Analyzing Evil: Andrew Ryan From Bioshock

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Welcome everyone and welcome to the seventy-first episode of Analyzing Evil! Our feature villain for this video is Andrew Ryan from the Bioshock series. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for watching. If you have any feedback or questions feel free to let me know below!
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#Bioshock #AndrewRyan #Rapture

[@TheVileEye]

Head to keeps.com/vile to get 50% off your first order of hair loss treatment.

[@thenight527]

Bill Sykes from Oliver musical 1968. please 😊

[@thesopranosaint]

Trevor phillips from GTA

[@dbzfan-ru6we]

Sofia Lamb would be a interesting video or Zachary Hale Comstock

[@MikeLitoris321]

johan liebert from "Monster", I'm dying to see your analysis of this character.

[@nick-a-cola2749]

Could you do Clu from tron legacy??

[@doctordiscord1399]

"These poor chumps. They think they're gonna be captains of industry, but they forget: someone's gotta clean the toilets." - Frank Fontaine.

[@Nyghtking]

Yup, a tower always has a base, even if the tower is made of pure gold and silver you still have to stick something in the ground to build it in the first place. Or as the saying goes, someone always has to be at the bottom of the totem pole.

[@phantasyryder]

I clean toilets; proverbially.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Last words Frank Fontaine's earthly form heard was Little Sister screaming "KILL HIM" and last thing he saw ADAM-syringe's sharp end approaching his eye. He deserved worse.

[@Delightfully_Bitchy]

Most do. In fact, in some professions, you're still "cleaning toilets" despite being the top of your game.

[@citizenoftheworld2694]

Ancaps in a nutshell.

[@ethanwillis3004]

“…a concept we’re all familiar with: the greater good” *”The Greater Good”* “Shut it!”

[@waxmeltfan]

Too many crusty jugglers….

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

Looking at hot fuzz with Frank and the NWA it was clear Frank was just a sad old man who needed help as it was clear he was trying to honour his wife death but fail to realize that killing people would never bring her back or make his village great as flaws are everywhere and not everything has to be perfect as sometimes being to perfect can lead to problems

[@firewarrior5828]

*The Tau Empire would like to know your location "

[@cerebrospinal87]

*"A GREAT BIG BUSHY BEARD!"*

[@verde1335]

"You just used one" "Did i?" "Yea IT is a pronoun" "What is?" "IT" "Is it?" "Christ!"

[@dianabarnett6886]

The great irony of Ryan's downfall is that Fontaine is the embodiment of his philosophy.

[@TravistheGREAT03]

In the beginning yes, but the moment Fontaine started using physical violence heft left Andrews philosophy.

[@dr.k8610]

@@TravistheGREAT03 I’d say he left Ryan’s philosophy by ensuring other businesses couldn’t compete. Ryan tells the other business owners to offer a better product to compete with Fontaine, who knows he can’t let that happen and completely corners the market through any means necessary

[@SuperGman117]

@@dr.k8610 Take for example the example with the grocer and the garbage collector. Ryan refused to intervene then, and obviously he didn't feel the need to outlaw what Fontaine was doing either.

[@henrykanning245]

Fontaine is the embodiment of self interest. He refuses to invest in making Adam safer because having it be addictive makes him more money. He can corner the market, so why should he not? Would his competitors given the advantage he has not exploit it to its fullest extent? He invests in more businesses with his profits ands starts an empire to compete with Ryans and does so with no organized opposition. Fontaine has no ideals besides self interest and it manifests in greed. Capitalism naturally trends towards authoritarianism as those with an advantage press it and gain control of the market.

[@akessel92train]

@@henrykanning245 you’re missing one major fact in regards to Fontaine and Adam. Adam was only discovered in Fontaine’s fisheries in the bodies of sea slugs native to the area rapture is in. Some other fishing company could have discovered it but the reason Fontaine was able to corner ADAM. Was because most of the labs weren’t interested in Brigid Tennenbaums research or in funding it. Fontaine funded her researched and provided means to capture sea slugs not just because of the fishery but also because Fontaine was involved in the only illegal trade rapture. smuggling.

[@sevenproxies4255]

Maybe a bit nitpicky, but one thing that could also have been discussed is how Ryan authorized the use of the pheromone plasmid, which essentially functions as mind control of people, in his civil war against Fontaine. There's an audio diary in the first game I believe, where Ryan tries to justify to himself how taking away free will from individuals by utilizing the pheromone plasmid is somehow the right thing to do in order to maintain his vision of Rapture. So Ryan didn't merely resort to regular dictatorship methods by constructing turrets and cameras and armed police to quash dissidents. He even went so far as to manipulate people's minds biochemically to maintain control of Rapture.

[@whiteeye3453]

choice he regreted later

[@TheAxel999]

I think his specific rationale was that Atlas would do the same action with the plasmid and steal individual choice. Ryan then could delude himself that him doing it was somehow less worse

[@codyschwarz5155]

@@TheAxel999 atlas already had done it, Ryan just stooped to his level, which condemned Ryan

[@nathanhall2012]

Ryan- Government control is a detriment to a person's free will. Also Ryan- People need me to take away their free will.

[@sevenproxies4255]

@@nathanhall2012 That's the thing about Bioshock. It's a critique of Objectivism and throws various problems at it that can't be solved within the framework of it. But at the same time, they did the same thing to the polar opposite of objectivism in Bioshock 2, where Sophia Lamb represented socialim/communism.

[@benwasserman8223]

Who else still gets chills from Ryan’s opening monologue on the bathosphere ride to Rapture? Still one of the best game intros ever

[@slipperysloper3721]

Still the best part in all of gaming. That and the end of The Last of Us.

[@lexofexcel886]

Armin Shimmerman is amazing.

[@thatguyted4140]

And the reveal of rapture and the music that plays immediately just adds to it.

