Post by Evie ❤✿ on Jan 19, 2020 8:37:31 GMT -5
OK, if you've read some of my past posts I may have come across quite intense in my past interpretation of Majora's Mask. Very sorry if this has been the case. A lot of my traits have been bluntly.. stereotypical of acute bipolar disorder (of which is similar to both OCD and Autism-spectrum disorder - though manifest a little differently/some behaviours are absent steoretypically between different neurosis), but this subject just makes me weep and is embarrassing (because of pride (I just want to live a gentle life) and stigma). On the other hand, I do have a supportive network (in 2010 I did suffer mental illness that itself people weren't certain whether was psychosis (which is a reference to where inner logic no longer suffices) or insight - following that was grief, but to go any darker would be pushing the line and not appropriate here.
But I do actually feel happier after rethinking it. The Happy Mask Salesman is not "the devil", nor is Link dead, nor is Navi dead (who may have split into Tatl and Tael; this may be yin-yang dualism) , or even the skull kid "evil" (as we know as children; things "just are", but there is a heavy conflict going on right now realistically between the West and East). The issue it feels is old stereotypically feminine belief systems like Buddhism, or Native American (such as Sioux, dream time philosophy) may be considered by extremists to be mutually exclusive to say fundamentalist Christianity. However in my heart (of course it may be just me) Majora's Mask actually does a beautiful way of merging both West and East.
I didn't really see this at first, but there were precursors to it like Link as a healer (well.. both Buddha and Christ are - they have that in common); yet seriously considering all this, when I watched the ending although I had an acute panic attack for a moment its not necessarily that bad. Why? Well Link is a healer, he has strong.. determinism (/silly cute Undertale joke), one of his spirit friends Epona (a horse; associated with stamina died [if we are to go very yami Nintendo about it perhaps Epona was exhausted)) - to put yourself in Link's shoes must be exponentially traumatic. Further though what may seem counterintuitive is the journey wasn't actually about Link at all. It was about Majora's slow recovery (I think it may be suggested that Link was dreaming about The Great Deku Tree's grief; and the Skull Kid is an analogy for loneliness (as a past YouTuber suggested), and the Great Deku Tree is Majora's "shadow" (Carl Jung's notion that we are not complete without shadow to good like yin/yang) - more on that later. The mask that the skull kid wears is associated with.. in Christianity what is called "weakness of the flesh"/carnal desires like lust, pride, envy, but pride is the most powerful; and it took Link lots of patience to conquer.
Its not that the Skull Kid was proud, but as Tatl, Tael said; was lonely and confused. However, who was proud for power seems to be a little ambiguous; was it The Great Deku Tree, or maybe more deeply; was Link because ultimately he is not perfect? (and did not return to life as 'an ordinary kid' as Zelda suggested in Ocarina of Time?). This however spans into an apparent paradox; why wouldn't he want to be proud, he is the Hero of Time. However, he is proud for the right reason; a personal quest to find his friend - not to be 'stuck in the past'.
In that respect, 'stuck in the past' is like another poem perhaps. My personal interpretation is that the long-lost friend is the Great Deku Tree. For Navi I kind of feel there is something complex going on behind the scenes, because she split into yin (the dark one) and yang (the light one). At the end of the game Link curiously walks away from Tatl and Tael and they both thank Link for it, its not necessarily that Link doesn't like Navi (but maybe it may be worth questioning if he felt a little pressurised and was hiding it) but it was like.. Link was lonely at the beginning, and didn't have a fairy; so Navi came - but then Link went on a journey to defeat Ganon, and things were never the same again; what is referred to as "shadow spirituality". Perhaps he felt closer to The Great Deku Tree, but he would die (but in the Ocarina of Time timeline he is reborn in an optimistic light; maybe it is a parallel universe where Link doesn't suffer so much in the element of grief; but more so in the apparent wrath of the "evil" Ganon) - Ocarina of Time is The Great Deku Tree (thinking about it, is he inspired by Yggdrasil?) dreaming about Link as benevolent, and Majora's Mask is Link dreaming about The Great Deku Tree's pain, but sacrificing himself. Now.. what I also personally found interesting, was what the Happy Mask Salesman said at the end.
This one can actually be really sad if taken out of context; but people have compared the Happy Mask Salesman to the devil; like that old Japanese anime series in the past aimed at adults (The Laughing Salesman); where freedom is not an option - if you are drawn to him (to be "met with a terrible fate"), you must obey him or you will be cursed. However, he seems to hint (from ending text) that it's all OK now, and praises Link because he made lots of friends happy with his masks (in a cynical perspective the Happy Mask Salesman has an agenda because he has to sell masks, but in another sense he has affection for Link). The Happy Mask Salesman later says there was "evil" inside of Majora's Mask but it is now gone. It feels rude if the mask was a manifestation of The Great Deku Tree, but nothing is black and white - perhaps The Happy Mask Salesman just has a different set of beliefs but deep down they're all friends?
Also about The Legend of Zelda series, in Buddhism there are many incarnations of Buddha, close to Buddha but never becoming Buddha just like how there are many Links - a focus is on turning down karmic influences for the sake of (the fundamental driving forces and aversion of the 'poison' analogies like "snake", "chicken", "pig" - not that the creatures are bad, just that some of the negative concepts are like knowledge, craving, attachment) (in that case sorry) and the concept of unconditional love. It hurts though how for many faith based belief systems can lead to trouble, because in theory they are beneficial (and science has caught up; to practice gratitude not only makes you happier but other people so is win win) but I suppose if we attach too much to one way of thinking, we see the negative side of Majora instead (for me I'm quite obsessive so I always have to sometimes cool down, as I hope to do now with something cute like Furret memes.
