conceive this world of the things in themselves, realising it exists is a big step toward true knowledge, a step the protagonist has taken.

Psychopomp

Another thing that proves our interpretation regarding the protagonist's "epistemology" is the word Psychopomp itself. Psychopomp is an ancient Greek word by means of which certain manner of supernatural beings are designated, whose function is to "escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife". In other words, the protagonist's Psychopomp makes the connection between this world, the world of appearances and of the senses, and the "spiritual" world of thought, of the things in themselves - the world as it truly is, as opposed to the world as it merely seems to us.

The Hospital

In the hospital, we learn that there are 3 figures of great historical significance underneath it: Plato, Cleopatra and Alexander. The purpose of them being there is, according to one NPC, to preserve the best that humanity has ever produced, so that it can continue to serve as an example and to inspire future generations to come. It can hardly be considered a coincidence that all 3 of them are Greeks, and that, plus the fact that the underground of the hospital is decorated with a few Greco-Roman reliefs, seems to point toward the notion that Classical Antiquity, as a whole, is understood here as the apex of human civilization. In the hospital we also learn that the 3 individuals are kept alive in a parasitic way: the patients above them provide the sustenance needed to keep them around. This seems to morally justify the protagonist's course of action of killing them, but, more than that, there seems to be something else at play here.

Why Plato, Cleopatra and Alexander? Examining the rooms to which they are confined, we get a clue as to the reason. All 3 of them are kept in close proximity to the things they "liked most" in life. Alexander sits next to representations of death, violence and war, Cleopatra, to expressions of fame, adulation and demagogic approval. Plato sits next to children. This might seem enigmatic at first, but it can be understood to be a tripartite theory of power and authority of sorts. Alexander represents the direct use of force, the very acts of intimidation and coercion; Cleopatra, the use of ruses, rhetorical power, diverse political maneuverings, the "soft power". Plato, on the other hand, represents intellectual and ideological power and authority: the presence of children is perhaps supposed to convey the idea of indoctrination, at worst, and education, at best. Plato himself was very much concerned with education, so the association is hardly unwarranted.

All of that must be destroyed, because, as we've seen, keeping up the ideas and structures of the past only hurts and weakens the present. The protagonist's stance is, here, both libertarian (in the sense discussed before) and revolutionary. Old ways must be abandoned so that the new ones can arise in their wake.

The School

The school is another place that is employed to convey social commentary or, to use the game's language, "real world tips". Once you reach the subterranean, an NPC tells you something along the lines of "isn't it great to have a factory underneath a school? this particular setting opens up so many possibilities for us!", and this, too, is, I believe, supposed to signify something deeper. The factory can be seen here as the end goal of the school: one operates in conjunction with the other, and the school has the usefulness of serving the factory. The most likely way this is supposed to be accomplished is through the formation of obedient, conformed workers, but it's open to interpretation.

Another piece of commentary to be found beneath the school refers to the "Head of Production". Note that, more than simply being the head (as in chief) of production, the Head of Production is, quite literally, a head themself. In fact, it doesn't seem to be in charge of anything. Much to the contrary, it's employed only as an instrument in the assembly line, devoid of any individuality, personal purpose or dignity. In face of this, they ask the player to be killed "in the most painful way possible", something that ought to be interpreted as a form of protest.

The Sewers

In the sewage treatment plant, the protagonist claims that sewage is cleaned so that it can be consumed again in the form of drinkable water. This commentary is analogous to the things said when first entering the school and the hospital. Here too the protagonist makes clear her views of society as consisting largely of systems of control, not just over resources and nature in general, but over the population as well. The water becoming sewage, then becoming potable water again seems to be a metaphor for this.

The Song

The song's lyrics also contain some elements of social criticism within it. For example, "they made the Earth from your bones" seems to refer to social stratification and the exploitation of labour, while "they put your brain into phones" is even more blatant in being criticism of the alluded idea of social control. There's more that could be said about the song, but so as to not make this an overly extensive analysis, we'll leave it at that.

Conclusion

And that's all! Thank you for sticking to the end! If you liked this, have any doubt or would like to express polite criticism, please do so in the comments and let me know. Until next time!

