Darkness and Light

Often, darkness and light are major thematic elements in poetry, literature, movies, myth, and games.  We often focus on the good versus evil aspect, but to a much lesser extent do we ever look into the old meanings, the illumination of knowledge and the darkness of ignorance.  The owl was considered wise for his night-seeing eye, and there's a reason why we consider someone "in the dark."

That's not what this post is about.  Before I shed a light on my purpose (har-har), a bit of what has brought this topic to my mind.  It's a culmination of several incidents, but I suppose the beginning was movie night last Friday.  We watched Brick, a new age film noir with subtle light and dark undertones.  The main character was the only one to wear grey.  The schemer wore black, and the muscle wore white.  It was the seed laid in my mind that only blossomed from my recent play through of Alan Wake.

The core of the game is the power of light and the deep darkness.  I'm sure by now that it's old news to everyone that the enemies are shrouded in shadow.  Only the light can remove this black armor, but the light can only do so much.  Beyond that, firearms come into play.  However, this light against dark permeates the storyline as well as the gameplay.  An interesting game with a certain few flaws, but that is another story for another time.

The idea of light and dark was already strong in my mind when I sought comfort in the night air.  This lark into the night was all it took to solidify the topic in my heart as well.  It has oft been said that light and dark are inseparable opposites, that the absence of one would leave the other undefined, for light is the absence of dark and vice versa.  However, that is not my point.

I came the realization tonight that the light only gains power in the dark - that the darkness is what grants light its power.  In the dark, a shadowy silhouette slivering under silver moon is a threat.  The light is our sanctuary from these demons, the bastion against that which we cannot see clearly.  However, in day, no threat is seen from the passerby or the wandering dog.  All is well.  All is safe.  A shadow is nearly nothing under the noon sun, even if it belongs to the greatest villain.  Our sanctuary has crumbled - accepting all in the light is bound to include a bad seed to grow and ruin the crop.

The ramifications of the light shining in the dark and its lost power during the day can be seen in Minecraft - or at least that's the first example that comes to mind.  During the night, torches are magical and invaluable, providing vision and keeping the monsters at bay.  In the day, they do little - unless they are used to light the dark places of the world.

Of course, we can also examine the Resident Evil series.  In the early installments, the game took place solely at night, where shadows clung to every corner.  A dark room brings with it nervousness, and the bright ones offer safety and sanctuary.  In the light, we can see our foes - offering an opportunity for thrills when one is hidden by a corner.  There's a sense of security in the light, even if it is false.

In the later games, the sun comes out to light the way, shining over the one hero and all the villains.  Now, we know that everyone encountered is a foe, but the light brings no thought of safety.  Here, we can see it all - we know when our doom is coming.  Then the night comes.  We cling to the light to find our hidden enemies - the monsters that sought us during the day are now a greater threat, but the light carries a greater power of protection.

The battle between light and dark is never-ending.  We will always have tales of the heroes of light defeating the monsters in the night.  When the monsters show themselves in the day, they are hidden by the all-encompassing light, but the villain always knows the hero.  Light is only a sanctuary when shrouded by the darkness, for the light betrays us in the day.