Silent Hill Mythology - God
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
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#silenthill #konami
When I used to be a massage therapist I had a soundtrack of relaxing atmospheric songs. One of my clients one day was like "I feel like pyramid head is gonna pop out." I was like...😭🤣
Omfg this killed me LOL what did you say???
@@knightofcydonia1192 'it's been here, right in the closet this entire time'
You know what's crazy? When I'm having trouble sleeping I imagine I'm in Silent Hill huddled in a closet sleeping while "Night" passes. I also listen to *Promise Reprise" sometimes it calms my nerves. I'm not someone who fantasizes on it or even plays a lot of games, I just find some kind of calm and relaxation thinking about it. No clue why.
@@Ross_England it's a good song!
@@knightofcydonia1192 I just nervous chuckled.im not good with social skills
"God or not, these bullets will put it down." - Me in any Silent Hill game.
"if it can bleed, we can kill it."
Carporial..? It can die! - Angel and Buffy TVS
Lololol thats why i loved sh. Simple resolution.
That's why it was just a game giving hints..
you cant kill a god.
But you can change the narrative of its existence if you are at or above its level of existence.
Why do you think youre in "quarantine"?
An entity above you makes your narrative..
Which one is the golden ticket answer..
Because then you may eventually have power over it......
And there you would find your "bullets"......
every 90s protagonist be like
The “your faith will be tested” in the end was terrifying.
It's more terrifying when you realize it for yourself.
It's as well that it is. Just like a lot of things in this life, realizing that something (in this case, having a particular faith) is much, much, MUCH more difficult than one has thought for the longest time tends to be an experience that can break belief and/or desire in keeping said thing in one's life.
I'm of the opinion that managing to surpass (or make peace in a meaningful manner with) such fears tends to result in a stronger, more resilient faith than before, although it may not be in the exact same form it was before being tested. The paradox here is that having a strong faith that doesn't conflict with the reality of the world around us means having to wholeheartedly accept that we will never be certain if one is right or wrong until the day we are no longer here...and not letting that break one's faith without falling into delusion . Not an easy frame of mind to accomplish, to say the least.
Given what's going on right now, makes it even more terrifying...
Very timely
@@maxderrat Absolutely beautiful video Max.
"I want you to imagine you know nothing about silent Hill"
No problem. Never played, watched the movie, am in quarantine and bored.
Lolz
@@elcocaino8728 lmao, same for me
@@zahylon5993 I love you kids getting into my childhood lore! its fine that you haven't played them :D
USE YOUR TIME IN QUARANTINE TO PLAY THE GAMES THEN. Believe me, it's worth it. I'd recommend playing them in the order they were made as opposed to the chronological order because Origins isn't a good introduction to the series. Avoid the movies.
@@SpaceDope. I don't really think they're much more depressing than any other horror game or movie (aside from SH2, that one's depressing as hell, i'll give you that)
Playing these games as a kid, I legit had nightmares about being marooned in silent hill. That’s horror done right
I had dreams about Silent Hill, but oddly, they never felt like nightmares.
I dream of that paradise 😍
I've always wanted to see for myself a small town like Silent Hill get enveloped by fog. I'm from the Southwest, so desert is mostly what I see.
@@Mantosasto "In my restless dreams I see that town - Silent Hill"
It will be printed in your memory, which your children inherit.
Theory legit?
The silent hill god kinda reminds me of the idea of evil from berserk, in that it was born from the human desire to have a God, rather than having always existed
Edit: so this comment had a thread that lowkey spiraled a bit. And since I'm eager to discuss I might as well weigh in.
Someone said something along the lines of "God and Satan are one in the same". I'm 99% sure he meant that only pertaining to the world of Berserk, and not any real world religious belief. And, in the world of Berserk... He's half right. The IoE (Idea of Evil), assuming it is still canon, as it's chapter was cut from the volume release, because it "revealed too much") is the closest thing the Berserk universe has to an omniscient, conscious entity. Berserk's ultimate power is causality, which can best be described by the unstoppable flow of destiny that is unchanging (as far as we know). However, the IoE is not analogous to any Abrahamic God, and is much closer to an ancient Abrahamic view of Satan, as a "personification" of all the evils of mankind. What separates the IoE from God/Satan is the classic question: which came first. In Abrahamic faiths, it's generally accepted that God came first, and created humanity. However, Berserk and Silent Hill twist this by having the humans create God as a concept, desiring something to either blame or credit for the things about their nature that are innate, rather than looking inward at their own flaws, or believing they are naturally capable of virtue without guidance
Me too i was thinking the same
I wants to play as guts in silent hill game
Berserk is great! The irregular updates suck! Send help!
@@iliveinsideyourhouse3943 guts is literally strong enough to body pyramid head and use his clever too
Also how god is seen as bringing light even though it is the personification of evil. Just how Griffith is seen as god to Falconia. Evil presides in light and humans interpret that evil as being our savior. God and satan are one in the same.
