- AKA
- Fancy
Heyoooooo! 
I should be a-workin’ but darnnit, I’ve been a-thinkin’ and my brain’s been a-itchin’. And when that itch gots to be too strong, I knew I just had to let it all out!
Now these here question concern Nibelheim (and, I suppose, in the larger scheme of things, the poli-sci nature of the world of Gaia in general). But first, please bear with my political rant/musings on the nature of Gaia, lol. Apologies in advance.
Firstly, though ShinRa is technically just a power-electric company, their power and influence is so substantial, that I think it’s safe to say that they’re basically a government entity over the city of Midgar. Thus, Midgar could technically be considered a state of some sort, not so?
Thus, prior to ShinRa building a reactor in Nibelheim, could the town technically have been considered an independent nation? If so, would the fact that ShinRa was able to come in and build a reactor and erect property in which they’d carry out significant scientific ventures (the Manor) be considered an act of colonisation? Do you think Nibelheim could technically be considered a nation governed by ShinRa by the time Tifa and Cloud are born and flourishing in the area? Do you think ShinRa implemented taxes on small town residents?
I ask all this, ultimately, because the way ShinRa handled the aftermath of the Nibelheim Incident has always sort of boggled my mind, specifically the fact that they repopulated the rebuilt Nibelheim with actors. Actors? Exactly what is meant by the term, “actor”? Was ShinRa seriously able to recruit a number of folks with regular gigs starring in commercials/plays/television/films etc (or otherwise, hopefuls with dreams of starring in those mediums) to go live in the middle of nowhere on the off chance that someone might come by the isolated town with strict instructions to deny the Nibelheim that existed prior to the burning? Yoooooooooooooooo!
That's never made sense to me because I'd think that, naturally, these "actors" would eventually want to go home. I mean, as much as I would love to pretend to be an elf in Peter Jackson's rendition of the Lord of the Rings, I'd miss my mum eventually. And my friends. And technology. And general society. And I'd miss it all very, very much. I don't care how good the money is.
I was thinking that what would have made more sense was, assuming ShinRa did, indeed, annex Nibelheim (if not then, then certainly by the time they bothered rebuilding the area), ShinRa could have implemented adverts in housing for some property out west. Maybe sold it as an “escape from city life.” I even imagined they might have waived taxes for the first three to five years or so as an incentive for people to move. It reminds me of the phenomena of Suburbanisation in general, where folks will flee the congested and high-price city life in order to get closer to “nature” and to have an open space they can call their own. The difference, mayhaps, being in the case of ShinRA and Nibelheim, folks had to sign contracts where they promised to deny Tifa and Cloud’s Nibelheim and “act” like they were long time residents. And because these people have long learned to comply with whatever strange antics ShinRa comes up with, they thought nothing of the strange conditions.
Mayhaps this whole train of thought is pointless because the poli-sci logic applied to real life simply doesn’t apply to Gaia, but pardon me if I try to justify these things anyway. Hehe. Hope everyone is doing alright. If not alright, then I hope the rest of week looks up for you.
I should be a-workin’ but darnnit, I’ve been a-thinkin’ and my brain’s been a-itchin’. And when that itch gots to be too strong, I knew I just had to let it all out!
Now these here question concern Nibelheim (and, I suppose, in the larger scheme of things, the poli-sci nature of the world of Gaia in general). But first, please bear with my political rant/musings on the nature of Gaia, lol. Apologies in advance.
Firstly, though ShinRa is technically just a power-electric company, their power and influence is so substantial, that I think it’s safe to say that they’re basically a government entity over the city of Midgar. Thus, Midgar could technically be considered a state of some sort, not so?
Thus, prior to ShinRa building a reactor in Nibelheim, could the town technically have been considered an independent nation? If so, would the fact that ShinRa was able to come in and build a reactor and erect property in which they’d carry out significant scientific ventures (the Manor) be considered an act of colonisation? Do you think Nibelheim could technically be considered a nation governed by ShinRa by the time Tifa and Cloud are born and flourishing in the area? Do you think ShinRa implemented taxes on small town residents?
I ask all this, ultimately, because the way ShinRa handled the aftermath of the Nibelheim Incident has always sort of boggled my mind, specifically the fact that they repopulated the rebuilt Nibelheim with actors. Actors? Exactly what is meant by the term, “actor”? Was ShinRa seriously able to recruit a number of folks with regular gigs starring in commercials/plays/television/films etc (or otherwise, hopefuls with dreams of starring in those mediums) to go live in the middle of nowhere on the off chance that someone might come by the isolated town with strict instructions to deny the Nibelheim that existed prior to the burning? Yoooooooooooooooo!
That's never made sense to me because I'd think that, naturally, these "actors" would eventually want to go home. I mean, as much as I would love to pretend to be an elf in Peter Jackson's rendition of the Lord of the Rings, I'd miss my mum eventually. And my friends. And technology. And general society. And I'd miss it all very, very much. I don't care how good the money is.
I was thinking that what would have made more sense was, assuming ShinRa did, indeed, annex Nibelheim (if not then, then certainly by the time they bothered rebuilding the area), ShinRa could have implemented adverts in housing for some property out west. Maybe sold it as an “escape from city life.” I even imagined they might have waived taxes for the first three to five years or so as an incentive for people to move. It reminds me of the phenomena of Suburbanisation in general, where folks will flee the congested and high-price city life in order to get closer to “nature” and to have an open space they can call their own. The difference, mayhaps, being in the case of ShinRA and Nibelheim, folks had to sign contracts where they promised to deny Tifa and Cloud’s Nibelheim and “act” like they were long time residents. And because these people have long learned to comply with whatever strange antics ShinRa comes up with, they thought nothing of the strange conditions.
Mayhaps this whole train of thought is pointless because the poli-sci logic applied to real life simply doesn’t apply to Gaia, but pardon me if I try to justify these things anyway. Hehe. Hope everyone is doing alright. If not alright, then I hope the rest of week looks up for you.
