Deconstruct - #3 - Bioshock

Introduction:

Bioshock (2K Boston, 2K Australia, 2007) has many motifs throughout the game. One such motif is the lack of freedom, that of the player and that of the people of Rapture. This motif is referenced throughout the game, which highlights the fall of Rapture and Andrew Ryan, exposing his hypocrisy and how he slowly removed rights and privileges from his citizens to stay in control.

Bioshock is a light horror FPS with RPG mechanics set in a Randian dystopian city named Rapture in an alternate 1960s. Bioshock “presents an ominous vision of mid-twentieth-century culture gone awry.” (Gibbons, 2011). Rapture is ruled by a businessman named Andrew Ryan and Rapture has since fallen into a state of civil war due to tight control. The player guides the protagonist, Jack, who arrives at Rapture through an aeroplane crash, being the sole survivor. Travelling under the ocean, Jack quickly finds a hellish nightmare below. The player is tasked with bringing down Ryan's rule of Rapture, by exploring Rapture and having to deal with its insane inhabitants who are addicted to a DNA-altering drug called ADAM, giving them and the player superhuman abilities such as telekinesis. 

Narrative:

When the player first enters Rapture, it has already fallen from its golden ideology. Upon entering an isolated lighthouse, the player is greeted with a “looming bronze bust of Andrew Ryan… and is underlined by a banner reading, No Gods or Kings. Only Man.” (Shaw,2019).

Connoting that anyone who joins Rapture is given total freedom, the ability to do anything they desire without being told by religion or government. However, this is the first sign of hypocrisy and lack of freedom in Rapture. 

There is a God and King of Rapture, that being Andrew Ryan, the inhabitants of Rapture. Ryan’s philosophy for Rapture was a comment on Objectivist Ayn Rand, Rapture was a message of “failure of a libertarian utopia...a specific critique of Rand’s Objectivist philosophy...the ideology is...identical to Objectivism...Ryan’s oratory style and beliefs are modelled on Rand’s...” (Shaw, 2019). Ayn Rand was a Russian-American writer who was best known for her fiction and beliefs of Objectivism, the idea that self-interest is good and that altruism is destructive. Andrew Ryan, being a play on words for Ayn Rand, shares many similarities with the writer such as their ethnic background. 

Further connoting that Ryan wanted to escape the shackles and constraints of society where he can do what he pleases without anyone caring, total freedom. He goes on to exclaim“...I chose the impossible. I chose...Rapture...where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small!” (Bioshock). Connoting to the player that Rapture is the ultimate form of freedom, although at a cost to morals and ethics, without such principles to constrain the arts and sciences, their limitless experimentation led to the fall of everything Rapture stood for. This ability to change the DNA of an individual created true freedom of a user’s body but at the cost of their sanity and morals, turning them into mindless slaves.

Shaw encapsulates how Splicers were driven more by their lust for ADAM rather than the ideology itself. “...Splicers...are...insane, and are driven more by insanity and addiction than a political ideology. ...Rapture...played a major part in creating the situation in which they could become insane ADAM addicts, they are not specifically driven by Objectivism. The aggression which these characters display...read more as a commentary on the dangers of transhumanism than Objectivism.” (Shaw, 2019). This interpretation of Ryan’s downfall perfectly encapsulates that Rapture attracted those who failed on the surface and sought unrestricted freedom. But this would only create monsters and insanity. Furthermore, when the player meets Atlas, we as the player get no say in any decision-making, we are told where to go and what to do, without question, the game instructs us to trust Atlas and the player follows the narrative. However, it is then later revealed that we as the player were compelled to do this, from a simple phrase we hear continuously throughout the game, something that we were completely oblivious to: “Would You Kindly?”.

The reveal of the “Would You Kindly?” phrase reveals and shocks the player that they have been manipulated from the beginning. The code phrase was a subtle way to get Jack to mindlessly do any tasks that Atlas wishes, as it is revealed that Atlas was Mobster Frank Fontaine in disguise. It’s so subtle that the player would not notice until the reveal, linking all of their actions to this phrase. Atlas was never helping, only manipulating the player in bringing down Ryan’s downfall. Wysocki and Schandler perfectly explain why it’s such a great twist.”At a crucial point..the player watches...a vicious action because the game, not the player, tells it to. The player is...encouraged to consider…why am I doing this...the answer is because someone asked you nicely.” (Wysocki + Schandler, 2013). This scene exposes the player to the truth that they never really had any freedom, to begin with, from the very first scene they were being controlled and strung along by a simple phrase any player would pass off and ignore. The illusion of control over the player is shown, the player has no true control over their actions, just like a slave.

However, it demonstrates that the player has no freedom or free will, to obey, coerced to create Ryan’s downfall. Ryan’s death, in particular, is also quite ironic, he was the tyrant of an unrestrained society full of freedom, yet he was killed by a slave (the player), a sort of poetic justice. During his death, Ryan exclaims “A man Chooses, a Slave obeys” (Bioshock). Ryan chose how he died, and the player obeyed to carry it out as they’re enslaved to the “Would you Kindly?” code phrase, which removes all free will, and restricts the player's freedom to not kill Ryan only until Ryan tells Jack to kill him. We never had freedom even at the start as it is later revealed that Jack was the one who made the plane crash per Atlas’ orders. Jack, as an extension of the player, never talks or questions, we as the audience and players have a lack of control enforced upon the player.