[@SouthDakotaFacts]

“My name is Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question…”

[@augustaseptemberova5664]

I also like Bioshock Infinity's ascension to Columbia .. the rising above the clouds timed with the "hallelujah" just when you see the city for the first time .. gives me chills even when I think about it. Bioshock series one of my two all-time favorite series (the other is Mass Effect minus Andromeda).

[@traviscummings9178]

"I am Andrew Ryan, and I am here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat upon his brow? 'No,' says the man in Washington, 'it belongs to the poor.' 'No,' says the man in the Vatican, 'it belongs to God.' 'No,' says the man in Moscow, 'it belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose...Rapture! A city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be restrained by petty morality, where the weak would not restrain the strong. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well." Still one of my favorite opening monologues to a game.

[@andrewryan7310]

Thanks my friend for saying my quote when my son Jack enters my city I do say that and with the sweat of your brow rapture can become your city as well.

[@traviscummings9178]

@@andrewryan7310 I hope I did right by you, Mr. Ryan

[@andrewryan7310]

@@traviscummings9178 you did

[@carmenishere]

The writing in this game set the bar so high for me. It’s hard to play games that aren’t on this level 😫

[@pahwraith]

So this means employers have to give exactly what an employer contributes as wages. Businesses have to run as co-ops w/profit sharing and ownership sharing. Otherwise the business owner who owns the equipment and place of work, is stealing the sweat on the brows of his workers. Hes just as bad as the man in russia or the man in Washington. Right?

[@cmccleese6190]

"A man chooses, a slave obeys...". One of the best quotes from one of my favorite antagonists in gaming!

[@locochang6533]

A slave chooses to obey.

[@NKSVD831]

So who was sent to kill a slave… or a man

[@grimsong2237]

Ayn Rand using her philosophy of Objectivism to be Pro Genocide of the Native Americans kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYGmaJ95iK5oeck Edit: TheVileEye is incorrect in his assessment that the problem in the game is that Objectivism gets mixed with the philosophy of Nietzsche. We can clearly hear Rand as provided in said clip link make such vile and evil claims of pro-genocide and land theft using nothing but Objectivism. It gets even worse when you look up her unapologetic pro-rape stances which she makes using Objectivism. Modern day Objectivist will tell you there are key tenants of Objectivism that don't sound so bad at a glance. What they will not do is tell you about the tenants of Objectivism that most people will clearly reject. Modern day civilizations understand that a mix of Capitalism and Socialism works better than just Capitalism. Public; Fire Departments, Police Departments, street repair, your average Western Military are all socialist institutions that all people benefit from regardless if they pay taxes or not. The west already tried private police, private fire departments, private militaries, etc. The West learned that these private Objectivist institutions suck ass. Because lets say you have a private Fire Department that you have to pay out of pocket for and there is no public Fire Department. A house in your neighborhood catches fire. Only you have Private Fire Department service because no one else could afford it. The Fire Department saves your house and lets the rest of the neighborhood burn to the ground. Sure your house is saved but now you live on a hideous burned out block with toxic fragrances wafting heavily in the air for weeks from all the plastic and chemicals that were lit up from the fires. The problem with Objectivism is its naive outlook upon life which assumes that things will just work out for itself via tools like a free market. History has shown us that if given the opportunity to pollute drinking water to save money that industries and corporations will do so, that if constructing buildings by cutting corners for home owners is allowed then construction companies will do so and buildings will collapse and kill people, etc,etc. We known that an unregulated market and an unregulated society creates nightmare scenarios. The answer to curing said problems is a not so Objectivist selfish socoety but instead a regulated society with socialized solutions. A balancing act of capitalism and socialism. TLDR: Fuck Ayn Rand and Fuck Objectivism. There is a reason why philosophy and economic academics treat Objectivism like a bad joke.

[@animeAJproductions]

Ryan wasn't technically the antagonist since the game's "protagonist" was a sleeper assassin for Fontaine (aka Atlas), the ACTUAL antagonist. I mean, come on!

[@Austib_]

@@animeAJproductions The game can have more than one antagonist

[@enzoofelba]

Andrew Ryan, living out the proverb, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

[@Killgore-ip2yq]

It depends if you don't necessary agree with libertarianism or objectivism. Andrew Ryan is somewhat tragic, a idealistic man of principle who wanted to achieve a individualistic utopia, not realizing that someone like the opportunistic Frank Fontaine would fall into that society as well.

[@thisismyboat]

HE was selfish at heart.No good intentions just the urge to do what he wanted.

[@enzoofelba]

@@thisismyboat That's not entirely true. If Ryan was simply out for himself, he would've been like a frontier homesteader. But he wanted to build a community of like-minded individuals. I don't necessarily agree with his philosophy, his means to achieve his ends, or his administrative approach. But there is no doubt that, at least in his mind, he was setting out to create an ideal society.

[@christianweibrecht6555]

@@enzoofelba to me Andrew Ryan is the opposite extreme of communism.

[@anarchomando7707]

@@christianweibrecht6555 out of curiosity what kind of extreme communism? Cuz to me that would be anarcho communism A stateless classless egalitarian society, collectively owned and democratically operated.(preferably through a confederation of municipalities mutually working together) Where the means of production is owned by those who toil collectively and democratically.(through union or worker co-ops, From each too Their ability to each their own need.(mutual aid, mutual benefit.) Intersectional (there is no race but the human race, however rich and powerful people like to devide and conquer, Housing and food being a human right (and preferably through housing co-ops.) Also trains.(choo choo mothafuckas!)

[@SimpleNobody2420]

Andrew Ryan's story is one of the best examples that the Road to Hell is paved with "Good" Intentions.