That music, years later, still, gives me chills down the spine.
what's the name?
@@palb211, any track from Silent Hill 2 OST. This video starts with "The Day of Night", for example.
Can't agree more.
2 notes almost. Powerful.
I find it extremely comforting. No other music evokes such emotion of familiarity and the unknown....
The music of silent hill is so freaking relaxing. Especially on a rainy day.
David Medford Besides My Heaven that’s definitely not relaxing.
Josh Shrum sounds dentist
Silent hill 3 combat music too?
Definitely, but some of it is the exact opposite of relaxing lol
Perfect for those rainy gloomy days
The belief that “god” did not predate his believers but rather came after them also falls in line with the construct that Silent Hill is a parallel or alternate representation of the thoughts in the unconscious mind.
If the mind was going to manifest in a dream reality or alternate reality, then it would make sense that the mind would work within those constructs of its own known existence and origin. The idea of god couldn’t have predated the time one’s own mind could formulate the thought of god. Your mind existed before you could consciously contemplate a god figure.
This would also explain the dualistic or even bipolar representations of god the unconscious mind creates. The angelic vs demonic manifestations may represent a struggle with god. Being angry or happy with god, which causes you to perceive him differently unconsciously.
The logic follows pretty flawlessly on multiple levels. Amazing.
Interesting perspective
so the mind is more powerful than a God? and our mind predated everything?
@@jmgonzales7701 It's more in line of some strands of Sethian school of Christian Gnosticism where fallen Aeon named Sophia were becoming presumptuous from wanting to generates herself without the consultation of her pair, nor consent of "The Father", resulting with miscarriage-like abominable byproducts of her "Divine Deficiency" (or Ignorance in different school subsets of said groups) called Yaldabaoth (usually assumed to be Demiurge, somekind of craftsman/lower fiery Angel figure mistook as The Creator that helped The dualistic Creation of The material and Psychic Cosmos, which way below "The Father" dominion in Sethian Christian Gnosticism)
Also one of three names of Yaldabaoth being "samael" too, so that checks out too
Damn this comment was so intelligent
But video games and silent hill aside, the concept ultimately seems ignorant, as that which is formally understood as God or “Deum” is that which is above all being or the Supreme being. Much like the Supreme being of the Greek philosophers (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus) this being would be the primordial foundation of all perfection, being, and truth itself, the unmoved mover giving all that “is” participation in itself. This being which is also “actus purus” would also fundamentally be immutable and could in no way be willed into existence, even if the mind had conceived of it, it would be prior to the mind’s abstraction of that perfect being
About 14:50
In there's a reference in qura'an in surat Al-Fajr verse 15 and 16: "فَأَمَّا الْإِنْسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ (15) وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ (16)"
Which means :
"And as for man, when his Lord tries him and [thus] is generous to him and favors him, he says, "My Lord has honored me. (15) But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has humiliated me."
The auto translate is so different than yours haha
Its a bit different because, in the video he does not mean he disrespectful towards the god, by making him suffer, he just wanted to die. But in this verse, its more of egoistical man thinking whats benefit him more when its needed
"The difference between Gods and Daemons largely depends upon where one is standing at the time" - Lorgar
Ah...A quote from The Urizen.
Bold of you, Brother. .. well, it must be said, and stop me if you've heard this one....
H E R E S Y !
THAT'S RANK HERESY- YOU'RE A FKN HERETIC!
Speak you NOT the poisoned words of Lorgar Aurelian nor his tainted Leticio Divinitatus, lest *The EMPEROR'S* golden, cleansing, big dik energy spontaneously kerblast thee from this platform!
Nah... HIS Inquisition will let this one slide _HOWEVER,_ ye must confess loudly with your face-hole: *FUCK EREBUS!!*
😂
Always remember: Big E protects.
Heretic burgar
Fuck erebus
Ah a man of culture I see
Silence heretic.
The “god” is referred to as Samael in the first game. A supposed angel that fell at some point. If you look up the name you’ll find all the lore.
Dahlia was bs'ing you.
She only starts being truthful at the end when the charade is over.
TheKain202 At the end she still refers to him that way. Based on the ending you get he’ll either take an angelic form or his demonic form in the final battle. If you’ve seen any of the graphic novels he is also stated to be this “god.” He is the prevalent villain in the graphic novels. If you just look up. “Silent Hill Samael” you’ll find all this info in different articles.
@@khfreak5531 The issue is that in the original game, Samael is name dropped exactly twice, in regards to the "Mark of Samael".
Which is why i pointed out that it's bullshit, since at the end it was revealed that it was actually the Seal of Metatron placed by Alessa around the town to thwart Dahlia's plans. And Dahlia BS'd you to rope you in on a wild goose chase after her daughter and do her dirty work.
All the extra instances of the Name nad/or Character being used, and supposed lore, as you pointed out -come from the west. And had no input from Team Silent. And if stuff like Origins is of any indication, westerners never got the lore right nor cared to.
TheKain202 Fair point.
