The Political Allegory of the Halo Series

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  • čas přidán 29. 05. 2021
  • Join the Discord: / discord
    I want to establish that I do not condone the hypothetical interpretations presented in this video
    Is Halo an allegory for the siutation of america at the time, or is that just a reach from the posturing redditors to justify their own position? Let's find out on this episode of: The SHREDDEDNERD Show!
    #Halo #Halonews #Bungie
  • Hry

Komentáře • 129

  • @fGlassmanN
    @fGlassmanN Před 2 lety +88

    "Any allegory can be projected on the story" hit the nail on the head. Actually, I'd say that this is true for every story with an evil empire and a heroic underdog because somehow everyone is the heroic underdog in their mind.

  • @gnas1897
    @gnas1897 Před 2 lety +42

    "Halo is an allegory for Yugoslavia, in which masterchief (Tito) fights the covenant (Croatian Fascists) who all have weird religious beliefs (Catholicism)"
    -Unknown

    • @gnas1897
      @gnas1897 Před rokem

      @Breny that's where I saw it too

    • @gages849
      @gages849 Před 6 měsíci

      Love it

  • @Bane_questionmark
    @Bane_questionmark Před 3 lety +54

    The reality is that Halo is a well-constructed story, so it is very easy to draw comparisons between it and other well constructed stories or real historical narratives. People will naturally notice certain details more than others and combine them to think it is "supposed to be" about some other story they're familiar with. Noticing and talking about those is fine, but when you get it in your head the story was intended to be that allegory you're engaging in projection.
    Sometimes the parallels are clearly intentional and relate to a specific topic (like district 9 is obviously about apartheid), but often the creators don't even bother hiding it or openly admit it when that's the case.

  • @tomfoolery5844
    @tomfoolery5844 Před 3 lety +74

    This is actually the most underrated Halo channel. Love videos like this

  • @ShreddedNerd
    @ShreddedNerd  Před 3 lety +26

    Please watch the video all the way through before commenting

  • @loneonlinewolf9379
    @loneonlinewolf9379 Před 3 lety +41

    This is undoubtedly the most based video on this topic.

  • @stephenlaswell4341
    @stephenlaswell4341 Před 3 lety +18

    15:35 gotta love that half-ironic "Gamers, Rise Up" call

  • @daklr2501
    @daklr2501 Před 2 lety +19

    Damn Master chief really is a true warrior of Allah!

  • @smurfsareoppressed9584
    @smurfsareoppressed9584 Před 2 lety +21

    My view is that war by its very nature is political, so, naturally, my position is that most stories centered around a major conflict, including Halo, are going to also be political. Now the politics in the games tend to exist more in the background with a couple series entries pushing them to the forefront (Halo 2 being an obvious example); also, as another commenter brought up, they are more the kind of politics that ground the universe in reality than the kind that anyone would think of as being "ham-fisted."

  • @MagistraNocte
    @MagistraNocte Před 2 lety +6

    I've also always seen a parallel between halo and WW2 (as seen from the americans' point of view) the covenants are basically the japanese (elites have high sense of honor, they fight with a sword and kill themself when they fail, grunts have suicide squads, etc) and most of the fights takes place on ships (neither the US territory nor the japan one was ever invaded before the bombs) the only ground battles were in the pacific islands, that are basically the planets in the halo universe, and of course reach is pearl harbour. It's interesting to note how the short story Eric Nylund (the writer of the most important books, and thus pieces of lore, of the halo universe: fall of reach, first strike and ghosts of onix) wrote in halo evolution (the one about admiral cole) is written like it takes place in the 40' during WW2, i mean, at some point cole even marries the daughter of an officer to not dishonor her after he supposedly made her pregnant, but that would hardly happen nowadays, yet again 500 years in the future, after you read that you start to see how much of the lore "mood" is inspired by that time

  • @JanissaryJake
    @JanissaryJake Před 2 lety +10

    Thank you. Master Chief on a brave Jihad against the "Covenant" is now my favourite head canon 😅

  • @danielpedraza6455
    @danielpedraza6455 Před 3 lety +7

    Basically the problem is not a game having politics, but rather when irl politics influence games

  • @Lucas.Blevins
    @Lucas.Blevins Před 3 lety +17

    This was an excellent video. Laying down the tongue in cheek pretty hard towards the end there, not sure if everyone will get it. But I enjoyed the whole way through.
    Your community posts are the strangest things in the world, but I’m glad I never unsubbed after watching the sprint video. This kind of stuff is gold, keep it up.