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

the beast example of good intentions that came with a Price is Magneto in the x-men movie as he wanted to make the world better for human only to realize the horrors of his actions or Kyle mom in south park as she means well but never thinks of her actions or Superman in injustice as he wanted to do the right thing but become a monster but people using him as Good intentions always come with a deadly Price

[@williamhayes2960]

I just wish to say, Vile Eye, that I love and adore your KZbin channel. Your videos are so atmospheric and deep when describing the background and psyche of these villains, and I wish you the best of luck in continuing to make these videos. As a writer, your videos are good research material for forming deep, dark, and complex characters that often at times transcend far beyond the benchmark of mere villainy. And that is because your insight and your in-depth analysis make these characters out to be more than just simple evildoers.

[@TheMightyDevilLuis]

Hell yeah. One of my favorite video game characters. 'We all make choices. But in the end, our choices make us.' - Andrew Ryan

[@NOT_Brian]

Your work is impeccable Vile. The story of this game really was special.. now I'm gonna have to play through it again. Great stuff dude!

[@stevenb7038]

I’d like to see this channel’s take on this dishonored series. There’s a multitude of different villains, always different/intersecting, goals, and ambitions, that I think would make it a very interesting video.

[@an-animal-lover]

Ooh, yes

[@yourlocalbicronoverlord]

Tbh I don’t see how the scene from the book with the two business owners is against objectivist principles. It wasn’t that Ryan was refusing to let the free market stop the trash collector business owner from being boycotted or blacklisted or whatever else, it’s that the victim was asking Ryan to use his position as member and nominal head of Rapture’s Government to instate regulations that would stop the trash collector from dumping garbage in front of his competitors store. Ryan refused to do that since doing otherwise would go against objectivism, it would be the state interfering with the free market and business’ rights to operate as they see fit

[@lisboah]

Shep controlled the garbage picking in the entire area, he was demanding Gravenstein to pay 10 times for the garbage pickup, and he was letting the garbage pile up right next to Gravenstein's store, and most of said garbage wasn't even Gravenstein's. The first is ok, the second is somewhat morally shady and the third is downright petty. All Gravenstein wanted was a public garbage picķup, but Andrew instantly saw this as a communist policy.

[@street_pisser]

Nuking Japan was an awful decision to make, but it has to be made. Millions died, but billions were saved. One could argue that the sacrifice of the innocence was unjustifiable, but it's also unjustifiable to sit back and allow a genocide when you have the power to stop it. I think Andrew Ryan saw things this way. It was chemical and engineering talent that enabled the production of that bomb which saved so many. Others see a talent for destruction and want it treated, Ryan would want to utilize it for a better purpose. Weapons seem scary until you need one. Ryan makes mistakes in his desperate struggle for control, the capitalist should appreciate the economic victory of Fontaine, yet he's unable to accept defeat and became an example of the fascism thay once plauged his childhood.

[@MisterTutor2010]

Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat would make a great video.

[@sbraypaynt]

Swap the last three letters of Ayn Rand's name. And Ryan...Andrew Ryan.

[@Shy-xm4kn]

This was the first game series I played on my own at 13, to this day it’s my favorite series. So much so I’m making my BF who never played it play it and I’m watching him and cheerleading him on lol.

[@vincentwhitehead]

The fact that two well-known actors who played Star Trek characters are also in this makes my inner trekkie happy (Armin shimerman and JG hertzler voiced both andrew ryan and Dr. Grossman respectively)

[@andrewemerson7861]

Can next be Charles Kane from Citizen Kane?

[@JaxonHex]

I find it ironic he literally became the kind of person him and his father fled from in the 1910's.

[@chrisb4131]

Quick note, when Ken Levine was making this game, he named the Fountainhead as a huge influence in Andrew Ryan.

[@carloscaro9121]

Of course Ayn Rand's novels were huge influences. Andrew Ryan is clearly based of Ayn Rand's idealized man, named in homage of her, and Rapture is Galt's Gulch underwater with ADAM serving a role similar to Rearden Metal or the static electricity machines in Atlas Shrugged. Levine and any other writers clearly thought it wouldn't play out the way Rand thought it would.

[@Captain_Insano_nomercy]

@@carloscaro9121 he also said that Bioshock wasn't a criticism of Ayn Rand or objectivism, which I respected a lot. It would make the story quite shallow if it was a critique of one philosophy

[@Zodicus]

I would love for you to dissect the absolutely unwavering, cold and calculating evil of Johan Liebert from Monster. That would be quite entertaining.

[@angbandsbane]

This should be a good watch. I've always liked how at first glance Ryan betrayed his ideals (using political power to squash competition and nationalizing everything to fight the war), but when you think about it, his ideals boil down to "Win by any means necessary" which he kind of did. He's basically at the point where hypocrisy loops back around into sincere fanaticism.

[@SophiaOfAthens]

Ryan: "Though my physical defenses fall, you'll not defeat me. My strength is not in steel and fire, but in my intellect and will. You hear me, Atlas?! Andrew Ryan offers you nothing but ashes!" This is one of the most powerful lines in the game, and I love it.

[@ymtmtptvbo]

This is seriously the channel that KZbin doesn't deserve. Thank you for the consistent quality and for giving me something to look forward to and revisit with just as much pleasure.

[@ryanrobb3343]

I’m never not excited to see the new episode. This was a brilliant installation

[@yomama847]

19:35 Why can't Grabenstein find a way to build a competing business?

[@lisboah]

In my opinion, he represents those good-natured business men that doesn't want to elevate himself at the expense of others. It can also be said that he isn't that ambitious nor skilled to build it. After reading the Rapture novel, it becomes pretty clear that, in Rapture, the most successful business men are those willing to use morally-shady practices.

[@davismorgan99]

I LOVE the bioshock series. I played them for the first time about 6 months ago and was blown away by all three entries. Bioshock has a great story and invites you into a world that is so interesting and fun to explore. Bioshock 2 perfects the gameplay of the first game and is an absolute joy to play. And Bioshock infinite does the impossible by creating a new world that is somehow just as engaging as rapture while being its complete opposite. Phenomenal series.