Sad fact, Samael is one of the lucifer's many name (baal/red dragon, Azazael) YHWH/Bible refers him as The God of this World/Earth, or the God of Air, and 200 sons of YHWH follow follow Samæl/Lucifer. Also Lucifer and his fallen angels is also called The Angel of Light, which it explain why the final boss take his angelic or demonic form
Never heard of Silent Hill, but the presentation was absolutely amazing. Your discussion is so much bigger than a video game; it applies to contemporary spiritual dilemmas. Bravo!
you must be living in a rock
If you ever get the chance to play one of the games, play Silent Hill 2.
Take care
What Karnage said, but I'll add that the earlier ones (mainly Silent Hill 1-3, maaaaybe 4) are among the best ones.
@@jmgonzales7701 To be fair, the latest games from the Silent Hill series haven't had nearly as much impact on newer gamers as the older ones did.
@@karnagefails3331 is necessary, 2 is a masterpiece
It is possible that "god" is merely another monster and that the "real" god the cult worships is the town's spiritual power itself.
If we look at Vincent in Silent Hill 3, he continuously states he finds the nightmare fascinating yet he grows tired of its image by the end of the game and is dead set against birthing the god.
Could this be that he's simply fascinated by the characteristics of the power and its ability to mold reality yet not about the apparitions themselves and that he might not be the only one in the cult to think like this.
Also the cult might be considered inherently evil because they are selfishly imposing a complete change of reality on a world that asked for none, they are self righteous using the power for their own personal gain.
Quite right. The town has this power, or more correctly, the area upon which the town was built does. It's power seems to be able to be channeled through these rituals and rites, even if they seem to be calling upon something else. Even if they believe they are worshiping the true god or anything else, the resident power of the town answers the call. It never seems to answer anyone who wants anything nice... So I can only assume it is a very dark, malevolent power, no matter what the cult or anyone else thinks. It seems to feed on negative intent, fear, paranoia and sometimes guilt. This brings SH1 and 2 closer together and easier to understand IMO. The same force is at play, no matter what mask it hides behind.
@@CustardBustard This is very likely, read up on Japan's Shinto religion. It is likely that there were similar forces in the area of Silent Hill that have gradually become corrupted over the years thanks to the town's dark past... Since a Japanese team developed the first four SH titles and after reading "Lost Memories" in SH2, I've come to think of this as most likely...
@@CustardBustard Just as mankind birthed God, the 'energy' of the town might've been retroactively tainted over centuries by humanity's influence, especially Alessa's torment. It would compliment the game's themes of trauma, 'cycles of abuse' and the buddhist concept of dukkha. 'Angel's Thanatos' references all the little ways people are driven to self-destruction, sadism and suicide: our 'Death Drive'. Whether it started out evil or was driven to insanity, the town now attracts, reflects and magnifies madness.
Very nicely formulated.
The Town is obviously, alive, and maybe even has some degree of consciousness, but to say that he is the god that the cult worships its completly wrong.
Simply because we know that the "Town" was a sideeffect born thanks to Alessa, and that the latest generation of the cult (SH 5) think of it as something that must be "kept away"
Personally i dont think about the Town as something "evil" since we know It only tests people with "problems" (except exceptional casses such as SH 5) and those with clean minds, cannot see the supernatural creatures and transformations of the place itself.
To me, its a place ment to test you, your only enemy there, is your mind.
Maybe its true purpose its to "end the pain" sort of speak, as god always intended?
"It's been almost nine months" bruh, trust me, I know all too well. So pumped to be back on the SH lore.
You need to check out “Psychology and Alchemy” by CG Jung, and also the book he kept unpublished while he was alive so he wasn’t disregarded, “the Red Book”. It has a lot of his alchemical and unconscious paintings.
"Pretend you know nothing ..."
"Hey ... I can do that ! Because I sometimes dont understand stuff ..."
I finally finished Silent Hill 1 last night. I remember playing it when it came out, at age 11. I was immediately absorbed playing it the very first time way back then but was so thrown off by the controls and truly unnerving atmosphere that I never got passed the school level. I have beaten 2 and 3 multiple times but I never actually owned the first one til very recently. I literally just bought an old PS2 just to play my old Silent Hill games again.
This makes so much sense if you consider that silent hill's horror is often called "the horror of depression". Well it isn't often called that way, I invented it just now, but people do connect silent hill with depression a lot. So it only makes sense that the god of silent hill is in some way, god viewed from the eyes of a deeply depressed person. If your existance is defined by meaningless suffering, god takes the form of an evil being.
There are so many people out there that want to see the world in flames, just to end all suffering, mostly their own. I now that because I was one of them
Thank you so much for this perspective.
Very interesting
There is a level of pain for everyone that buys them. Where they will say or do anything for the agony to stop. Feel not pity for those who found release. Feel pity for those who cannot understand or feel compassion.
