The text that I have decided to review is the Netflix original series “Arcane”. This show is actually based off of a video game called League of Legends, but it is not necessary to have played the game or to have any background information before watching it. It’s a fantasy show that takes place in the fictional nation of Piltover, which is split into the well-off, progress-oriented, top side, and the less fortunate undercity. One of the main sources of conflict in the show is the difference and lack of understanding between people from the two different sides of Piltover. In a way both sides of Piltover are shown to exhibit “othering”. (SPOILERS) For example, in one scene, Jinx, the sister of Vi, who both grew up in the undercity, discovers that Vi is working with the topside enforcer (police officer), Caitlyn. Jynx is outraged by the news, as she believes that all enforcers and topsiders are enemies, and a similarly othering sentiment is shared by most of the undercity. On the other side of things, one scene shows Caitlyn and Vi getting caught together by Caitlyn’s parents, to which her mother remarks “You found a stray”. (END SPOILERS) Once again, this attitude is shared by many of the topsiders who see the inhabitants of the undercity as dirty and dangerous.
Power and injustice also play big roles in the show’s plot. As the main villain’s motive is to gain enough power to stop the injustice that he has experienced his whole life as a citizen of the undercity. The show’s political situation is essentially an oligarchy, one council that decides the fates of all of Piltover. Interestingly enough, there are no individuals from the undercity on the council. It is an injustice that echoes real life for a large portion of the population not to have proportional representation in government. Since this is the case in the show, violence is used as a tool to force change. We can see this same phenomena in our world, looking back at the Black Panther movement during Civil Rights, or even some of the more violent BLM or ANTIFA protests.
I think that the creators of Arcane were one hundred percent intentional in their mirroring of our world’s political and social issues. Seeing these issues of injustice in the show inspires people to look for them in their own lives, and perhaps also acknowledge that the solution is not to hate the other side, but instead to work with them.