[@jetflaque8187]

Love how you highlight one of the biggest hypocrisies of Ryan. a top-down imposed set of harsch rules in order to "regulate" the society he wishes to see fulfilled. This is diametrically opposed to anything ANCAP or objectivist, who think society should crystalize bottom upward instead of implemented top down.

[@MCKevin289]

Anarcho-capitalism should just be called neo-feudalism. If you hear many of them speak they begin to start sounding like Ryan after awhile.

[@rotschadel3574]

And yet anarchism leads to hirarchy of power, were the weak are controlled by the strong. The formation of a sociaty is natual and will always happen. The question is: what laws shoud it provide? We must be mindful and provide laws which protect the freedom of the individual. In a way laws can make you more free than no laws at all. Wierd huh?

[@jetflaque8187]

@@MCKevin289 lol, so true. You're basically having, instead of 1 country with borders and "dictators" a 1000 orso.

[@jetflaque8187]

@@rotschadel3574 Human beings are intrinsically hierarchical. This is why anarchy in no form is compatible with humanity. Its also worth noting that objectivism isn't anarchical in nature. but rather advocates for a nightwatcher government

[@peterhudson23]

The most despicable character in Kubrick's films (imo) would be awesome to cover for a video; and that would be General Paul Mireau from Paths of Glory. His sociopathy not only allowed him to order an attack he already knew would be almost impossible to succeed because he wanted a promotion, but also to react so viciously towards his men when it failed that he wanted scores of them executed for cowardice. When he saw one of his companies (divisions? Corps? Not sure what the 3 groups in the attack were technically) refusing to join the attack, he ordered his artillery to SHELL THEM to force them into assaulting. The court marshal of the men he oversaw was immediately obvious to be a sham trial, and he attempted to stifle Colonel Dax's abilities to mount a defense for the men pretty aggresively. To really get into every example of his villainy would take an essay, so I'll leave it there; but he is to me one of the most monstrous characters I've seen in all movies, not just Kubrick. Also, a character from Dr. Strangelove would be interesting to cover. I'd say Dr. Strangelove himself seems the most evil to me, but Jack D. Ripper might be more interesting to analyze in a video.

[@samsonthemanson]

Bioshock is just a refutation of atlas shrugged lol

[@0The_Farlander0]

I disagree with your point on the banner that welcomes you to rapture. "No gods, no kings, only man" is a statement with a double meaning that becomes darker the further you get. sure, it has the original intended meaning by Ryan, that only man is in control of his own destiny, etc. but the other meaning is that no gods, no kings, committed or caused to be committed the horrors that took place within the walls of rapture. Only man.

[@thelax5311]

Damn, I was just thinking literally yesterday that Analyzing Evil should do one on Andrew Ryan.

[@abrahamel-gothamy6472]

I feel like the game developers purposely showed how Rand’s Objectivism doesn’t work in reality. So honestly I think they did a good job portraying her philosophy. That said, I think they did a good job portraying her ideas. Only they took them to their logical conclusions.

[@Danny2113182]

Objectivism sounds nice in theory but in reality it leads to shit like this

[@DoubleADwarf]

Ayn Rand was a terrible person, and objectivism was something she made up to excuse herself being a terrible person.

[@Pensnmusic]

@@Danny2113182 you can make a lot of things sound good if you start with some untrue premises to make your arguments in favor of Or you refuse to ground your ideas in reality in the first place Logical consistency and a visible pattern is all we require to see something as appealing. Consistent and visible tells you nothing of truth.

[@GG-kn2se]

Ignored key tenants of what she argued so it’s hardly “to their logical conclusions” when it doesn’t even include huge core ideas. It’s a good game that makes you think, even makes you think about flaws in Objectivism, but don’t make biased assertions and state them as objective truths.

[@GG-kn2se]

@@Danny2113182 I’d be shocked if you’d ever even read Rand

[@bumbaclot813]

Im going to finally play bio shock.

[@IAmTheDoctor00]

I love this channel. When I saw Andrew Ryan I was beside myself bioshock is an awesome game and I'm happy you covered it. Keep up the great work 👍

[@kenjikune2565]

I requested Andrew from BioShock 2 weeks ago but didn't expect he'd actually do it, lets goooooo!

[@rutessian]

If that guy is forced to pay 10 times for his garbage to be taken then, in that society, he'd be free to take his own garbage to the dump or hire a kid to do it for a much lower price. That kid would offer his service to others and his competitor would be forced to lower his prices to stay in business.

[@EDEEB7]

Bioshock has always been my number one game. I had always ranked it as the far and away best story mode game ever. After watching this comprehensive breakdown, I need to further distance Bioshock from the number two game. Thanks for this incredible video. Your attention to detail and your command of the English language is admirable. You have an excellent speaking voice as well. I owe my nephew big time for linking this vid to me this morning. I’ve liked and subbed. Thanks so much!

[@chancy667]

I hate to break it to you, but Shep price gouging his competition in order to try and corner both the trash and food markets does not go against Objectivist philosophy, it is Objectivist philosophy, because that is what a free market is. Without regulation, the person who starts with the most resources or who can obtain them quickest, and then is willing to abuse them is always going to win, and suffocate anyone who attempts to compete against them.

[@testaccount4191]

i guess he could have simply refused to offer his service

[@lucasorourke8759]

@@testaccount4191 the point of objectiveisim at a fundamental level is "only look out for number 1" anything you do for self gain is moral in an objectivist world virw

[@schwarzerritter5724]

Everything works in cycles, including markets. When a market gets monopolized, like garbage disposal, the prices will rise and the quality will drop. This will attract competition, either by another investor or by a worker cooperative. Monopolies are not sustainable, except through force. In the case of Rapture, the limitations of the underwater city made free markets pretty much impossible. Basically every resource was limited.