@@izaidude2963 There is some truth to that, but it is not that pain unifies existence but is a catalyst for the growth of self that leads to such unification. But on the other side of that coin is the point where pain ruins those who feel it. Like all things there is a balance.
The og SH games are about mental trauma, mental struggles and personal horrors.
Just because you feel better now doesn't mean the world isn't suffering. Enjoy what made you change your mind while it lasts, because nothings lasts. The light only exists so you can squirm in the dark.
I always had this Theory in which Silent Hill’s God used to be... better. Not Good, Nor Evil.
According to the Writings,God shown Mercy to humanity gifting them with mortality in order to give a sense out of their existence and end their suffering.
However, with time( pretty much like every Religion in real life) out came people who begun corrupting and distorting the idea of their own Cult.
The Idea of summoning God through suffering was then established.
Alessa Gillespie grew up with a distorted image of her Deity and when her crazy mama burned her to a crisp...the damage was already done.
Her ideal of a Pure White God became corrupted, dirty, bloody and ruined beyond repair. Combined with her powers, Silent Hill became her Personal Hell willing to swallow everyone who got close.
So yeah... I believe the original God was way different, it was the folly of Humanity who corrupted her.
I don't understand, someone explained to me: '(
@@mhz163 Just read again.
@@ashrise I did it but it's too much.
@@mhz163 Tldr is that the person who commented suggests that since God sprang from the will of humans that it may explain or give possibility of the God changing or corrupting.
Hope that clears it up.
@@MrMarsAlien oh ok thx btw..
7:39 Because Silent Hill: Origins was a game made by people who didn't fully grasp the nature of Silent Hill. At least, that's my opinion. Yes, I'm being that guy.
I agree with you, as a silent hill fan I didn't enjoy that game much..
Sam Barlow admited that he received the original script for Origins from Climax LA and had less than three weeks to rework the whole concept and story for the final version of the game developed by Climax UK. He didn't have the opportunity to analyze the plot and lore from the first Silent Hill nor he could contact the Team Silent members to ask questions and clarify many things. So that's the reason for the complete retcon mess of Alessa and the cult plotline and the unrecognisable characters.
I don’t consider it canon. It just misses the mark on what makes silent hill special and ruined a lot of the characters and plot from the original.
Silent Hill: Origins seems based more on the Silent Hill movie than the other games, simply.
@@Ivan-sr4gq yea but the most thing that bothered me is that weapons break after 3 hits.. WTF -_-
Stopped playing the game after a while..
I'm not familiar with these games but yesterday I read a bunch of wiki articles about this very topic because I find it so interesting. I'm a theologian myself with a focus on 'The Goddess' or Mother God, so obviously I was interested in this lore. I definitely got Baphomet vibes myself, as well as Inanna and Ereshkigal, who, according to some, where one Goddess in two forms (Inanna, Queen of Heaven, descends in to Hell and steals Her sister, the Queen of Hell's domain and so effectively becomes the Queen of Hell). That same archetype, as pointed out by Jung, is in everything from ancient mythology to Disney movies. I don't necessarily agree that God is both Good and Evil, but certainly both Light and Dark (and dark doesn't mean evil). We can't have joy without pain, death without rebirth, etc. We are both Beauty AND her Beast.
I'm very tempted to play these games purely from theological interest now, although they do actually look really good 😂
"In my restless dreams, I see that town. Silent Hill. You promised you'd take me there again someday, but you never did." why konami why :(
Its like Team Silent and SH fans writing a complaint letter to future Konami
@@brainblox5629 It was already a selfaware situation and somewhat cry for help. None of the staff that worked at Konami said a single good thing about working there but the devs respected each other. I think only Ito didn't said anything bad about it because he still worked freelance for Konami but were always on a line "will we give this person a job" and will he even bother to accept it etc. It always was a mixed bag going through his comments like he would say something but hold it back because he doesn't want a backlash. And by contract you are not allowed to talk about your company nor projects especially bad things. The worst is when you spend time of your life on something then it gets canceled or completely altered and by contract you are legaly not allowed to say anything about it. The worst case scenario for a creative artist or better say someone who creatively directs a project.
I always just wrote the story of as "angels and demons and psychics are real" and that an incubus infiltrated the dreams of Dahlia Gillespie under the guise of a god, used her psychic child as an amplifier for his power and eventually opened his gateway into the human world.
And then, like a man who had been shot in the chest with a rifle, the incubus was shot in the chest with a rifle.
I always thought the juxtaposition of the different forms of God ties into the final lines of Jacob's ladder about the perception of the afterlife. Which ties really well into what Max is saying.
this
czcams.com/video/vA4WrejvOHo/video.html
God: *YOU CANNOT USE THIS ITEM HERE*
I think the answer to the duality is at 14:20 . Eventually the Order wanted existence to end, so their god became evil.
On the other hand, I think the God of Silent Hill was just the devil all along. It seems a lot like the deception of the devil in real life. Always posing as a being of light and appearing to be benevolent until eventually turning in those who summoned him.
