R
razzthesummoner
Guest
I was in my U.S. war on terrorism class the other day when my mind started to wander to the topic of half-life 2. In my opinion, it seems on a very cursory level, Half-life 2 can be interpreted as commentary on the U.S.'s war on terror.
Before I begin I would just like to make it clear I do not know if any of these present themes were put in knowingly by Mr. Laidlaw as a commentary on present day events, or if it is pure coincidence. Either way I find it fascinating and fun not only to find these allusions, but also witness things from the other side, as I believe the Combine are most reminiscent of the U.S. forces, while the resistance and Gordon Freeman are part of the insurgency. None of these themes are really present in the original half-life and my commentary extends only as far as Half-life 2 and its direct sequels (the episodes).
The war on Earth begins and the Combine manage to overpower Earth utterly, defeating all organized resistance within 7 hours thanks to "portal-storms" and vastly superior technology (sound familiar?). The Combine quickly establish a government within a "safe zone" (the citadel) and install a ruler that they can trust but also seems familiar to the citizens (Breen is human after all, which would be more acceptable than an alien ruler to the humans, just as it was believed an Muslim figurehead would be more attractive to the Iraqis than an American). One of the Combines main goals are to extract our resources, and to help human kind "evolve" to the next level so that they might be allies in their ongoing wars and conquests against what is a largely undefined and ambiguous opponent.
While we are not exactly forcing cybernetic enhancements upon the Iraqi people, we did go there in a sense hoping to bring this "backward" nation into the modern area and have them serve as an ally in the War on Terrorism (against a largely ambiguous undefined opponent). The resistance movement draws obvious parallels to the insurgency in Iraq, and the combines tactics of cracking down on them evoke images of APCs raiding apartment buildings for resistance members while complete air superiority is ever present above the resistances heads.
I've rambled on enough, but I'm sure with some more thought even elements such as the Vortiguants and Nova Prospect (thats an obvious one
) could be tied in. Feel free to contribute your thoughts, even if they are "u r stupid d00d hl2 was already being made when the war began. Even so, the parallels could probably be shown to most any war, as history has a habit of repeating itself.
Before I begin I would just like to make it clear I do not know if any of these present themes were put in knowingly by Mr. Laidlaw as a commentary on present day events, or if it is pure coincidence. Either way I find it fascinating and fun not only to find these allusions, but also witness things from the other side, as I believe the Combine are most reminiscent of the U.S. forces, while the resistance and Gordon Freeman are part of the insurgency. None of these themes are really present in the original half-life and my commentary extends only as far as Half-life 2 and its direct sequels (the episodes).
The war on Earth begins and the Combine manage to overpower Earth utterly, defeating all organized resistance within 7 hours thanks to "portal-storms" and vastly superior technology (sound familiar?). The Combine quickly establish a government within a "safe zone" (the citadel) and install a ruler that they can trust but also seems familiar to the citizens (Breen is human after all, which would be more acceptable than an alien ruler to the humans, just as it was believed an Muslim figurehead would be more attractive to the Iraqis than an American). One of the Combines main goals are to extract our resources, and to help human kind "evolve" to the next level so that they might be allies in their ongoing wars and conquests against what is a largely undefined and ambiguous opponent.
While we are not exactly forcing cybernetic enhancements upon the Iraqi people, we did go there in a sense hoping to bring this "backward" nation into the modern area and have them serve as an ally in the War on Terrorism (against a largely ambiguous undefined opponent). The resistance movement draws obvious parallels to the insurgency in Iraq, and the combines tactics of cracking down on them evoke images of APCs raiding apartment buildings for resistance members while complete air superiority is ever present above the resistances heads.
I've rambled on enough, but I'm sure with some more thought even elements such as the Vortiguants and Nova Prospect (thats an obvious one
) could be tied in. Feel free to contribute your thoughts, even if they are "u r stupid d00d hl2 was already being made when the war began. Even so, the parallels could probably be shown to most any war, as history has a habit of repeating itself.