[@WhereDreamsEnd]

pls do a video on Eren Jager from Attack on Titan. I love how interesting of a villian he becomes in the anime and manga

[@kurosbelmont2355]

Epic. Always loved everything to do with Bioshock. Maybe you can do an episode on Comstock. That would be awesome too.

[@jerryblainii1208]

I loved the book, love the games, love the lore and setting GRRRAAHAJAHGAHJ gonna have to give the series another spin thanks for another great video this scratches a great itch.

[@bennygairns2235]

Andrew is definitely an amazing example of a tragic figure.

[@Jebbtube]

He's basically a male Ayn Rand; evil incarnate.

[@KaosNova2]

Desty Nova from Battle Angel Alita is even worse. Even in the end, Andrew Ryan got his kid to destroy Fontaine, who was another sick monster and Doom Rapture to its own destruction. Desty Nova’s scheme: Destroy everything, even himself. Nothing is more scary than a villain whose own goal is to destroy everything, even himself, from the get go. Andrew Ryan is one thing, where he tries some wierd utopian ideal. Desty Nova OTOH is completely disillusioned and even more evil because his goal is to carry out a full blown equivalent of Ragnarock and send the world into anarchy because advanced society with big states creates bigger, bloodier evil, so Desty Nova figured sending everything back to the Stone Age is the best way.

[@engliCH9ball]

"Which one are you, friend? The KGB wolf or the CIA jackal?"

[@loganmannke9023]

The best game over made, period.

[@DerAykac]

That guy would love the lemon-handgrenades.

[@danealkahn5226]

Do one on Frank Underwood from House of cards

[@jdpragmatic8644]

In anticipation of the Sonic sequel coming next month, how about you do Doctor Robotnik?

[@14Viper14]

YES this is what I've been waiting for!

[@greenaum]

What goes wrong in Rapture, is that "Objectivism" de-rails at more-or-less the first big obstacle, then Andrew immediately has to cash in his values and principles in order to stop society from falling into anarchy. Taking his business rival and _nationalising_ them! It's reminiscent of when Ayn Rand, old, ill, and not making enough money off her shitty books, claimed welfare benefits under a different name, rather than sticking to her principles and dying by them, like she expected others to do. Incidentally who calls a philsophy "Objectivism"?!??? "Hey guys, I've got a new philosophy I just thought of, it's called Rightism, then later on I'm gonna invent Correctism and Truism, who could argue with those? At last! A philosophy you know is good because it says so in the name!" Silly cow should have advertised washing powder.

[@darthhavokk701]

"A man builds a city at the bottom of the sea. That's a marvel. Another man happens to be on a plane that crash lands on the same city in the middle of the ocean. Why, that sounds more like… a miracle." A.R

[@smingjr]

This is good a good villan. Some games (far cry new dawn) have the antagonist just evil with no good reason. However bioshock is one of the best games because it shows hist pictures of view. He was partly right (in my opinion) however he suffered the same downfall as the world that wasn't rapture. Ironically, He became a dictator. Just honestly a good character overall

[@laynevinzent4031]

I would like to see one of these on Agent 47 from the Hitman series. You're awesome, dude ❤

[@atlascinematics]

i would love an episode on fontaine

[@cheshire_skatkat9093]

Oooohh! Good one Vile eye! I almost think you should had done Mr.House from fallout NV along side this.

[@TheBigReee]

I'm glad ur doing video game characters, here's hoping we get a Prophet of Truth one soon 🙏

[@edgywedgie811]

While on the video game villain topic, may I suggest The Crones and Gaunter O'Dim from the Witcher 3

[@janugur2241]

You should make a video about Gwyn Lord of Sunlight/Cinder from Dark Souls

[@kevinmorgan2968]

I love that people still think anyone cares about Ayn Rand. Upton Sinclair was correct, we aim for the heart but we hit the stomach.

[@markoskrbic1015]

I found it intresting that some of Andrew Ryan's philosophy is took from Aye Rand actully know that i think about it they at some point have the same background. They were both born in imperial Russia then force't to leave because of a revolutin and a new opressive reigme and found them self in the USA even do the two of them took were diffrent and seperat path's .

[@Pensnmusic]

Can we talk about the absolute arrogance that must precede calling your ideas "objectivism" as if you alone have the objectively correct analysis of reality, human will, etc.

[@richfoster4369]

Do you refer to moral actions as good or bad, or evil. If so this is Incredibly hypocritical

[@ozricaurora6943]

I always thought the word objectivism refers to objective. Like a goal or something you want to achieve. Kinda like strive for your objective and damn everyone else

[@greygoo6945]

@@richfoster4369 you can believe in right or wrong acts without calling them objective. Otherwise known as subjective morality

[@egekazkayas8968]

Objectivism doesn’t refer to the objective correctness of the philosophy. It means to put forward one’s personal, individual objective as opposed to “the common good” or “the greater good”

[@Johnny.G.]

Sephiroth next

[@Kalahridudex]

As an Objectivist, I have to give big props to the makers of this game for actually reading her novels and making an effort to actually understand what she said before criticizing it. A steelman in forest of strawmen. Yes, Wisecrack & whoever wrote that fucking Salon article are talking out of their ass. I give this game an A+ for it's understanding of Rand's metaphysics and epistemology, B- for how they handle ethics (too nitszchean), and a D for what they do to her politics. Yeah, Rapture seems a lot more like Ancapistan than it does like Galts Gultch. Haven't read the BioShock book yet, just going off the game.

[@misarthim6538]

Rapture isn't even an ancapistan, because the people who wrote Bioshock don't understand free market, what it is and how it works. What Raputre is, is actually an oligarchic corporatist bureau-cracy. Btw, I actually disagree that the game understands Rand's philosophy. Ryan is obviously a caricature of actual Objectivism but at not point imho the game makes this obvious, it treats Ryan as a valid example of Objectivism. And this is in line with what the Levine actually said, he believed that Ryan was accurate representation of Rand's philosophy or rather - what it would truly become if Objectivist principles were applied.