If you look into the origins of various Christian denominations and Islam, you'll notice a being of light speaking to people just as the Bible foretold the devil would.
Other religions have rituals involving human sacrifice because the fallen angels have craved destruction of man since they saw humanity in God before time began.
Or maybe people just develop different religious and spiritual practices and beliefs and your just taking things out of proportion and has nothing to do with what you said
and remember, the symbol for summoning the devil is extremely similar to how light enters the eye
The weird thing is, I decided to re-watch the whole series yesterday, and then this vid was announced
Synchronicity? :P
@@maxderrat Calm down, Jung. 😆
@Trippieblu So now CZcams is able to read our thoughts and perhaps our dreams !!! 😁
I actually won't be surprised if it was somehow true !! 😐
@@Talia.777 it happens to me all the time!
I think the reason god has different forms is because, as you stated, god's appearance depends on those who summon her. so when god is summoned by dahlia or claudia it was summoned by people who were fanatics and committed terrible acts in the name of god, and when god is summoned by alyssa in origins, it was from the feeling of rage and hate since she'd just been turned into human BBQ by her mother, so god would appear more demonic because she was summoned through evil and hate. whereas when summoned by alyssa at the end of the first game god is more angelic due to alyssa knowing love as cheryl.
I clicked on your video and was surprised to find out that I haven't actually been subscribed to you as long as I've been watching your videos. I clicked that button so fast my fingers damn near broke.
I love your Silent Hill videos. So many people read the wiki and parrot the other videos. I love hearing people's specific, subjective interpretation. And you are very eloquent and the videos are always such a joy to watch.
There was a bell, it's clicked now...
THIS GUY.
Honestly, dude, thanks so so much for your kind words and for subscribing. :D
God is often described as exactly that which cannot be described, only what it is not can be put into words. Them being paradoxical, like Baphomet representing the absolute, that just fits on many levels, especially if you take that from spiritual to horror, unknowable horror is the best horror because the unknowable is all around and we want to believe it doesn't harbor evil, but benevolence. And the truth of it will is more like Lovecraft's cosmicism which will drive you crazy because it is all, everything almost entirely in existence, paradoxical and unknowable and indifferent, and yet reality is shaped by our very darkest fears and highest hopes.
This is honestly some of your best work. Highly appreciated
It's like that one quote from Jacob's ladder: the only thing that burns in hell are your worldly connections. Once you come to terms with your memories/traumas and the attachments are severed, the demons reveal themselves to be angels.
Tough love I guess lol
Max: Pretend you know nothing about silent hill
Me, who actually knows nothing about it: no problemo amigo
this is the stuff i subbed for- thanks man!
Thank YOU for staying subbed. :D Expect more thought provoking content very soon!
Man. I love all these people coming together because of this great video game series. Everyone has their own thoughts and ideas on what this game represents to them and I love it.
Even now.
It's 2023 and I totally agree with this. I've been screenshotting comments and journaling about it. It's actually been helping me figure out my own spirituality. Honestly, it's beautiful.
I love how all your Silent Hill videos are not only extremely in-depth about the lore, but also carry profound food for thought that we could use in real life.
Your videos are extremaly well made, man. I myselve have already watched this one multiple times and I can't have enough of it. If more games of this saga had been made you would have had more material to make more analyses like these, thus, allowing you to focus on a specific public. I belive this way you will have more view than ever.Keep on with the good work.
I do not understand the end at all.
"The Amulet Of Solomon represents the unified polarity of masculine and feminine energy"
*tHaT's tHe sTAr oF sAiNt DaVid*
@ButcherTheIlluminated ^^^^^^ lmaooo
King David
Star of Remphan
To me, it seems like an Eldritch entity that can make one's worst doubts and memories come alive as monsters.
All while using souls of the deceased to animate them.
You got it half right, it's about desire, guilt, etc. The player is the one trapped in a hell of his own making. Have you hear about solaris?
@@antonisashitteragain6993 I did not. Would that be our center pillar for Silent Hill's existence?
@@FreezinUrTundra well, it will depends what sl wants to take has "the pilar", for example if you want to go with sl2 (which is my favorite) you can say it have dante's inferno background, so you need to go deep and deep to be able to escape from hell, other titles is more like "we have this cult, we fuck it up, oh shit oh shit, also more people is coming"
@@antonisashitteragain6993 More evil than they realize, and their actions usually summon demons. Not their "God".
I had a thought. We see five depictions of "god" right? How many points does a pentagram have? Five points and what's also very important to the Halo of The Sun? Baphomet (although of course this could just be qanon type math)
Excellent video as always, Max. There's something that I think might be worth looking into when it comes to the God of Silent Hill regarding the relationship with the town itself separate from the Order.