Gameplay:

Another example of the lack of freedom the player has is that throughout, Jack is only allowed to go where Atlas tells him to, there is no exploring Rapture out of curiosity. If Atlas wants us to go to a specific area, then the player is forced to go. We can only explore the path of Atlas’ tasks. Furthermore, throughout the game, there are many references to the lack of freedom the people of Rapture hold. One such scene involves a man being executed through crucifixion for smuggling Bibles into Rapture. Highlighting Ryan’s hypocrisy. If Rapture was free, why was religion banned?

Also, one notable religious reference is The Great Chain, the idea that if everyone pulled their weight then the chain shall stand strong. This chain is tattooed on the player’s hand, which is in constant view, shackling the player to Rapture. The chain could also further connote and symbolize how the player is shackled, and unable to move freely. However, this serves the idea that the player and citizen are slaves to Ryan’s interest. These brainwashed citizens, called ‘Splicers' would constantly harass the player throughout the game, this is due to Rapture’s unrestricted freedom. This led to the sciences, arts and industries merging. This unethical bond created evil within Rapture, creating a transhuman problem. The populace was evolving too fast and alongside Ryan’s inability to regulate ADAM as well as eventual manipulation of ADAM accelerated Rapture’s downfall.

However, there is an aspect where the player does have freedom and control, which is over the lives of the Little Sisters. “Whether or not to harvest Little Sisters is put forth as a main example of how Bioshock requires players to make moral decisions and contemplate the consequences of their actions...the game presents it as a major decision that the player must make.” (Wysocki + Schandler, 2013). You are confronted with the choice of leaving the Little Sisters with their guardians, for them to continue on their tasks or you attack her protector and murder it since the guardian doesn’t attack unless provoked, it acts in self-defence and defence of a Little Sister in which attacking the guardian could be considered an immoral act.  “The Little Sisters wander Rapture...This is why each one is protected by a monstrous Big Daddy, an enhanced human in an armoured diving suit and carrying powerful weapons...when a splicer gets...close to a Little Sister, the Big Daddy will ...kill it…” (Ruch,2010). Then you are faced with another dilemma, which impacts the ending of the game as well as gameplay segments. Do you rescue the Little Sister and set her free of her ADAM harvesting, resulting in a smaller reward short term but a bigger reward long term? Or do you harvest her and get a bigger reward to help yourself short term to gain more powerful abilities earlier on? The choice is entirely up to the player and it will affect the ending of the game, giving the player the freedom to either be a hero or the true monster of Rapture.

Audio And Graphics:

When the player is submerged during the introduction and is first introduced to Rapture, the player is shown a sublime brightly lit city, filled with neon lights and a sense of a buzz and life. However, this is a stark contrast to how the city is, in reality, it’s a cold, dark and damp horror. This is shown through the wear and tear of Rapture such as the grey blood-splattered walls or the cracking glass seeping in water. The environment tells how over time the fall came about, without laws and ethics a society cannot even begin to function, not even the city has the freedom to stay at peace, being slowly consumed by the sea.

Furthermore, Bioshock makes use of audio diaries, which are placed throughout levels and they serve as an “...important pointer to the Rapture narrative...by scrambling the pieces of a linear story…” (Zakowski,2016). This form of narrative storytelling details to the player how over time rights and liberty slowly disappeared from Rapture. One audio log details how Ryan plans to use ADAM to manipulate its user“...to have them make the user vulnerable to mental suggestion…” (Bioshock).  For the player, Bioshock’s story and themes aren’t told through cut scenes or boss battles, the story is told from many different areas, one being from the individual. This is all mostly from old audio logs left by the inhabitants, giving their insights on the city and how they live life, how over time the city collapsed. The player is barely ever taken out of gameplay and cutscenes are used very sparingly, constantly immersing us in the underwater hell.

Also, the soundtrack to the game is very depressing, symbolizing that Rapture has already fallen, liberty and free will no longer exist here, and the vision of Rapture has already fallen apart when the player arrives. The music for Bioshock is composed of a series of iconic licensed music from the 1930s, the 40s and 50s, having music from this era is prominent because similar to minorities in Rapture, minorities in the real world lacked many basic rights and needs, those who fought to gain those rights included groups such as the “...first Civils Rights Movement... In the 1970s.” (Taylor,1995). Atlas, similar to Martin Luther King Jr had a very hopeful and inspiring voice, full of charisma, attempting to bring freedom and rights to their people. Also, unlike King, Ryan went too far and ended up destroying his dream when trying to achieve it. Furthermore, the licensed soundtrack reflects upon the mood and theme of the Bioshock. One such example is “Beyond the Sea and other songs like it comment on the atmosphere of dystopia that permeates Rapture…” (Gibbons, 2011). The soundtrack reflects the oppressive and harsh environment and its dark nature, giving the feeling of claustrophobia. The music inspires hopelessness, creating an eerie and cold atmosphere, and inspiring fear in the player. Giving the feeling that hope is absent, an absence of hope is an absence of freedom.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, one of the most prominent motifs in Bioshock is the theme of freedom, this theme is shown in many ways such as through dialogue, characters and the world design. Rapture was a failure, creating utopia is creating a dystopia, you cannot have true freedom without creating evil. Ryan’s philosophy was built upon the idea of total freedom, however at the end of the day someone must mop the floors, Rapture was a false promise and presented as a haven for artists and scientists. Rapture was the wealthy’s heaven and the poor’s hell.

Bibliography: 

Bioshock - 2K games, 2K Australia, Irrational Games, (2007) Bioshock [Video Game] PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Novato, 2K Games

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RUCH, Adam. 2010. “Interpretations of Freedom and Control In Bioshock.” Cloud Front [online]. Available at: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/34200066/JGVW_Bioshock_Review.pdf?1405369388=&response-content-

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