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The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy #36)
by
Luke Cuddy
Like novels, operas, and epic poems before them, videogames have transcended their early outcast status, surviving the sneers of the ignorant and the slings and arrows of self-appointed culture-bosses. Videogames now boldly claim recognition as the fulfillment of Richard Wagner's dream: The Work of Art of the Future. For all those millions who have grown up with Zelda, and...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
November 25th 2008
by Open Court
(first published November 1st 2008)
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Community Reviews
(showing
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One quote: "Simplicity is the recurring abstraction through which the community understands the world." -Carl Matthew Johnson
One chapter: "How Can There Be Evil in Hyrule?" by Dwayne Collins
One person: Friedrich Nietzsche
One theme: Existentialism (underlying)
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Truth be told, this is somewhere in the 3-4 range for me. I thought I had a fair grasp of The Legend of Zelda series, but I am exposed. How could I think that someone w...more
One chapter: "How Can There Be Evil in Hyrule?" by Dwayne Collins
One person: Friedrich Nietzsche
One theme: Existentialism (underlying)
---
Truth be told, this is somewhere in the 3-4 range for me. I thought I had a fair grasp of The Legend of Zelda series, but I am exposed. How could I think that someone w...more
OH DEAR LORD I MADE IT.
Of all the pop culture philosophy books I've read so far, this is was the most disappointing. While the philosophy itself was actually well thought out and presented, it had very little, if anything, to do with the Zelda series. Yes the game was mentioned on a regular basis, but every time it's brought up the examples are so generic that you could just as easily have pulled the reference out of a hat. Example: the idea of warping is brought up early on, focusing ...more
Of all the pop culture philosophy books I've read so far, this is was the most disappointing. While the philosophy itself was actually well thought out and presented, it had very little, if anything, to do with the Zelda series. Yes the game was mentioned on a regular basis, but every time it's brought up the examples are so generic that you could just as easily have pulled the reference out of a hat. Example: the idea of warping is brought up early on, focusing ...more
There is no deeper meaning behind Link not existing when the game is turned off. You are reading too much into it.
I am not sure what exactly I expected, but, for the most part, I didn't get it. Most of the philosophical discussions in this book are linked to the Legend of Zelda by the most tenuous of threads, relate the content of the game to philosophy in a way that is so meta that all meaning is lost, or are simply uninteresting.
In this book, Zelda is either being sho...more
I am not sure what exactly I expected, but, for the most part, I didn't get it. Most of the philosophical discussions in this book are linked to the Legend of Zelda by the most tenuous of threads, relate the content of the game to philosophy in a way that is so meta that all meaning is lost, or are simply uninteresting.
In this book, Zelda is either being sho...more
Overall, this book was good. The individual authors wrote, for the most part, insightful articles about a series that was never truly meant to picked apart so philosophically. The philosophy itself is good. However, some of the knowledge of the writers about the actual series is occasionally lacking. Most wrote about only one game in the series, which is fine, but sometimes when they make generalizations about the series, and the way the games connect, they lack the understanding I would exp...more
Zelda and Critical Thinking in one place at last ! For anyone that has ever wondered , who or what link is , the Timelines of the Zelda Series or a look at video games as art works this book is for you .
Fun, if not extremely thought-provoking. Drawing connections from Hegel and Hume to space theory and feminism, the essays cover a lot of ground without ever moving away from short colloquial musings. Worth a read just to see if one of the writers has made a connection between Zelda and your favorite theory!
I honestly couldn't finish it. Though I really wanted to like it. It was just so dull and dry and subjective... would rather have just spend the time playing a Zelda videogame...
This book is, I hope to god, meant to be funny. I can barely make sense of anything past the first chapter (which actually had some decent theories on why we feel emotionally about art). I'm a fan of the Zelda franchise, though I could hardly be call hardcore. But even if I live and breathed the games, I would be ashamed for this book to speak for my game. It gives off the feeling of a ten year old trying to tie everything he hears to a few minuscule tid-bits of knowledge that he acquired throug...more
To say I was excited for this book is a gross understatement. I love everything concerning the Legend of Zelda franchise and, to see it applied to a serious field of study really piqued my interest. Unfortunately, upon reading this, I was met with a haphazard, poorly-edited collection of essays. I plowed through it and tried to love it (I really did), but the amount of inaccuracies and lack of depth with the video game made this seem more like a cash grab than an actual look into the philosop...more
it's a cool idea but did not live up to my hype. some parts were cool but overall it repeated itself a lot, was very vague at lots of parts and some of the authors seemed they had never actually played zelda
Here are some four-letter words that describe this book:
poop
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poor
hell
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ruin
slop
odor
poop
piss
shit
dumb
assy
lame
poor
hell
crap
suck
ruin
slop
odor
fantastic read. it's great from a purley philosophical standpoint, as well as from just being a Zelda fan. this book was incredible.
The fact that this book even exists in print gives it five stars.
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My friend Lee Sherlock has an essay in this book. You should read it!
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