After playing through all the games again recently and digging through the Book of Lost Memories, I think what gets all of us hung up on why the "God of Silent Hill" is so twisted and apparently evil is because we are all begging the question of whether that God exists in the first place. Repeatedly throughout SH 1 and 2 it's brought up that the land Silent Hill was built upon was holy, spiritual land for the indigenous people, a place where the spirits reside and the dead return. There was, apparently, already something at work there. When the Order came to town, they co-opted the local superstition and mythos into their own practices, much like how Christianity did with pagan and celtic practices, holidays, and iconography. It seems less likely that the Order is accurate in its understanding of the supernatural activity at work in the town and more likely that they are twisting facts to suit their narrative. So, names like Xuchilbara, Metatron, Samael, Lobsel Vith, and Valtiel are names lifted from a foreign practice to adopt local phenomena as justification for the Order's beliefs.
I think that whatever it is that the Order claims to be god, and why it changes throughout each depiction, is simply because there IS no God, at least not as an individual being. Much like how the Order twisted local traditions and myths to suit their beliefs, the town itself twists the subconscious Id (I think it's Id, at least) of those who perceive the town, only the Town itself doesn't actually desire anything and leaves the perceivers to makes sense of the world. We populate Silent Hill, so if there's a "God" there it's because we put it there. The Town doesn't want to punish us - we believe we deserve to be punished, so the Town twists our subconscious thoughts into reality and we are in turned punished. This would explain why Laura doesn't see anything wrong with the Town. She doesn't have any guilt or subconscious desire for punishment. If we could see how she perceives the Town it would probably give us a much more solid idea of how it works.
In a way, this all kind of reminds me of the Apocryphal Gospel of Judas, wherein Jesus rebukes the apostles as being worshippers of a foolish God named Saklas rather than the unknown supreme absolute that exists above all. Saklas the Fool created Adam and Eve, the progeny of whom now revere Saklas as the supreme God to their own destruction and torment. Were they to learn the truth of their God and the existence of the higher supreme truth they would avoid their own destruction, much like how if the Order were to abandon their God they might avoid the caprice of the uncaring, supernatural Town.
I'm not a religious or theistic person in any sense, but I find these kinds of deep-dives into religious canon and co-opting of other cultures to suit the narrative fascinating. Whether or not the above-described was the intent of Team Silent when they came up with the history of God in SH3, it makes sense to me that the God is not real, but is an ironic result of an uncaring, supernatural place that was taken over by a people unqualified to act as custodian over it.
I was so early the video was called "test"
I played Silent Hill 3 for the first time in 2008 and that dialog with Vincent left me deeply uncomfortable. At that time we just started having psychology and philosophy classes in high school and religion was often brought up in class. The fact that Vincent doesn't care whether you call it god or devil means that he doesn't care about the nature of what he's worshipping, he just knows that his interests align with this god's. He completely disregard any apprehension that anybody may have concerning this "bringing paradise to Earth" thing. Also around this time, the CERN started his tests with The Large Hadron Collider, and there was this fear amongst the people who didn't know how it worked, me included, that this device could produce a black hole that swallow Earth whole. I was very angry at this organization for taking this unnecessary risk to bring about progress for humanity at the expense of potentially causing a cosmic cataclysm. Now that I know Max's content, it makes me think about this synchronization of narrative elements in media and video games. After having gone through this, I now can make sense of human stupidity and selfishness, and I realize how we're doomed as species because of the people who are, and has been, in positions of power.
That was extremely metaphysical and philosophical. Amazing perspective on everything. I loved it.
Back in 98 Silent Hill freaked me out more than Resident Evil and I spent alot of evenings with some pals playing it. I consider 98 and 99 to be the best 2 years of my teenage life. The game and Rob Zombie's Hellbilly deluxe cd made for the best times of my teenage years
Call this fate if you want but I never played Silent Hill and I clicked on this video fairly randomly. I was surprised to find that this CZcams recommendation mirrored my recent thoughts regarding the nature of God. Even C.G.Jung is refrenced and I studied Jung for the last 4 years, after I left Christianity. I especially found the mythology of the Order interesting and mirroring what Jung and Peterson talk about the evolution of the human psyche. One of the conditions necessary for consciousness to exist is distinction. Conscious entities must know the difference between the subject (themselves) and the object (environment). That's the basis of self-awareness. Before the human race gained consciousness, we lived in a blind, undifferentiated psychological state dominated by pure instinct. When we gained the ability of abstract reasoning, we became aware of the future (god created time) and we made sacrifices in the present to make the future better (just like first man and woman sacrificed the snake/reptile/dragon in Silent Hill, which is a very common motif in creation myths). Modern people make fun of mythological creation stories but they miss the point. Myths don't talk about the origins of the physical universe like astrophysics does. They talk about the origins of our conscious experience of that universe - the phenomenological totality. And don't be in a rush to say that the physical universe is more "real" than our subjective experience. After all, we derived the laws of physics based on recurring paterns in our experiences. So the next time you meet supernatural entities in dreams when you sleep - I suggest to keep in mind this consideration about the nature of reality.
Very well said 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
@Al Ponce I sense what you mean......
@Al Ponce Read up on Shekinah, the ever-present aspect of God. Corresponds pretty well to your experience. Might wanna look up Malkuth too.