[@Ragitsu]

@@misarthim6538Awesome Ryan.

[@FlaskDad]

Bear & son demascus butterfly knife

[@josephperry27]

You should do videos on like pretty much every character off "The Devil All The Time" especially Carl & Sandy.

[@alexandragabitto2573]

Ryan never learned that labor laws were written in blood.

[@ThePokemonBeader]

Omg yes! I was waiting for this one :D

[@roberthsa9475]

Ryan is the embodiment of Ayn Rand literally work

[@3amervedio]

I suggest gus fring from breaking bad and better call saul, although he might seem as a businessman like drug dealer, he is sadistic from the way we see him torture hector and loves to kill people in cold blood as we saw him do it multiple times throughout both series

[@alistairmunro2195]

Exceptional choice sir

[@fvn0986]

Might be The best Evil Character in gaming history

[@andrewruiz9865]

beautiful video

[@fanofmediastuff269]

Next Video Game villain Vergil (Devil may cry) Big Boss (Metal Gear)

[@luismdgr]

I had completely failed to make the connection between the names Andrew Ryan and Ayn Rand!

[@IvanGarcia-xy7bf]

Bio Shocks Andrew Ryan vs New Vegas Mr House, who would Win?!

[@endikaaspeurrutia1013]

House

[@alexanderluna2716]

What’s so obvious about this video is that I can TELL our boy didn’t use the camera once💀💀💀💀much love though.

[@rukysgream]

I'd love to see your take on Henry Drax from The North Water!

[@hensen5309]

I like this - guys take my - favorite game. He did a - good job. Thank - you.

[@macojo2477]

you should do john kreeze from the karate kid franchise. Idk if his "story" ends in S4 (halfway S2 at the moment) but I think it could be pretty cool

[@maksymilianziele28]

“Before the final rat has eaten the last gram of you, Rapture will have returned. I will lead a parade. 'Who was that,' they'll say, as they point to the sad shape hanging on my wall, 'who was that?'” After that line, I would be scared Rapture with Ryan still in charge.

[@KaosNova2]

That was where the Engineer was harpooned to the wall right?

[@mljesus7743]

“A city that’s begun to decay under the weight of his own ambitions.” Are you equating Ryan’s ambitions to the ocean? *wow that’s deep*

[@gilgameshthetreasurehunter2750]

Like the ocean

[@NemesisC81]

Hehe I see what all of you did there... hol' up!

[@NipplWizard]

That theory holds water

[@brainrich1358]

I sea what you did there

[@CMGThePerson]

@@brainrich1358 water you doing with these puns?

[@chilarius]

Bioshock is an amazing game about the story of a man commited to do ANYTHING to avoid taxes.

[@cg_2k72]

Bro really could have just saved so much money and trouble if he just hired an accountant

[@Tommcginn]

Yeah but who HASN'T created a utopian underwater city because they don't wanna pay taxes? We've all been there, ammaright?

[@quickdrawmcgraw3567]

Lmao libertarian brain rot to the extreme, Andrew Ryan is just a satirical parody of Ayn Rand-like ideology and modern neoliberalism

[@feartheghus]

@@Tommcginnwe can all dream, but unfortunately the taxes taken mean we can’t afford the underwater cities, and our government can’t afford to fix potholes but can afford to shove lots of money into the pockets of those running it.

[@feartheghus]

@@quickdrawmcgraw3567how can it be a mockery with such extreme range as to fit Ayn Rand with today’s neo-liberalism and Marxist infestation?

[@awrawrwar]

The scene of Andrew telling you to kill him is probably one of the most powerful scenes in gaming I've ever seen.

[@kongfeet81]

*would you kindly*

[@Despondencymusic]

A man chooses...a slave obeys.

[@johnnydeerfist3727]

He failed himself and his beliefs

[@grizzakaful]

@@johnnydeerfist3727 Not entirely. He made a choice at the end, still having the freedom of choice he thought would be taken away by the outside world. He chose to die instead of having some puppet kill him from the shadows. It's why his last quote is so powerful, "A man chooses, a slave obeys". He as a man chose his own way of death instead of it being taken by a slave.

[@rockhound3.14]

@@grizzakaful yes

[@ritanman9578]

"A man chooses, a slave obeys" The most iconic lines that makes Andrew Ryan an well written and interesting villain

[@meligoth]

The phrase alone succinctly describes the evil of Andrew Ryan.

[@donkeykongisbetterthanmari7495]

@@meligoth without context, yes

[@TheKingsPride]

Not really. It would be more profound if the game acknowledged its own idea, instead of just being the exact same game but with Tannenbaum being the one telling you what exactly to do instead of Atlas. You don’t even have a choice of how to defeat Fontaine, you have to take the exact steps laid out to you. The only choice the game lets you make is to either rescue or slaughter little girls, a choice so cartoonishly one-sided that almost nobody actually chooses the harvest option unless they don’t know what they’re doing or they do it on accident. Besides, what about the toilet scrubbers and the homeless of Rapture? What choice did they have? Conform or die isn’t a choice, it’s a shutdown button. Overall a poorly implemented line in a fairly mediocre game that didn’t age well at all.

[@capitalismsucks9590]

Men do choose, people who blindly follow with no question, in any context(job, politics, life, etc.) are weak and want a simplistic life by allowing the idea of individualism to die and allow government to intrude on daily life.

[@petervansan1054]

He was not a villain

[@HUKIT.]

Best line was “We all make choices but in the end our choices make us”. Hands down the best game of all time.

