Readers talk Danganronpa and the perils of living by a teenage identity
More Than A Label
Special Topics In Gameology rolled on this week, with William Hughes’ look at how Danganronpa turns the teenage struggle for identity into a deadly game. Down in the comments, NakedSnake talked about how those identities we find during our teenage years tend to fade once we’re out of high school:
I definitely agree that forging and managing your identity is one of the most significant parts of the high-school experience. However, I would also argue that the concept of a definitive “identity” probably peaks during high school. Those are confusing years, and knowing anything about yourself can be a challenge. When someone finds a persona that seems to work, they tend to seize on it because it can be a good defense mechanism. Having a strong identity that you clearly communicate excuses you from having to compete in all fields. “I’m a tough guy, I don’t dance” or “I’m a Brainiac, I don’t do sports.”
As I have gotten older though, I have started going through a delightful process of the slow dissolution of my “identity.” I used to be so rigid about not doing things that were out of character. I wouldn’t listen to music outside my genres. I would only drink beers that fit with my self-image or frequent drinking establishments where I approved of their vision. Nowadays, I tend to be more flexible about what do. I think part of it is that the number of roles I play in my life has accumulated. When I am at work, I’m a professional; when I am at home, I’m a goofy dad; when I’m out with my friends, I’m a troublemaker. As I gained confidence in each of these identities, I increasingly mix-and-matched aspects of each persona depending on the situation that I am in. Contrast this to school, where there is no real expectation that you have a life out of school, and the gossip-oriented culture means it is notable any time someone acts out of character. This means identity protection, both from internal and external threats, is a major priority. As we grow into the world, the need for such careful management thankfully fades.
And Unexpected Dave expanded on the value of realizing the unimportance of rigid identities:
Yeah, a big part of becoming a reasonable adult is learning to accept that most of what we think of as “identity” while we are growing up is just a label.
When you tie too much of your ego to your “identity,” it can lead to really destructive behavior and attitudes. When you get people who tie their self-worth to an archaic concept of gender, you get Men’s Rights Activists. When you get people who tie their identity to their hobbies, you get toxic fan cultures. When you cede your own personal morals and ethics to a dogmatic text, you lose the ability to decide right and wrong for yourself.
Labels and external validation are a handy starting point, but that sort of “identity” doesn’t give us the tools we need to adapt and make decisions in the adult world, which is much less insular than high school. You can’t just live in a bubble anymore. Trying to maintain that sort of insularity as an adult is more akin to a bloody border conflict; it’s bad for the rest of the world, and it’s bad for yourself.
Turning attention back to the game at hand, Corfish1001 tried to explain the appeal of Danganronpa:
For me, the appeal is in how absurd the characters are and in the gameplay. All of the characters (aside from the hero of each game) are archetypes blown up to the Nth degree and pitted against one another. Because you have so many of these characters, most people will find at least a few they want to rally around and see make it to the end, and watching the cast dwindle as choices are made is a fun and stressful experience. “Will my favorite die this time? I hope not.…What if they’re the killer?!”