@Al Ponce 😊😊👍👍👍
Interesting
Me to God in SH: Tell me, Do you bleed?
You will.
After all these years, there are still new SH videos, I love it. Thank you.
Uhh Jesus wasn’t “reincarnated” he resurrected on the third day of his death conquering death and walked amongst men for a time before ascending back to heaven
The music is beyond creepy. That thing in the thumb nail looks a lot like baphomet
I beat them all with no internet
😢 those were the good old days...
After reading "Lost Memories" in SH2, I've come to believe that the mythology of Silent Hill is heavily based on Japan's Shinto religion: spirits and "kami" or "gods" inhabiting all things around us. I know that the area's natives where native Americans, but taking into regard that the games were developed by a Japanese team I find Shinto to be quite likely. Note that the kami in Shinto are known to have both positive and negative characteristics. I think the "God" of Silent Hill is the dominant kami not exclusive to the rest of the spiritual power of the town, he/she(it?) has either become corrupted by the town's dark history (genocide, executions, plagues etc...) or was always malevolent (look up magatsuhi-no-kami). The corrupted/evil God was summoned and somehow impregnated into Alessa proceeding to plague her with nightmares and as a result Alessa unwillingly projected the nightmare onto the town using her powers. Consequently, the projected nightmare corrupted all of the spiritual power in the town which subsequently proceeded to generate new "nightmares" by calling people with darkness in their hearts to the town. After the settlers of the town had "chased away" the natives of the land, they integrated their own European religions and simultaneously adopted the native religion which culminated in the religion practiced by the Order. The book "Silent Hill's Ancient Gods: A Study of Their Etymology and Evolution" in SH3 confirms this. I think the God has no "true" form and just takes on the form of the image the summoner has of the God in his/her mind. I don't think Harry "shot" the God to death, in SH3 he mentions that the God was stopped thanks to the conscious effort of Alessa (likely whilst Harry was shooting at it), and the reason why Heather is able to kill the God a second time is because she is the reincarnation of Alessa and shares her powers...
4:06 plot twist, this basically is the first video I have ever watched on silent hill.
4:40 When they started saying “pretend this is the only thing you know about Silent Hill” this is the only video I know about silent hill 💀
That last minute... Phenomenal
Love your videos mate. Saw the first today some hours ago, impossible not to subscribe.
Isn't it wierd how most of the games we all played end us up knowing much more about baal.
I love you for making these Silent Hill Videos.
I love you for watching them. :D
14:43 Starting from here, the best possible ending and you are 100% right!!
Well I'm glad I have a innate moral compass but I often feel it is a burden to feel. I understood to live is to suffer tho there times I also thinking dying is also a form of salvation. The only problem is time options and paths. Would dying sooner or later make a change to living longer or lesser
Take a shot everytime he says god and you'll end up blacking out
I blacked out and woke up in Silent Hill... Smh
I really had so much fun watching this video, Thanks Max !
Very interesting. Love mythology and SH. Good work, as always. Thanks.
Douglas' and Heather's perspective on Paradise never made any sense to me. If Paradise is truly a paradise, it can't be boring, either.
SH3 paintings of god are the creepiest thing I've ever seen. So much talent went into these games.
This was absolutely amazing, I’ve been pondering for a wile now after watching the movie A Serious Man. The description you’ve given me today might also apply to that movie as well, giving a clearer example of what god might be and how it interacts with said “Serious Man”.
Been waiting for an upload since the beggining of the quarantine period.
Honestly this fall perfectly in line in what I believe in what might be in the other side of existence, that whatever this being or beings we refer to as god is not good or evil. I just never thought to bring the two concepts into one paradoxical thing which explains perfectly why it is impossible to explain or decipher it as humans can not process such concepts easily and thus gets watered down throughout the ages.
I always liked to think that the God looked like a demon because of the summoners twisted desires and sins; because they commited horrible evils, thats what God became. While with Alessa, it was how she wanted God to be; benevolent, loving, and kind, hence the angelic form. Coupled with her innocence, it become the closest thing to a Messiah that the Order wanted. Ironically enough.
"All they ever knew was a never ending cycle of pain and suffering" .... shoot, sounds like a day with my in-laws
10:37 I'm an atheist, but I'd just like to clarify (cause it may interest some), Muslims have many prophets, Jesus being one of them (Arabian version of the name is Isa), therefore they also follow Jesus.
Shout out to *Centralia, PA*
I recommend reading the Kybalion - Hermetic Philosophy as there are so many similarities with Silent Hills portrayal of God and the books description of its Principles, particularly in regards to The All, and Polarity. It's claimed to be ground zero for many esoteric and theological beliefs throughout history. The term As Above So Below originates from Hermeticisms Principle of Correspondence.
This sounds like Chaos Gods from Warhammer 40k, the desire of the eldars and humans, created gods
Eternal dichotomies - such is the way of everything in this universe
DarkW0lverine
Read the Tao Te Ching
Your videos are just simply the best.