  • @TheodoreChin-ih7xz
    @TheodoreChin-ih7xz Před rokem +5

    The aliens in Halo can't really disregard human concepts like democracy because humans don't have that in Halo. The Unified Earth Government was a unitary military dictatorship long before the Covenant ever showed up. Humanity itself stamped out democracy in the Halo lore.

    • @Joshua_N-A
      @Joshua_N-A Před 11 měsíci +1

      Is that why the insurrection happen? Never play Halo but the lore intrigues me.

  • @JoeM343
    @JoeM343 Před 2 lety +7

    The San'Shyuum are supposed to represent the 4 x 2's?!
    Based and truthpilled.

  • @jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778

    Dude I loved the comparison you made at the end. I guess I haven’t been the only one who noticed that you could flip the story to be like that

  • @SK-pw9id
    @SK-pw9id Před 3 lety +11

    I like oranges

  • @Brian-rx9sp
    @Brian-rx9sp Před 2 lety +8

    The UNSC v Covenant conflict feels more like it draws from the Greco-Persian war rather than the War On Terror imo.

    • @Brian-rx9sp
      @Brian-rx9sp Před 2 lety +11

      5:52 Also on top of that, the "one world government" concept is incredibly common in sci-fi and isn't unique to Halo. There's the Terran Federation in Starship Troopers and the Earth Federation in Mobile Suit Gundam, and countless others. That's just a common view of the world from the lens of sci fi writers.

    • @MagistraNocte
      @MagistraNocte Před 2 lety +6

      @@Brian-rx9sp in fact starship troopers was one of the original inspiration during the production of halo 1 (alongside Aliens)

  • @patrickmballin
    @patrickmballin Před rokem +3

    13:22 "...or in a university in 2021"
    Holy fuck lmfao. Best quote ever, hands down

  • @SweetArmadillo361
    @SweetArmadillo361 Před 2 lety +5

    This video was based.

  • @Leitis_Fella
    @Leitis_Fella Před rokem +2

    After I read the first two novels, I think they probably ended up influencing the Convenant in Halo.
    1. A shadowy group of manipulators and string-pullers conjure up a false prophecy in order to control people: Bene Gesserit/Prophets
    2. The followers of said prophecy go about committing a genocide claiming the lives of billions in the name of their religion: Paul's Jihad/The Great Journey
    It's probably coincidence, but Herbert's influence can be found everywhere in sci-fi

  • @teejaybee0852
    @teejaybee0852 Před rokem +2

    I think it’s an interesting theory, but I think it’s even more interesting to flip the sides in which the covenant is the United States, and the UNSC is the Middle East, which if you look into it is a bit of a stretch, but it’s still an interesting theory.

  • @ingold1470
    @ingold1470 Před rokem +2

    "A strawman that people attack because nobody identifies with it". A widely applicable quote!

  • @RAMZAVFX
    @RAMZAVFX Před 3 lety +4

    More like a religious allegory. False prophets, holy wars, etc etc etc

  • @thedude9001
    @thedude9001 Před rokem +2

    I know your point is that you can project any allegory you want on a piece of media, but the great replacement comparison kinda makes alot of sense.

  • @mfspectacular
    @mfspectacular Před 2 lety +2

    I dont got antthing to add to the stuff you brought up. I will say this tho, on the assassin's creed bit of the meme. The whole assassins vs templars thing existed in our own world. Both were prominent secret societies in that era. Not an expert on that subject, but ik enough to say that much confidently
    Oh & plasma doesnt melt forerunner beams

  • @thereallwzer3474
    @thereallwzer3474 Před 3 lety +1

    There is quite a bit of social interaction on other games, but i do agree that they took it from us overall social interaction isnt common in games anymore.

  • @heftymagic4814
    @heftymagic4814 Před 2 lety +4

    Holy shit you really convinced me on the NWO allegory lmfao

  • @ChefandTheArbistor
    @ChefandTheArbistor Před měsícem +2

    THANK YOU! now can we please stop calling Halo an anti-Islamic game with Bungie hating all Muslims?

  • @chiliflis8660
    @chiliflis8660 Před 2 lety +1

    Amazing video here. I can't believe this only has 3k views.

  • @fishermc6pack
    @fishermc6pack Před 3 lety +3

    Lmao, you probably gave this more thought than the people who made the claim. Love your content
    P.s. you’ll blow up when infinite come out and we all get to dog on it, because you’re the best at it. Haha!

