The Real Pandora's Box – Silent Hill 2. 11 video games with a powerful message
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There's a reason why we've brought up Silent Hill 2 – the story of this title is ahead of not only the gaming industry, but also many acclaimed films. Under the guise of a survival horror and harrowing mascara projects there is a dark tale of guilt. In the game we can also find some references to dysmorphobia (belief in unaesthetic and unattractive appearance), bullying themes, and even the touching consequences of growing up in a dysfunctional family, including sexual harassment of children. The stories of Silent Hill 2 characters are terrifying on their own. These stories wouldn't need the city, the fog, the creepy nurses or the guy with the pyramid on his head to shock us. Despite all that, such artistic background and gloomy atmosphere are the core features of the game.
The second part of the series is primarily the story of James Sunderland. During the game's finale we discover that everything we experienced in the Silent Hill is a result of guilt after he subconsciously rejected the fact that he murdered his own wife. His previous situation and motivation was a pure tragedy. The journey through the spooky town is his personal hell that is a result of the previous events. James has to relive the death of a woman similar to his wife on a regular basis. He experiences the overwhelming helplessness in fruitless attempts to save her. Everything he does leads to the disclosure of bitter truth, and ultimately to a gloomy finale, which is one of the several possible endings. The most depressing one is much easier to achieve when you play the game for the first time.
During his journey, James encounters side characters who experience their own nightmares in Silent Hill, also in a sense of guilt. Over time, we discover that their past was probably even more grim than James'. Eddie Dombrowski is a young man who once worked at a gas station. Since he was a child, he had been struggling with overweight, and was notoriously mocked and bullied by his peers. He was often judged in advance due to his appearance. As a result, he has developed a compulsive food disorder and a BDD (bodily dysmorphic disorder), that is, an anxiety disorder that causes a person to have a distorted view of how they look. Eventually, all this ended in a tragedy, the victim of which was one of the Eddie's bullies who tormented him even after high school. Driven to the limit, Dombrowski shot his tormentor in the knee and killed his dog. Every time we meet Eddie, there is a dead body next to him, which symbolically refers to his abusers.
We discover an even more gloomy story after meetings with Angela Orosco. The young girl has a clear suicidal tendencies and is mentally unstable. You can hear fear and lack of self-confidence in her voice. Also, she stutters a bit. Over time, we find out how tragic her life was. Angela was raised in a dysfunctional family. She was notoriously beaten and raped by her father who was an alcoholic. Since she was a child, she's been told she's worth nothing. These events have led her to complete lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem, the belief that there is no point in living in such a hopeless world. Angela also seems to be suffering from BDD. She thinks that she is ugly and no longer resembles herself, which is often the case among rape victims or people suffering from depression. Long-lasting hell ended in tragedy. As an adult, Angela stabbed a knife in her father's throat and then stabbed him in the chest many times. Her suicidal thoughts are the result of both, the desire to escape from her hopeless life, and the desire to punish herself for all evil deeds – those that have been persuaded and real ones, like the murder of her father.
Silent Hill 2 is a true mine of various interpretations and theories, but most of us can extract the main message deriving from these stories. Namely, that the greatest hell, fear and horrors are not hidden among ghosts, monsters or in haunted houses, but in what fate or even everyday life can bring to a human being.