I always personally interpret god of Silent Hill as the place itself. The characters in this game think there must be some kind of entity being the center of it all. They keep thinking about ‘what’ instead of ‘where’. Silent Hill is something you would call “Place of power” and all the monster so called ‘god’ in the game are just another manifestation of one’s own.
Silent Hill 2 is, 20 years later, still one of the most terrifying pieces of media that I’ve ever experienced.
Still the game is complete thanks to the mary cutscene in the leave ending. A final confrontation
Lol, i played the first 5 games in the franchise and the more I watch contradicting CZcams videos the more I think I know nothing about the series.
Solid video only thing I'd question is the cult activity seeking a girl to birth god I think the cult was just kinda waiting for gods return until Dahlia she seems to have had interest is Walter as a way to birth god using the mother stone and later got the idea to use her daughter instead
"Pretend that this video of Silent Hill is the only thing you ever watched of the franchise"
...
But I really don't know anything about the franchise, I don't know how I got here... But I liked it!
Silent Hill, in the dark, with Portishead's album "Dummy" on repeat as background music.
I always love to see another Silent Hill video from you friend. Thanks 😁
Actually yin and yang symbolizes, the Absolute Reality. The Infinite. The Universe, Existence
This is a super cool concept to ponder, thanks man I look forward to seeing more
2:04 "the god of Silent Hill did not preexist humanity"
2:41 "this newly birthed god brought (...) the invention of time which did not exist prior to god's advent"
wat
how could time not exist "prior to" anything? and how did the "god" start existing AFTER humanity if it invented time?
It all has to do with the human perception of time. There are ways of perceiving time that aren't linear.
To put it simply god didn’t “create” time she just brought order to it
I thought the god(in silent 3) was basically the seed of the demon the was summoned through alyssa that reincarnated with her through Heather because she was the good part of alyssa cause she could still feel pain and sadness and was still part of the original incubator so she was the only one who would still be able to revive god through her womb when she started coming of age. But you learn through Vincent and the books that the seal of Metatron only works on DIVINE beings not evil or malevolent ones which is why the seal of Metatron does nothing to god and Claudia calls it a piece of junk WHICH I think Harry knew from the beginning which is why he leaves Heather the tablet (forget what it's called) but in the book it describes it as being able to ward of I think it was specifically evil demons. which is why it was able to rid her body of the demon fetus that was feeding off her hatred. Heather's ultimate goal was to KILL Claudia which is a lot for a 17 yr old girl and that would've cause so much emotional and psychological trauma to her, which is why in the game SPOILERS*** If you shoot Claudia, Heather crys out in pain and goes red again and from what I assume "births" god, but when it shows it, it rises up from the ground. Like Claudia is following it's face up high into the ceiling so it was either that goddess floating up or she saw the completed demon of whatever was growing in Heather because the emotionally charged killing of her fathers "killer" would be enough to jump charge the demon awake. Valtiel AND Alyssa were guiding you to Claudia so that God would be birthed. I think the town of Silent Hill's "Order" just followed and worshiped a false god from the beginning that was actually a devil or demon, because the seal of Metatron would've worked against it, if it was truly a divine being or God. So Heather basically was able to put Alyssa to rest, Kill "God" or the Demon that tried to form off of Claudia, With the help of her father simultaneously avenging him, and Forgiving her mother. AND ridding Silent Hill of the demon AND Vincent.
Oh I love the Shadow of the colossus graphic reference /edit. Excellent video. Thank you for all your research. There's just something so special about those OG Silent Hills.
03:45 Origins is not canonical though... Only parts 1 through 4.
Good work.
The God in Silent Hill looks like Baphomet
Bitch mode activate: You must have been the only one to notice that!
Silent Hill is a clear depiction of the search for God and the despair we often feel at it's futility, the horror and rage we often express at the way evil mrn sometimes wield that hope like a weapon and a ceptor as well as the nature of love guilt and grief in the face of this quest.
It is a profound game about serious subject matter with serious darkness and super tight gameplay.
Sometimes.
Can you guys imagine how awesome it would be if Konami committed to a Silent Hill remake like Capcom did with Resident Evil 2? 😃
yes.
This comment didn't age well, and I am thankful for it.
Your movies always enchanting. Please keep the content coming always. You're enunciation is crystal clear and also imho is pretty attractive.
Seconding the ReinstallPaul series - it's brilliant.
"Jesus descended to the deepest level of hell to be reincarnated-" Wait, what?
I don't... think that's a thing.
I already got confused fast.
13:45 It should also be noted that Samael was the name of god in ancient gnostic christianity
I just want to say I love your videos and your unique takes about a lot of stuff I have never seen before, and brings new ways to appreciate different types of media, I really appreciate your work.
Jahweh is all good. All good things are from God
In every true sense of the term, Max, you are an excellent Jungian analyst on top of being a gifted video content creator.
Glad to have found this channel.