[Thomas Turbando, o jurista]

I have written a sequel to this guide, by the way, if anyone wants to check it out:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3355442970

[Fallenangel700]

I have finally read that essay. It's rather dense and hard to understand. A lot of the time, it felt like the writer was just spinning his wheels with big words while saying nothing. That essay could have been half as long, and it would have made more sense. I don't know if that was just this Dugin guy, or all philosophers are like this. I'm going to bet on the latter.

That said I did recognize some of the things he was saying, so, like Nightmare Eyes said, other people have expressed these ideas. I see why my comment reminded you of that essay.

Logos, or Order, is often rigid, hierarchical, and easy to define. Chaos is often free flowing, dissipate, and vague. One cannot exist without the other; times of Order begets Chaos and times of Chaos begets Order.

Almost every SMT game repeats these thoughts, and Psychopomp reminds me of these too. Specifically, Psychopomp seems to be a time of Order begetting Chaos with Pompy being the catalyst.

[Nightmare Eyes 2 in 3D]

I should clarify - his ideas on chaos theory, or whatever it was. I'm personally not very much studied in that area, and so I'll reserve judgment on whether his ideas outside of fascism are of any merit - the fascism, it should go without saying, is a steaming pile of garbage that's responsible for an ongoing invasion in Ukraine and thousands of senseless deaths.

[Nightmare Eyes 2 in 3D]

I mean not to disrepute the ideas, but rather the man. Other philosophers, and far less morally objectionable ones, have expressed similar ideas. I avoid citing him for the same reason I avoid citing Foucault, if I can help it. As long as you're aware though, that's fine by me - I simply didn't want passers-by with less knowledge about the topic visiting his blog without at least a bit of a heads-up that the man is a practicing fascist.

[Thomas Turbando, o jurista]

Regarding Mr. Dugin, I hold a very eclectic stance in what I read and since he's fundamentally a Heideggerian philosopher, I find he has interesting things to say. That essay I linked is essentially Heideggerian just as well. Now, Heidegger was a literal Nazi himself, but to discredit what he has to say solely on the basis of him being a Nazi Party member would be an unmistakable example of an ad hominem , and not a particularly convincing one, in my opinion. I find the attempt to disrepute Dugin's ideas solely on the basis of him being a supposed nazi to be even less credible precisely for this reason.

[Thomas Turbando, o jurista]

Of course, there's much that could be said about the hospital level, especially as it pertains to a critique of healthcare institutions and businesses and its methods and practices, but I felt it wasn't necessary to cover this topic because to me it seemed sufficiently obvious and I intended this to be a brief discussion of what is not so obvious about the game, at least the way I see it.

[Nightmare Eyes 2 in 3D]

(cont'd).

The hospital certainly serves as commentary on the degree to which ancient Greek society influences modern institutions of power and control - nurses, still abide by the hippocratic oath after all - but it also serves as a critique of the medical system as it relates to systems of power, in that it gladly accepts the death and bleeds the life and/or money out of most patients in order to benefit the privileged, showing that the alleged adherence to the oath of doing no harm is more flexible than most would like to pretend.

P.S. - pertaining to a prior response to fallenangel700, Alexsandr Dugin is a shitty nazi! Highly advise against taking too much of his work to heart, particularly where it pertains to anti-authority pieces of art, given that many of his policies and tactics are currently in use in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

[Nightmare Eyes 2 in 3D]

A lot of this analysis is good, though I'd say it isn't libertarianism in the american, "founding-fathers" sense, but the more original form, social anarchism - the commentary seems to be an anti-capitalist, anti-authority deconstruction of parts of society that are taken for granted, to make unusual and alien the very common, subtly accepted, banal horror of the systems we exist in. The sewer level tends to point to this, with grotesque things hiding behind a nice face.

The educational system's current iteration was formed during the Industrial Revolution, in essence, with the goal of converting children into effective factory workers, and this likely has connections to the mentions of the factory "recycling children into usable products" and the like in that area. The game cuts out the middle-man of them being made into workers that pour their lives into labor for someone else's profit, and instead simply kills them to that same end.

[Thomas Turbando, o jurista]

Both things are related because the protagonist's "ascension" is only possible after she has completed certain tasks in this world, in this plane of existance, so to speak. In truth, both the more down to earth themes and the eschatological and mystical themes are related, a fact that seems to escape many of the people who comment on the latter.

[Michelin Man]

One thing I was kinda wondering was while this analysis focuses largely on the main "levels," do you think any of these critiques and themes ties into the "ascension" the MC has at the end of the game or do you think those aspects are more unrelated?