  • @RichardKulessa
    @RichardKulessa Před 16 hodinami

    Why can't people just enjoy thing and not over think it

  • @johnblackman6523
    @johnblackman6523 Před rokem +3

    Assassins Creed is 100% anti Christian/anti white propaganda. Nearly every Ubisoft game

  • @hawkevick9184
    @hawkevick9184 Před 2 lety +2

    The ending was bad ass

  • @TEZAFIM
    @TEZAFIM Před rokem +1

    great vid! us gamers need to be informed on this stuff more than we know (or at least, i do)

  • @pizza2264
    @pizza2264 Před 3 lety +2

    What is the title of the video with halo being a Christian allegory, it sounds interesting.

    • @ShreddedNerd
      @ShreddedNerd  Před 3 lety +3

      It was a part of my Halo 2 VS Half Life 2 video, in Part 2 I believe

  • @somerelativleyuninterestin4763

    13:32 okay that was pretty cool

  • @shreksnow1918
    @shreksnow1918 Před 3 lety +7

    The idiots claiming that Halo is meant to be a political alogory remind me of this Movie Bob video talking about Reach (czcams.com/video/WS7eeGbDIz4/video.html). It’s quite possibly one of the dumbest takes on Halo. The man said the Spartans are a fascist wet dream, and is coming from a man who believes in eugenics. He also wants there to be intelligence based voting so he can bar every right of center from having say in politics (the only good thing that would come from his ideal world is that he’d be euthanized for his stupidity).
    My thoughts on politics in media is it’s perfectly fine if handed correctly. There are numerous ways it can be done right, but so many more bad ways. If it’s done subtly, is meant as a loose allegory, or drives the plot in a way that makes sense than it would be fine. But the biggest one is that it needs to make sense within the context of the world/story. Something like Halo, Star Wars, and Sonic are just so divorced from reality that modern politics from the real world just do not fit. If it’s done right it can really enrich the story like in the Dune books.

  • @Ares_gaming_117
    @Ares_gaming_117 Před 3 lety +1

    i subbed tor the memes but u make good content boyo

  • @fatpenguin5030
    @fatpenguin5030 Před 3 lety +1

    interesting theory and very easy to listen to!

  • @Gator159
    @Gator159 Před 3 lety +3

    You fucking win dude.

  • @vicazer3532
    @vicazer3532 Před 3 lety +10

    prophets be like : joe biden wake up 911 today same day two thousand one

  • @sagebias2251
    @sagebias2251 Před 2 lety +1

    The best halo channel out there.

  • @Scorched-Knight
    @Scorched-Knight Před 2 lety +1

    This was a great watch

  • @Ian501st
    @Ian501st Před 3 lety +1

    That was pretty good, nice job

  • @user-ix2bb3bd5q
    @user-ix2bb3bd5q Před 24 dny

    Forward Gamers, and fear not cheats or bans!

  • @DixieSchizo
    @DixieSchizo Před 2 lety +1

    Holy shit this is the most based Halo video I have ever seen. Someone had been browsing Mongolian basket weaving forums

  • @soundclock2939
    @soundclock2939 Před rokem

    This is so funny how someone would think of Halo this way. The definition of 4 am thinking.

  • @chedisalhi2382
    @chedisalhi2382 Před rokem +2

    12:00
    Quick note : calling out zionism is not anti semitic
    And yeah projecting Twitter nonesense into old games is pointless

  • @user-xc4lq1zq2x
    @user-xc4lq1zq2x Před 10 měsíci +1

    I love this video, very epic

  • @JJAG3
    @JJAG3 Před 2 lety

    Oh my gosh he named them. So based!

  • @comradekirilov3483
    @comradekirilov3483 Před 3 lety

    This was straight flames

  • @exilestudios9546
    @exilestudios9546 Před 2 lety +16

    i mean it is a very political franchise just not in the games. the books really delve into the politics of the universe as well as show parallels to real world political issues and they do this not necessarily to make political statements (though i have no doubt that that is a part of it) but rather to make the universe seem more grounded in reality. art and politics go hand in hand and art should be political and controversial otherwise its not art its a product. this is one of my big issues with the halo games as the books introduce the interesting concepts both political and not and then the games go "big green man shoot evil aliens" with 0 nuance

  • @jacobaurelius5361
    @jacobaurelius5361 Před 2 lety

    I don’t think I’ve watched or listened to a more accurate take on this issue

  • @PowerHouseProdigy
    @PowerHouseProdigy Před 3 lety +10

    Just because a creator doesn’t intend for their creation to emulate a real world simulation doesn’t mean that it won’t. I agree that Halo isn’t necessarily an allegory, but it’s important to note that the parallels exist regardless of the intention behind them.