[@eli8444]

For a videogame? It's written alright and goddamn did the first line of dialogue hit me in the gut after my first playthrough when I was 13-14. The atmosphere? Almost second to none. "They told me; "Son, you're special, you were born to do great things." You know what? They were right." *screams to an airplane crashing into the ocean*

[@sirnorespond]

Eh about 79 best lines now would you kindly go learn them.

[@Orsonfoe]

All the games seem to echo a theme about choices. First game) your choices make up who you are. Second game) your choices effect other and how they act. Third game) you choices won't change everything.

[@person152]

any games that are as good as bioschock?

[@bob3007]

@@person152 fallout new vegas!! the actual gameplay is pretty dated and clunky, but if you're playing for a well-written story and worldbuilding comparative to BioShock, please give this game a shot. the entire game was made in 18 months which is the reason the gameplay is so clunky. the writing is absolutely god-tier however. other great games are; the witcher 3, both read dead redemptions, all the mass effect games, portal 1 and 2, uncharted seiries, horizon zero dawn, god of war, yakuza 0 (the only game to ever make me cry), dishonored is pretty cool too, and skyrim obviously lol, oblivion is fire as well. note that i value a good story muuuuuuch more than i do gameplay, so some of these might not be your style. and if you haven't played bioshock infinite yet, you're fucking up lol, get on that now

[@alwaysplotting2096]

The ultimate betrayal of his own philosophy came when he decided mind control was acceptable.

[@SergyMilitaryRankings]

He was always a hypocrite, capitalists always are, they think they are entitled to sweat of their workers brows

[@donnguyen3795]

he already betrayed his idea when he ban trading with the surface. If he allows that all the problem with economic and Fontaine would not be a big deal at the first place

[@GodOfOrphans]

@@donnguyen3795 True free trade is honestly impossible unless you paradoxically becoming a global authoritarian and force every nation to play by the same rules, because if you allow an unfree rigged market to interact with a free one it will be subverted. It's a self defeating hypocritical position where embargos against other unfree markets that don't hold the same values and rules is ironically the lesser evil and get closer to the ideal in practice than on paper true free trade which is really just monopoly by whatever country decides to cheat the supposedly free market the hardest in practice. With Rapture in particular Ryan (correctly) assumes that if the world at large knows about it they will come knocking demanding "their share" too so there's that to consider.

[@brandonlyon730]

There was also the fact he murdered a singer that was making fun of him, despite him saying the artist was safe from the censor in Rapture.

[@daltonanderson3718]

Ryan's the biggest hypocrite because overall he wanted to be seen as the one, a person to be adored than followed.

[@kaj7135]

“There are two ways to deal with a mystery: uncover it… or eliminate it.” That’s my favorite Andrew Ryan quote simply because he makes it sound so badass.

[@antiheroine3611]

That's an interesting quote. I wonder what the difference is

[@feartheghus]

@@antiheroine3611one learns, the other doesn’t have to. One destroys, the other might not have to.

[@jcnom6606]

The irony and almost tragedy of Andrew Ryan is that he made the perfect world for someone like him to come to being, but he didn’t foresee how heartless they would be. Fontaine is the embodiment of everything Andrew preached and I think he realized this by the end. And it killed him.

[@feartheghus]

He wouldn’t have learned though, if he lived. He’s think some new whim was the true utopia, and he’d never realize that the claim he makes against morality is exactly why he is destined never to see any utopia, he was never worthy of the freedom he pretended to care about, he took it from others the exact moment his whims changed because he never really believed in the moral objective of protecting human freedom, he just thought it was neat until it wasn’t going his way, then he hated it like he hated everything else that didn’t go his way. Just because he accidentally hated bad things like communism, government overreach, and so on doesn’t mean he is good, it means he wasn’t winning in those evil games, and wanted a game he’d win.

[@jorgebersabe293]

Fontaine is not only the embodiment of everything Ryan preached (everything Fontaine does is for Fontaine) but also of the parasites Ryan hates so much.

[@gryphonbotha1880]

"Just because you can justify something, doesn't mean that justification is enough reason to allow these things to occur in our society." Hit the nail on the head. Just for fun, I decided to do a full Dark Side run in KOTOR, infamous for having extremely cheesy, over-the-top Dark Side choices that are beyond obvious and petty. However, there was a twist: I'd put my debating skills to the test, and only commit that Dark Side act once I'd formed a sound justification for the action to take place. I ended up getting much, much further in the game than I thought I would. What I've come to find is that, with the right words, anything can be justified. Especially if you squint a bit. For that reason, justification alone should never be enough to decide whether or not something is right.

[@KevinJohnson-cv2no]

Well yeah, that's because the Dark Side can rationally be justified. It leads to more power; simple. So you'll get very far in the Dark Side if you simply think rationally. It's when morals and other such fairy tales come into play that the justification becomes muddy; but looking at it from a purely rational perspective of furthering your own self-interest as an individual organism, the Dark Side is without a doubt the best path.

[@whiteeye3453]

just like forgivenes

[@ntr5420]

Just curious, where you couldn't come up with justification?

[@ntr5420]

@@KevinJohnson-cv2no Andrew Ryan, that you?

[@undeadblizzard]

My darker impulses take the from of a Sexy Cyclops Sorceress with a cake like Betty Crocker. What makes the dark side bad is because it's a short cut. Vengeance and Mayhem are fun.

[@akiva2112]

I would love to see your analysis on Father Comstock if we could stay in the same “shock” universe

[@SanctusRexGAVIAL]

I second that! It'll be awesome!

[@mrcliff3709]

Also Shodan from System Shock as well

[@undeadblizzard]

Honestly Comstock wasted his potential. The point of a cult is to trick Barely Legal South East Asian Women and Men into a bit of Ole Hows your Father's. Honestly, all shapes and flavors are welcome.

