According to the Third Look, at the core of Jesus’ mission is the Kingdom of God. By His words, d... more According to the Third Look, at the core of Jesus’ mission is the Kingdom of God. By His words, deeds, and person, Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God—a new world on earth marked by mercy, compassion, love, justice and joy. Inherently connected to Jesus’ ministry is His death and resurrection. This proclamation challenged people of Jesus’ time a radical faith-conversion (metanoia). This challenge continues today.
In His goodness and wisdom, God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the purpose of Hi... more In His goodness and wisdom, God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the purpose of His will: that man may come to share in the divine nature (cf. DV 2). In the Old Testament, a central theme of this revelation is God’s desire for shalom. The covenant established between God and Israel highlights the desire of God to work with man to work for shalom, even despite the cycles of order and disorder that take place. The expectation for shalom culminates in the anticipation of “The Day of the Lord,” which the prophets speak of as a Day of Judgment and Salvation.
The non-playable characters in the famed massively multiplayer online role-playing game Ragnarok ... more The non-playable characters in the famed massively multiplayer online role-playing game Ragnarok Online are instances of commodity fetishism in the game. In Robert Miklitsch’s From Hegel to Madonna: Towards a General Economy of ‘Commodity Fetishism’ (1998), he mentions how commodity fetishism can be said to constitute a negation of the abstract human labor-power incorporated in use-value, that it is an instance of alienation where man becomes a thing like the goods and services he consumes, and that the commodity-body uses a different form (67). This is evident in Ragnarok Online’s Kafra and Cool Event Corp. NPCs among others. Thousands of players click on these ladies and long-haired blonde men in uniform and avail their teleportation service by hitting the Enter key repeatedly and in a calculated manner throughout their lengthy monologues. The next thing the player witnesses is the brief loading screen before he goes on with his business at his destination. The human-labor done by these NPCs which happen in the background are never revealed to the player. This is an example of how these NPCs, who are no less human than the players, are reduced to commodities no different from in-game teleportation items such as Fly Wings or Butterfly Wings. This evaluation paper aims to discuss how Marx’s commodity fetishism applies to Ragnarok Online.
According to the Third Look, at the core of Jesus’ mission is the Kingdom of God. By His words, d... more According to the Third Look, at the core of Jesus’ mission is the Kingdom of God. By His words, deeds, and person, Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God—a new world on earth marked by mercy, compassion, love, justice and joy. Inherently connected to Jesus’ ministry is His death and resurrection. This proclamation challenged people of Jesus’ time a radical faith-conversion (metanoia). This challenge continues today.
In His goodness and wisdom, God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the purpose of Hi... more In His goodness and wisdom, God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the purpose of His will: that man may come to share in the divine nature (cf. DV 2). In the Old Testament, a central theme of this revelation is God’s desire for shalom. The covenant established between God and Israel highlights the desire of God to work with man to work for shalom, even despite the cycles of order and disorder that take place. The expectation for shalom culminates in the anticipation of “The Day of the Lord,” which the prophets speak of as a Day of Judgment and Salvation.
The non-playable characters in the famed massively multiplayer online role-playing game Ragnarok ... more The non-playable characters in the famed massively multiplayer online role-playing game Ragnarok Online are instances of commodity fetishism in the game. In Robert Miklitsch’s From Hegel to Madonna: Towards a General Economy of ‘Commodity Fetishism’ (1998), he mentions how commodity fetishism can be said to constitute a negation of the abstract human labor-power incorporated in use-value, that it is an instance of alienation where man becomes a thing like the goods and services he consumes, and that the commodity-body uses a different form (67). This is evident in Ragnarok Online’s Kafra and Cool Event Corp. NPCs among others. Thousands of players click on these ladies and long-haired blonde men in uniform and avail their teleportation service by hitting the Enter key repeatedly and in a calculated manner throughout their lengthy monologues. The next thing the player witnesses is the brief loading screen before he goes on with his business at his destination. The human-labor done by these NPCs which happen in the background are never revealed to the player. This is an example of how these NPCs, who are no less human than the players, are reduced to commodities no different from in-game teleportation items such as Fly Wings or Butterfly Wings. This evaluation paper aims to discuss how Marx’s commodity fetishism applies to Ragnarok Online.
Uploads
Papers by Samuel Cruz