  • @alexwilson9940
    @alexwilson9940 Před 4 měsíci

    Ive always found this theory hilarious... If anything its about everyone from every race and species coming together to conquer an ancient evil to save the galaxy with prehistoric technology. Y'know? Like what the story reflects? Its just an awesome game with Shakespearean aliens and Steve Vai shredding guitar

  • @SuSpicious9748
    @SuSpicious9748 Před rokem

    That was savage. Thank you!

  • @purplepanda8805
    @purplepanda8805 Před rokem +1

    You like when this game has some very slight similarities to real life events, yet you dislike my adding hamfisted propaganda where the characters finger wag at you through the fourth wall? Curious...

  • @shanestern1788
    @shanestern1788 Před 2 lety

    this comment is right after the meme, not only did only the AC one make any reasonable sense, but what is that Halo, what? who's who, what? I don't get it

  • @ausaskar
    @ausaskar Před rokem

    The Gamers™®©GmbH, Pty, Ltd will RISE UP!

  • @houseofosborne1173
    @houseofosborne1173 Před 9 měsíci

    Great video

  • @naughtmeinam4603
    @naughtmeinam4603 Před 3 lety +3

    "...or in a university in 2021" YEP

  • @Sheevlord
    @Sheevlord Před 3 lety +16

    Reminds me of a hot take I've seen where some soy-fed "genius" unironically claimed that Final Fantasy 7 is an anti-capitalist pro-antifa, pro-furry game

    • @NihilisticIdealist
      @NihilisticIdealist Před 3 lety +12

      Anti-capitalist? Sorta. Pro-Antifa & pro-furry? God no.

    • @Sheevlord
      @Sheevlord Před 3 lety +9

      @@NihilisticIdealist The justification for ""pro-furry" was that one of the characters (Red XIII) looks like a wolf. Yes, really

    • @somerelativleyuninterestin4763
      @somerelativleyuninterestin4763 Před 3 lety +1

      @@Sheevlord nah nah nah, Clouds definitely a furry

    • @Brian-rx9sp
      @Brian-rx9sp Před 2 lety +3

      People often forget that Avalanche's bombings on the Mako Reactors routinely kill hundreds of innocent civilians as a result of the collateral damage. Barret even gets called out on this in the later parts of the game. The game also makes a point about how the power provided by the Mako reactors straight up improved the standard of living for many then impoverished villages.

  • @masterranger167
    @masterranger167 Před 3 lety +4

    I'm part of that 1.2% yeah babyyyy

  • @jacobwebb8818
    @jacobwebb8818 Před 4 měsíci

    Good video.
    Algorithm boost comment

  • @VicariousReality7
    @VicariousReality7 Před rokem

    Are you free inside your own head?

  • @maxg4962
    @maxg4962 Před 3 lety +1

    u an aussie?

    • @ShreddedNerd
      @ShreddedNerd  Před 3 lety +3

      yes

    • @maxg4962
      @maxg4962 Před 3 lety +1

      @@ShreddedNerd nice, what's ur education level? you articulate urself well

    • @ShreddedNerd
      @ShreddedNerd  Před 3 lety +2

      @@maxg4962 Thanks, I'm currently studying at undergraduate level at University

    • @maxg4962
      @maxg4962 Před 3 lety +2

      @@ShreddedNerd do a walk-through of infinite when it releases, I want to see your reactions to the game lmao

  • @cameronransom6867
    @cameronransom6867 Před 5 měsíci

    The midwittery of lefty memes have become self-parodic at this point.

  • @Randomrobot-fs4du
    @Randomrobot-fs4du Před 6 měsíci

    a thousand ways to spin a single chain of events, how bout J U S T E N J O Y I N G I T. that you for being reasonable

  • @dukecherry5169
    @dukecherry5169 Před rokem +2

    Great replacement isn't a theory it's a statistic

  • @1ER1
    @1ER1 Před 2 lety

    Halo was an inside job

  • @mcspankey4810
    @mcspankey4810 Před 3 lety +1

    Genius line regarding the Soviet Propaganda Films of the early 20th century and relating them to what we see in Western Universities of 2021 lol

  • @basedsneedclave175
    @basedsneedclave175 Před 3 lety +2

    The politics of you can even call them that I’ve seen in halo was things like don’t have religious leaders lead you people they will lie and use that religion in any way to maintain the status quo. Things like bravery in the face of overwhelming odds the willingness to go into the howling darkness with little chance of coming back.
    But yeah I’d say the story points of halo a combination are uplifting themes of humanity as a whole and straight toward cliches used in their own interesting way with everything else in the setting. such as the secret intelligence organisation is a bad by any means that acts outside of its government’s own interests for its own goals committing atrocities under the gies of ‘the ends justify the means’ or the ueg being a pretty simple straight forward Human government.

