Hooray for moral ambiguity
Since people were talking about this in another thread, but it was a little off topic there, I figured I'd start a new thread dedicated to whether or not Sam & Max are "good guys" (not using the word "nice" because it seemed to steer the conversation onto an odd tangent).
Overall, I'd say they are, but I think the awesome thing about this series is that there's a certain ambiguity about whether or not they're really doing the "right thing," yet Sam & Max don't ever seem to care. The biggest example of this would be the fact that about 4 of the 6 "villains" in the first season were all
I just figured it's an interesting topic to bring up.
Overall, I'd say they are, but I think the awesome thing about this series is that there's a certain ambiguity about whether or not they're really doing the "right thing," yet Sam & Max don't ever seem to care. The biggest example of this would be the fact that about 4 of the 6 "villains" in the first season were all
trying to make everyone in the world happier, basically.
So while they were "saving the world," they were actually protecting people's agency... ensuring that everyone has the right to make their own choices, right or wrong.I just figured it's an interesting topic to bring up.
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I don't know, I never really thought of them as good because of the overflowing amounts of cold sarcasm they hand out at will.
Here's an idea - they're cold sarcastic pair of anti-heros, but when things get serious, they know when to do the right thing. (Eg. not dragging off Bruno back to the Kushmans)
If you think about it though, S&M did do the right thing. They restored free will.
If they want to have fun and make a mess while they're doing it, why the heck not?
While they don't let ethics or a sense of empathy stand in the way of fun, this doesn't make their sense of humor depraved like that of evil characters. They just pull the stunts we wish we could have the guts for and get away with. Not so much bad as unadjusted (and highly destructive).
Ultimately they're like normal people without any of the inhibitions. Neither good nor evil, inconsiderate and prone to temptation but not incapable of having a noble thought or doing a good deed for its own sake.
well said.
What they are is very single-minded and narrow focused. They'll always go out of their way to make sure their given objective is successful; whilst not caring about any other consequences.
The first game gives a wonderful example; Sam and Max help out the bigfoots, destroying half the country in the process.
I think the Telltale games have latched onto this brilliantly; it seems to be at least a sub-theme in each episode:
Somehow I think this is more the reality of it. I don't really want to think of it as good and bad, just have fun running over toys. I think their hearts are in the right place, and as parody, I saw them as basically stopping Scientology in Season One. (And no, no, no... let's not start debating L Ron and Tom Cruise, please. I just mean Emetics and Dianetics, I thought it was clear what they were trying to stop.)
This is probably the important bit. No matter what happens, I think Sam & Max are under the impression that they're doing good and bettering society, even* if that means slapping society around a bit.
* especially
.....while destroying everything else in the process.
I mean, Bosco and Jimmy aren't exactly stable down to earth characters
They have so much freedom from oversight, and passion, that incidentally some political correctness gets trampled, along with some peoples's heads.
That's what I love about them is that they are an almost satiric send up of action heroes. Admittedly Sam is the level headed, most of the time, conscience of the duo but they are basically Danny Butterman from Hot Fuzz. They want to do good and enforce the law in the most outlandish and destructive way possible, with plenty of gunfire and explosions.
gosh,it's 1:55 a.m.
sooo tired
must...stay...awake...
*head hits keyboard* *snoring* *more snoring* *slobbering & slurping*
huh,w-where am I?
Also, they are funny..