Engie, Simon, Yancy, Wilford, even The Actor and more- all of them have, as we know, done horrible things. Some didn't have a choice, didn't mean to, and some outright chose to do it. But Mark never stops making them feel human. They process what they've done in so many different ways, but they feel so real when they do so. "I'm tired, Captain" was easily one of the most memorable lines for me in ISWM. Simon is someone I canNOT go over In one post, but I've talked about his humanity a lot more in depth before. coughs. Wilford is always a bit hard to draw that towards with all his insanity, but the way he spoke to Abe in WMW makes me think he's a lot more aware than he seems. He's, surprisingly, maybe one of the only characters that may have accepted their trauma???? obviously he has issues, but he's arguably more himself than The Colonel ever was. The Actor is one of my favorite examples of Mark's characters still being people. "People" doesn't mean anyone with good intentions or can be redeemed- It means a human. It means the best and worst person you can think of. It means you and me. The Actor is not a good person by any means, but you still see his reasoning. His twisted, horrendous reasoning. You still see his facade crack, you see why he keeps it up, you see how foolish he is to think he's the one in control. Mark doesn't hide why Actor does what he does, he doesn't excuse his actions because of his spiral, but it does add to why he isn't a "monster." Yancy is one I don't see talked about too much. Yeahh we all love him, and he IS a silly little guy!! but I love to see Mark picking on the justice system in "I Don't Wanna Be Free." I don't see it talked about enough, even with Simon. Which, was one of the main reasons I made this post.
Mark touches on how people are perceived because of their actions too. I don't know why no one talks about it AHH!!!!! Simon with the C.O.I DIRECTLY puts pressure on things like the death penalty, how people are treated in prison, etc etc. They're HUMAN. Iron Lung is about desperate people in an impossible situation making impossible choices and we DONT TALK ENOUGH ABOUT WHAT ITS CRITICIZING!!!! "I Don't Wanna Be Free" talking about how the outside world would be for Yancy after what he did???? hello?? Even on another note about society, the references to poverty is so clear but amazingly covered up by the silly energy of Yancy himself, which I also quite liked about it. I'm sure there are plenty of other times he's made jabs about the world in general, but it is SO intriguing to me the way he does all of this. Hiding it behind comedy and such, or putting it out there in such a realistic way it's barely noticeable.
The characters are all so unbelievably human in nature, they all make their share of bad choices, but they aren't watered down to just that. Those choices affect them and everyone else, they handle them in their own ways, and despite many being unforgivable, they never lose their humanity. I think that's such an artful reflection on us as a species that I can't properly put into words even in this post.(just like my Simon rant😭)
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