Alan Wake 2 | The Meaning of Art

Alan Wake 2 | The Meaning of Art

Hello Everyone!

Locked away inside of the Lake House, the Marmonts experimented with Art. Trying to understand it and its connection to the Dark Place. Mimicking it. Emulating it. But they did not have a true understanding of what it meant. How it affects the audience. And What Emotion was placed into it by the artist. If they had, maybe this story would have gone differently.

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[jeffhodges]

The Marmonts turned a man into a machine, and tried turning a machine into a man. Such a darkly brillaint and timely piece of writing from Remedy.

[TheParadoxGamer]

Can we just talk about Dean’s editing? He’s such a brilliant filmmaker and editor in each of these videos.

[LadyGamerLoon]

Loved this dlc. But I would add that Diana also tapped in the discourse of industrialization of art, something companies are basically wanting to use AI for, make a lot of product to ship out . That's what all those automatic typers made me feel when entering that room.

[kairasakamoto]

I didn't expect how hard this DLC hit me--I was crying when I found out what happened to Rudolph, horrified and disgusted with the Marmonts and their "work." The Night Springs DLC was fun and so much more light-hearted, but this hurt. Remedy did a great job for both, but I'm doubly glad they made this DLC bc it's a very important message imo, especially nowadays.

[BlazingOwnager]

Can't wait for more Lakehouse videos from Gaming University. There's so much good stuff in this DLC. Really a perfect final add-on.

[fonkwindy]

This DLC makes me think so much about this subject. Thank you for this great video.

[jonaz]

The Marmonts would have loved nft's.

[Xehanort]

7:51 The Dark Presence was probably thinking "I hate that AI shit so I'm making you two Taken." It being able to feed on Rudolf's anger towards the Marmonts was a bonus.

[voklenny]

As an experienced artist I could not agree more with your thesis! great video

[BlazingOwnager]

I think the funniest but most relevant thing they included in the Lakehouse was Booker's hilarious misinterpretation of Wake's work, and need to view everything politically.

I feel like that one flew right past a lot of people's heads. I got a big laugh out of "The flashlight is piercing the shadow of capitalist control!" or something like that, while constantly writing himself as a self-insert hero. It was one of the most subtle but effective skewering of modern writers I've seen.

[rasmusdegn]

I was surprised you were able to hold back from including Alan's line about stories taking on lives of their own while talking about Death of the Author.

[l.m.a.]

Still patiently waiting for that new Thomas Zane theory. 🙃

[rruhland]

This reminds me a lot of the Tennyson report.

Diana Marmont is the “science” that the Tennyson author is railing against. Trying to categorize everything and quantify how it all works.

Jules Marmont is the esoteric thought of the full end game of the Tennyson report. Jules is pure emotion, results without comprehension. “If it works, it works” taken to the extreme.

What I think we’re meant to take from this is that neither side is fully correct. When we go full “science” mode around the paranatural, we end up like Diana. Relying fully on science to protect them, without being able to take the esoteric into account, and as such being taken over by those esoteric elements.

But if we go fully esoteric without understanding, when we just pour emotion into the research we don’t learn enough about how it works and how to stop it.

I have to wonder if Control going forward is about Jesse trying to bring some level of balance to the FBC, as under Trench it got too scientific, which allowed the Hiss to take over Trench.

[elrevesyelderecho]

5:05 and we can make the case is high art because it connects yourself with some Archetypes. Art transcend the individual experience because it joins all together and makes us feel above ourselves looking at the "ideal self", Art is beyond time and any eye can see it at any point in time of history and feels something transcendent and new at the same time. See 12 Monkeys movie the scene on the cinema what Cole says watching "old" Hitchcock's movies.

[MrUmbra-tsse]

Not every part of Art is abstract and subjective, though.

Expression requires rules and limits to manifest something that can be described as Art.

It's like comparing speech to shrieking. Without rules of language, you just get shrieks.

Old Gods of Asgard were very effective at working with the Shadow, despite the fact that Alan is a writer and they are musicians.

I think any form of Art could allow Dark Presence to manifest specific things rather than most prominent elements. But artists have to be made aware of the fact that they are working with the Shadow.

[roonkolos]

What I find interesting about the connection of art and Cauldron Lake, like one of the files in The Lake House says, is how there is different kinds of art, subgenres of each and so much more

What would have stopped the Marmots from imprisoning a chef, a dancer? Hell, how does "performance art" factor? Its a question with too many non answers and leads to more questions. I like that about this whole story this game has tackled

It also shows how art is just so moldable and hard to truly pin down that quantifying it is like catching water in mesh

[MaRaMa-ARTZ]

I love how there were always half-jokes/half-serious theories about whether the Dark Presence could use Ai the same way as any other art and they just outright give us that answer in the DLC. I always said I thought if the lake tried it would just get confused halfway through when it realized there was no logic and not be able to do anything. Was kinda close, it did try and got "stuck in a (closed) loop." 😉

[softjay]

You always have such a unique and well presented analysis of these games. I appreciate your focus on collaboration and impact/intention as key components of creation. This is perhaps the most succinct and not douchey way I've heard someone discuss what art is!

This DLC was easily one of the best pieces of art about art I've ever experienced, for all the reasons you're detailing here. Can't wait to hear what you have to say on the topic in the next video!

[liliththesolarexalted]

Question: Have you done an analysis video on all of those paintings which were found in Hartman's Lodge in Alan Wake 1? I've always wondered what they might mean in the narrative and how they might connect. Such as how the Wolf painting might connect to the wolf enemies in AW2.

[TheHi-NoteFunClub-BeatsByMike]

Can't objectively or completely quantify or describe what is inherently subjective and comprised of elements where their meaning/our understanding of an expression tied to emotion is ever fluid/potentially defined as true from whichever multiple/different conditions and perspectives are chosen/act as the mechanism by which to "experience".

Might be able to gain some actual and real insights by identifying and applying observable "facts" about/to an artistic expression, but "the feeling" any artistic expression attempts to capture and convey will ALWAYS require some other/additional word, number, equation... Some other seperate and elusive feeling to make the "thing" concrete.

Because, even though our internal feelings are real and meaningful to us, "feelings" also exist independently/in and of themselves/in a way that both no one and every one has yet to truly experience... what they actually ARE almost hanging there, apparent and effecting, but out of reach to EVERYONE at some level.

Feeling doesn't just simply cease because you FELT - time is and keeps ticking, and each moment allows for feeling... maybe in a way similar to something previous, but inevitably ALWAYS brand new given each moment's unique existence - and feeling can't help but to keep occuring... Not so much "again and again", but rather "always there and waiting for us to catch up as we more precisely attempt to refine our understanding".

Just spit balling.