Final Fantasy VII: A Marxist Reading Part I

The first in the Final Fantasy VII: A Marxist Reading series.
Part 1 will provide some background information on Marxism, Marxist literary theory and the historic context for the development and release of Final Fantasy VII.
Twitter: @studyofswords
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Music:
"Soviet Anthem 8-bit" by Cosmic Famicommunist, • Soviet Anthem 8-Bit
"Why I'm unlovable" by Fireproof_Babies (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/Firepro... Ft: AlexBeroza
"Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (c) copyright 2007 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/Firepro...
"Oreilles froides(Kalte Ohren) remix Blue" by Bluemillenium (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/Bluemil...
"The Long Goodbye" by John Pazdan (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/flatwou...
"Improvisation On Friday..." by Alex (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBer... Ft: The3amAssociation

[@alais14]

Your channel is phenomenal and you are a hidden gem. This Marxist Reading of FF7 might be my favorite series on this site. Bravo!

[@StudyofSwords]

Hey thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Miraihi]

Dayum, now I feel bad that KZbin doesn't recommend me content creators like you. Keep up the good work!

[@StudyofSwords]

Thanks! Appreciate the support.

[@Mike-xh2vm]

Be happy, it isn't something worth to reconmend anyways, Socialism/communism, doesn't work.

[@tealee]

Another victim of American propaganda 😔

[@Mike-xh2vm]

@@tealee Nice pic of Joe there. Ashita no Joe is such a Master piece. Btw, I agree, American propaganda have created fools who support something as dangerous as Communism/Socialism. While negating how much damage that trash has done in South America, in places such as Cuba for example..

[@tealee]

@@Mike-xh2vm Yet you’re being ignorant of the amount of damage capitalism does to working people on the daily. Historically the standard of living in the USSR actually overtook the US and if not for its collapse it would have overtook it as the world’s largest economy too. Clearly it’s an economic system that has worked to the benefit of working people - it’s just various inceptions of the system leaned way too far into authoritarianism and mistakes have been made in their establishment (Cuba perhaps, as you mentioned, though I’ll be honest in that I’m not really educated enough on South American politics to have an opinion on it). At least socialists try to improve on their system - capitalism has only made the lives of the working class even more of a struggle as time has gone on. In the UK as an example, even members of the middle class can struggle to get onto the property ladder - but nah, I’m sure the increasing homelessness and unemployment rates are much better than those darn commies being in power! Also, it looks as if you very much missed the narrative on class struggles in Ashita no Joe lmfao - while it’s certainly not the focus, it’s confusing that you would call a series which condemns the exploitation of workers a masterpiece while also openly advocating against a system that would create economic equality for their benefit. Anyway, I won’t bother replying anymore. There’s probably no realistic way of convincing you of a different opinion xd

[@fajita2]

Excellent content! Looking forward to seeing more

[@fluffy_tail4365]

I don't remember where I got the link for this but this is excellent work

[@StudyofSwords]

Thanks for your support.

[@fylumtv]

super dope content!!

[@StudyofSwords]

Thank you very much.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

a fan of final fantasy 7, though its like warhammer 40k, midgar is amazing but living in midgar is untenable.

[@boldbearings]

Aw these are great too, Sword homie. 😂 I didn't even know you had a FF7 list.

[@StudyofSwords]

This was an idea I had kicking around for a while, and not really anywhere to "put it", so to speak, so when I started making videos, seemed like a good choice. But, this is also one of the earliest videos I made, so its really basic in terms of visuals and structure. . . so you get the first video which is just establishing the framing, without much of any sort of content analysis, and then no one sticks around the watch the others, and also has an overly long intro. Still, as rough as it is, I still think the reading of the game is still solid, and this served as a foundation for the Tactics videos, which are altogether much better.

[@Illstatefishing]

Outstanding labor comrade, great way of showing the material conditions in Japan during the making of FF VII, and explanation overall!!

[@StudyofSwords]

Hey thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@BanBootlicking]

Fukuyama's The End of History is rubbish. Better read Austin Murphy's The Triumph of Evil: The Reality of the USA's Cold War Victory.

[@StudyofSwords]

Oh, no. Don't get it twisted, I'm not arguing that Fukuyama was correct, I think the past two decades have demonstrated that. Rather, I referred to it because of how the text encapsulated the neo-liberal hegemony.

[@randalthor2859]

FF7 is anti-corpratists and anti-communist 😂 You obviously don't know what capitalism is. You should probably read more. Maybe start with a dictionary 😂

[@randalthor2859]

Capitalism refers to an economic system in which a society's means of production are held by private individuals or organizations, not the government, and where products, prices, and the distribution of goods are determined mainly by competition in a free market. A company setting up a military, and commiting human rights violations, conquoring land and setting up their own cities, is no longer a corporation, it is a *government.* Anyone operating in even remote good faith would acknowledge this. Who is the government Shin-Ra pays taxes to? Or do *they* tax their citizens to the point of poverty by controlling all utilities and energy like the CCP? When the government Shin-Ra controls everything, is that actually capitalism? If the CCP suddenly called itself China R Us corporation, would that suddenly make China capitalist? If you call a chair a couch, does it suddenly seat more people?

[@StudyofSwords]

Von Mises, Hayak and Rothbard really just ruined an entire generation of libertarians didn't they.

[@randalthor2859]

@@StudyofSwords I see you're incapable of forming a counter argument.

[@StudyofSwords]

@@randalthor2859 thanks for the engagement

[@randalthor2859]

@@StudyofSwords Thanks for proving you're an idiot.