  • @JJAG3
    @JJAG3 Před 2 lety +7

    Master chief is anti Semitic?! Uh based!? Did my man just go on a great replacement tangent in a fucking halo video?! Based?!

  • @Henskelion
    @Henskelion Před rokem

    Hooking up every single twitter user to the contraption from A Clockwork Orange and forcing them to view this entire video.

    • @Henskelion
      @Henskelion Před rokem

      BTW as far as Bungie outright removing references to contemporary events in the Halo series goes, in the manual for Halo CE, it describes the Covenant assault on humanity explicitly as a "jihad", however this specific word was never used again in subsequent games or media, as far as I am aware.

  • @user-uh7cb3vy4v
    @user-uh7cb3vy4v Před 3 lety +1

    yea remember making friends online just by playing the game and laughing, remember having a good time and not chasing some rank or number or status? Me neither now lets queue up for a ranked league of legends game haha! I hate this!

  • @emilylefebvre5132
    @emilylefebvre5132 Před 3 lety +1

    Halo's politics are very religious in nature the Covenant, in Halo 2 and 3 especially, are a group of religious extremists taking from most judaic religions including Christianity, which was actually almost cut if we take a research doc Microsoft gave Bungie. The Arbiter's story in Halo 2 feels closer to a Christian escaping their religion, coming to terms with lies they've been taught since birth.

  • @caramelldansen2204
    @caramelldansen2204 Před rokem +1

    based marxist gaming moments

  • @somerelativleyuninterestin4763

    “Christianity probably came before Halo”
    Okay, you can stop lying buddy 😂😂😂

  • @Nedzberry
    @Nedzberry Před 3 lety +5

    I would comment a edgy radical Islam joke, but I do not want to damage Nerd's chances in the YT algorithm.

  • @T.h.w.T
    @T.h.w.T Před 3 lety

    This is a really interesting consent though. It by be a load of crap but it's fun to think about

  • @lewangoalski77
    @lewangoalski77 Před 2 lety +1

    I just hate how this game had the token black guy in a high position of power in the military to fill a racial quota in a fantasy game. Like, can't the black be a normal soldier? Having a black in the position Sgt. Johnson is in isn't realistic.

    • @wiccabong
      @wiccabong Před rokem +1

      Pfp checks out

    • @alantezoni9813
      @alantezoni9813 Před rokem

      ​@@wiccabongHe's right btw

    • @cocopus
      @cocopus Před 11 měsíci

      @@alantezoni9813 she's right

    • @nenish
      @nenish Před měsícem

      Dude halo is set hundreds of years in the future. Johnson is an iconic character who adds a lot of charm to the game. I’m certain bungie added Johnson to the game because they wanted a comic relief character, it wasn’t for a *race* *quota*

  • @Robertedwinhouse38
    @Robertedwinhouse38 Před 3 lety +3

    Everything’s political, accept it kiddies

  • @alantezoni9813
    @alantezoni9813 Před rokem +1

    But the Great replacement isn't a theory

    • @cretinhisterian
      @cretinhisterian Před 6 měsíci

      You're right. Its a batshit insane fantasy so white people have a reason to bitch about foreigners

    • @grumpychud
      @grumpychud Před měsícem

      @@cretinhisterian having a bunch of rapists in the streets clearly isnt a valid reason to complain ever

  • @gages849
    @gages849 Před 6 měsíci

    John 1:17 "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" Revealtions 1:17 "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last." It's Obvious Halo was developed with some religious undertones, and the fact it started around the time the Afghanistan. They even go on to name the game Halo and reference the flood. Quite an interesting game. They also portray the covenant as religious zealots much like the enemies of Afghanistan.

  • @EduardoFlores-bt4fo
    @EduardoFlores-bt4fo Před rokem +1

    The base of this video is still flawed, assuming that using politics as just aesthetics or narrative elements "depoliticize" them. You need a more complex frame of analysis because messages go beyond a textual way of presenting ideas.