[@BicBoi1984]

This ^^

[@codyschwarz5155]

Infinite succcccked

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

Andrew Ryan's downfall was wanting to stick it to the societies he hated. If creating paradise for the people was all he wanted, then that should have been enough for him. But no. Every chance he get's he always discusses his hatred for parasites, slaves and just whatever isn't a 'true man'. Ryan really seems like the victim of his own hatred.

[@daneyal7162]

Andrew Ryan- The kind of villain that will kill himself not for some noble ideal, not to for the purpose of making name for himself, or for a loved one...but to prove a point. Such sort of villains are, in my opinion, among the most dangerous.

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

to me Andrew ryan fatal flaw was forcing his views and ideals without realizing the downside of those things as you need to offer to help people in baby steps and show theme a better path without making it your own views and ideals but show something better than something you want

[@feartheghus]

But if the point was noble?

[@truelies9187]

@@comicbookreviewer4856he made it well known that living in rapture must hold his views. But in the end despite agreeing to it and moving there they corrupted the entire city

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

@@truelies9187That the thing the people living in Rapture thought it was going to be a god send but the fatal flaw was with Andrew ryan was that people living down there was not like him and not realizing If his views and ideas would've made any real difference as wanting to help people you need to see and think if forcing things onto people will really accomplish anything as you can do more harm than good if something goes wrong

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

The most interesting thing you can see in fiction, I feel, is when you have a pure idealist have their ideals collide with reality. This is because any idealized system tends to crumble when even the smallest bit of realism is introduced. Sometimes, the character breaks, unable to accept that their ideals in their purest form were simply unworkable. However, sometimes you get someone like Ryan who ends up becoming the antithesis of his own ideals, as the cruelty of reality twists him into a monster.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

Ryan is an Ancap/Anarcho Capitalist where there are no governments but just Corporations and the will of the Market as with all extreme Political and Economic models they often eat themselves to death. The Soviet Union collapse because it can't maintain its economy, an Ancap society will likely break because there are technically no rules only the Companies that provide service which includes Law enforcement, the military ect., imagine the levels of Corporate corruption in an Ancap society. (because Laws are provided by the Companies who is stopping said companies to commit horrible acts to the Consumers and the Workers/Employees because the Market demands it)

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

@@forickgrimaldus8301 The thing is, it was less a matter of Rapture's economy eating itself, and more a problem that all idealized systems tend to have: They are built on the idea that people won't behave like people. Just as one example, Communism tends to fail because it is built on the idea that people will work their hardest to support the system without any immediate, tangible gains for themselves. Some peole will, sure, but more people won't. Instead, they'll sponge off of the system because there's no incentive within the system to put in the maximum amount of effort. When there's no personal incentive to work hard (No raises, promotions, etc.) people just won't. Ryan's system, however, has a deeper flaw: It's built without any safeguards to protect it from the people who would exploit it, like Sinclair from Bioshock 2, or Fontaine from 1. The thing is, while Sinclair primarily exploited the system solely for wealth, Fontaine exploited it for the sake of power. As such, Sinclair could continue to exist within the system in perpetuity, a "Parasite" that Ryan's system did not recognize as such. He was a man who would exploit the hard work of others to line his own pockets. A benign tumor that would just grow and grow and grow, not a threat to the system because of anything it did, but simply because of what it was. Fontaine, on the other hand, would inevitably seek to overthrow the system. His hunger for power, not just within Rapture, but for the power that Rapture could represent on a global scale, would be too enticing for a man like him to ignore. As such, he would work to make that power his, even if his actions would destroy Rapture in the process. He was a man who would exploit others so he could become the most powerful man in Rapture, and then the world. A malignant cancer that would destroy the system from within, even if it meant that he might destroy himself in the process. However, both of these people represent human drives that we see in humanity: The desire to acquire wealth or power, even at the expense of the happiness and safety of others. Both of them exploit a flawed system that has no real defense against them, because the person who designed the system didn't really understand people and could not envision people like them. The true enemy of Rapture was never the "Parasites" that Ryan recognized, but the ones he could not. They weren't parasites, but Cancers that formed within the system which the "Body Politick" of Rapture had no mechanism to expel.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

@@FirstLast-cg2nk yup but again extreme political views often view people that way.

[@TeamKhandiKhane]

An interesting character for this would be Dracula from Netflix's Castlevania, also lots of other solid "Evil's" to pick from there.

[@austinkersey2445]

Oh yeah, Carmilla, the Bishop, and "Varney" come to mind. One thing I love about the Netflix Castlevania is how three-dimensional the characters are. They somehow managed to get nearly every class of hero and villain in the show. Dracula and the main characters being particular standouts. Graham MacTavish, Richard Armitage, James Callis, and Alejandra Reynoso made that show.

[@wesleygriffiths8748]

I’d also like a comparison to the games’ Dracula. Lament of Innocence’ Mathias is underrated and plays a huge part of why Castlevania’s (Netflix and Game) is the way he is.

[@TeamKhandiKhane]

@@wesleygriffiths8748 that's an excellent point I hadn't put together.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

I personally think Carmilla would be more interesting character to analyze. Dracula appears quite static and during his active contribution to story he is not in right in the head. There is no arc or development in his character while Carmilla does develop.

[@rodrigolopez6054]

hardly, dracula goes on to wipe humanity because his wife was killed, despite the fact that the ones directly responsable for her death were already death, there is nothing to discuss there, he was evil by that fact alone.

[@matti.8465]

Andrew Ryan going "yeah a lot of people died, but all of mankind's big achievements costed a few deaths" is quite literally an example of the "greater good" this guy supposedly hates so much.

[@carmenishere]

I’d love to see a deep dive on the Bioshock 2 antagonist as well. The first experience of being in Rapture isn’t there of course, but it’s still a good game. Kind of underrated.

[@Brandon_nodnarB]

Bioshock 2 would be championed as one of the best games of all time if it wasn’t for just how incredible Bioshock 1