But I do actually feel happier after rethinking it. The Happy Mask Salesman is not "the devil", nor is Link dead, nor is Navi dead (who may have split into Tatl and Tael; this may be yin-yang dualism) , or even the skull kid "evil" (as we know as children; things "just are", but there is a heavy conflict going on right now realistically between the West and East). The issue it feels is old stereotypically feminine belief systems like Buddhism, or Native American (such as Sioux, dream time philosophy) may be considered by extremists to be mutually exclusive to say fundamentalist Christianity. However in my heart (of course it may be just me) Majora's Mask actually does a beautiful way of merging both West and East.
I didn't really see this at first, but there were precursors to it like Link as a healer (well.. both Buddha and Christ are - they have that in common); yet seriously considering all this, when I watched the ending although I had an acute panic attack for a moment its not necessarily that bad. Why? Well Link is a healer, he has strong.. determinism (/silly cute Undertale joke), one of his spirit friends Epona (a horse; associated with stamina died [if we are to go very yami Nintendo about it perhaps Epona was exhausted)) - to put yourself in Link's shoes must be exponentially traumatic. Further though what may seem counterintuitive is the journey wasn't actually about Link at all. It was about Majora's slow recovery (I think it may be suggested that Link was dreaming about The Great Deku Tree's grief; and the Skull Kid is an analogy for loneliness (as a past YouTuber suggested), and the Great Deku Tree is Majora's "shadow" (Carl Jung's notion that we are not complete without shadow to good like yin/yang) - more on that later. The mask that the skull kid wears is associated with.. in Christianity what is called "weakness of the flesh"/carnal desires like lust, pride, envy, but pride is the most powerful; and it took Link lots of patience to conquer.
Its not that the Skull Kid was proud, but as Tatl, Tael said; was lonely and confused. However, who was proud for power seems to be a little ambiguous; was it The Great Deku Tree, or maybe more deeply; was Link because ultimately he is not perfect? (and did not return to life as 'an ordinary kid' as Zelda suggested in Ocarina of Time?). This however spans into an apparent paradox; why wouldn't he want to be proud, he is the Hero of Time. However, he is proud for the right reason; a personal quest to find his friend - not to be 'stuck in the past'.
In that respect, 'stuck in the past' is like another poem perhaps. My personal interpretation is that the long-lost friend is the Great Deku Tree. For Navi I kind of feel there is something complex going on behind the scenes, because she split into yin (the dark one) and yang (the light one). At the end of the game Link curiously walks away from Tatl and Tael and they both thank Link for it, its not necessarily that Link doesn't like Navi (but maybe it may be worth questioning if he felt a little pressurised and was hiding it) but it was like.. Link was lonely at the beginning, and didn't have a fairy; so Navi came - but then Link went on a journey to defeat Ganon, and things were never the same again; what is referred to as "shadow spirituality". Perhaps he felt closer to The Great Deku Tree, but he would die (but in the Ocarina of Time timeline he is reborn in an optimistic light; maybe it is a parallel universe where Link doesn't suffer so much in the element of grief; but more so in the apparent wrath of the "evil" Ganon) - Ocarina of Time is The Great Deku Tree (thinking about it, is he inspired by Yggdrasil?) dreaming about Link as benevolent, and Majora's Mask is Link dreaming about The Great Deku Tree's pain, but sacrificing himself. Now.. what I also personally found interesting, was what the Happy Mask Salesman said at the end.
This one can actually be really sad if taken out of context; but people have compared the Happy Mask Salesman to the devil; like that old Japanese anime series in the past aimed at adults (The Laughing Salesman); where freedom is not an option - if you are drawn to him (to be "met with a terrible fate"), you must obey him or you will be cursed. However, he seems to hint (from ending text) that it's all OK now, and praises Link because he made lots of friends happy with his masks (in a cynical perspective the Happy Mask Salesman has an agenda because he has to sell masks, but in another sense he has affection for Link). The Happy Mask Salesman later says there was "evil" inside of Majora's Mask but it is now gone. It feels rude if the mask was a manifestation of The Great Deku Tree, but nothing is black and white - perhaps The Happy Mask Salesman just has a different set of beliefs but deep down they're all friends?
Also about The Legend of Zelda series, in Buddhism there are many incarnations of Buddha, close to Buddha but never becoming Buddha just like how there are many Links - a focus is on turning down karmic influences for the sake of (the fundamental driving forces and aversion of the 'poison' analogies like "snake", "chicken", "pig" - not that the creatures are bad, just that some of the negative concepts are like knowledge, craving, attachment) (in that case sorry) and the concept of unconditional love. It hurts though how for many faith based belief systems can lead to trouble, because in theory they are beneficial (and science has caught up; to practice gratitude not only makes you happier but other people so is win win) but I suppose if we attach too much to one way of thinking, we see the negative side of Majora instead (for me I'm quite obsessive so I always have to sometimes cool down, as I hope to do now with something cute like Furret memes.