Analyzing Arcane: A Critique of Classism and Bureaucratic Corruption
SPOILERS FOR ARCANE SEASON 1
In 2021, the indie studio Fortiche released an animated series called Arcane in collaboration with the video game company known as Riot Games. The game utilized the characters and world of their most popular game franchise, League of Legends. The show was critically acclaimed by both new audiences and fans of the game it was inspired by. The 9 episode animated series was revered for it's incredibly stylized art style, fast paced writing, and dynamic world building. However, a particularly interesting element of the show was the way it tackled various socio-economic issues. The show takes place in the fictional nation of Piltover, where various high society inventors would get together and create fantastical inventions. Below the nation lies a place known as the Undercity, where those of lower wealth reside and are forced to endure treacherous plights while the people in Piltover hoards all of it's resources. Through this simple setting, conflict occurs. There is a distinct antagonistic relationship between upper and lower class citizens, which forces many of the characters to challenge their predetermined notions and biases. These situations can easily be compared to real life instances, and the television acknowledges the underlying roots that cause these problems to fester in the first place. This problem is addressed through the overarching worldbuilding, the characters, and the supernatural aspects of the show.
SECTION 1: A WORLD OF CONFLICT
Classism: Prejudice or favor of people belonging to a particular social class.
The television series Arcane contains varying levels of conflict that dramatically affect the characters and the fundamental system within the two cities. The main conflict resides in the consistent mistreatment of the denizens within the Undercity, and how one particular incident ended up with high tensions between the two groups. Years before the first events of the show, there was a riot that occurred at the bridge that would connect the Undercity and Piltover. Piltover's enforcers, who are the equivalence of police investigators in the city, were sent to shut down the riot. The riot quickly became violent, and the entire bridge was quickly engulfed in flames. Many people died at the hands of the enforcers, and both sides had people who wanted to ensure that it never happened again. This event is a trigger for much of the upset within the Undercity. Many characters in the show would talk about how the enforcers would abuse them, and how no matter how hard they worked, they would always end up with the scraps while Piltover profited off of them. This event possesses many parallels to real world riots. For example, the Haymarket Riot that occurred on May 4th, 1886. The riot began peacefully as a demonstration of workers rights during an 8 hour work day.
The violence at the riot quickly escalated when dynamite was thrown a the police, which ensued random gunfire by the police into the crowd of rioters. This lead to the deaths of at least 8 people, and left 40 others injured. Writer Hartmut Keil discussed the historical ramifications of this massacre, stating, "U.S. historians have attributed to Haymarket local as well as national significance; they have viewed it as a conspiracy by the ruling elite against the labor movement, as a death-blow to anarchism in the United States, as an attempt at weakening the eight-hour movement, and as a critical watershed for the organization of American labor at large." (Heil, Hatmut) It is also noteworthy to mention how this riot took place on the tail end of the Industrial Revolution, there was an increasingly bigger gap of technology between the upper and lower classes. This draws from a more minor conflict within the show, and that is the dirtiness of the Undercity due to the lack of better technology. One major character, Viktor, becomes terminally ill due to inhaling an overabundance of chemicals in the air. Meanwhile, Piltover not only has clean air, but is seen as a wealthy pillar of innovation. The Haymarket riot is only one example of how Arcane draws from real world events to tell a story and form a complete message.
An additional conflict that occurs throughout the story is the constant negotiation and corruption that exists between the Enforcers from the Upper City and the business owners of the Undercity. In the beginning half of the show, this negotiating occurred between the characters Vander and Grayson. Vander is a well liked bartender in the Undercity, and everyone in Zaun respects Vander. He was also the leader of the initial riot at the bridge, and deeply regrets his decision to fight as it lead to the death of many of his friends. Grayson, on the other hand, is the Chief Enforcer. She is also well aware of the damage that another riot will bring, and tries everything in her power to prevent it. The two strike a deal.
(Grayson and Vander privately discussing the terms of their deal.)
Grayson agrees to keep her Enforcers out of the Undercity as much as possible, as long as Vander agrees to prevent people from the Undercity to cause trouble in Piltover. The deal, however, is not an equal one. Vander is forced into a corner as he does not contain nearly as much military power as Grayson does. And although Grayson does not want violence, she does not have much of say over her troops if Piltover's governing council feels threatened. A special report by David Bayley and Robert Perito identifies this particular form of corruption, "The notion of “noble-cause corruption,” that is, illegal actions undertaken to achieve laudable ends, is a contradiction in terms in relation to the narrow definition. Noble misbehavior by police refers to actions undertaken on the presumption that they achieve a larger social good, such as the extrajudicial killing of vicious criminals or dropping of malicious prosecutions." (Bayley, David)
This deal keeps the peace for a while, however, as the issues in the Undercity are repeatedly ignored, the people of Zaun become restless. These leads to an internal discourse between the people of the Undercity. One side wants to fight the Enforcers while the other wants to prevent more bloodshed. What do the Enforcers do about this? Nothing. They instead cause more problems as they mindlessly barge into the Undercity, looking for the thieves who robbed an inventor's workshop. This conflict coalesces into a massive power shift. Both Vander and Grayson perish from this battle, and two new sides are created. Marcus, who was Grayson's assistant, becomes the Chief Enforcer and works out a deal with Silco, a notorious crime lord in the Undercity and the main antagonist of the series. This deal is marginally worse, for reasons that will be better explained later on.* The concept of police making bribes with business owners is not a stretch of the imagination by any means. The special report also referenced, "The reports of the thirty-two police commissions on the police identified thirty-five forms of corruption, which can be grouped into four categories: scale and organization, predatory forms, subversion of justice, and gifts and discounts." (Bayley, David) There is a massive amount of corruption and bias that exists within the police system, and Arcane emphasizes this through the interactions within it's world.
SECTION 2: THE DIFFERENCES OF PERSPECTIVES
Arcane also utilizes it's characters as a mouthpiece of it's core themes and messages. The story revolves around at least 10 major characters. Each with their own backstories and perspectives that interact with one another. Each choice a character decides to make drastically effects the course of events that happen throughout the narrative. These choices come from predisposed beliefs that each character contains. For example, a character from Topside may automatically distrust a character from the Undercity. Below is a description of some of the key majors characters, and their ideologies that are a direct result of the hierarchical system of Piltover and Zaun.
(Character name from left -> right: Viktor, Heimerdinger, Mel, Jayce, Caitlyn, Vi, Vander, Silco, Jinx/Powder)
Vander: Known as the "Hound of the Underground," Vander is a large, bulky man who prioritizes keeping the peace above everything else. He runs his bar "The Last Drop" and takes in the orphans Vi, Powder, Mylo, and Claggor. He is haunted by his past misdeeds, and is partially responsible for Silco's resentment. Vander represents a misguided complacency, and his faults lie in his avoidance to conduct any change in the unjust status quo.
Silco: Another resident of the Undercity, Silco is a deceitful, calculative crime lord whose main goal is seperate the Undercity into a seperate nation of Zaun. He plans to do this by using Shimmer, an addictive substance that grants temporary super strength to those who consume it. He is the archnemesis of Vander, whom left him to die after a fight on whether or not they should launch an attack on Piltover. Silco represents the highest form of radicalization against the monopolistic hierarchy of Piltover. He possesses an end justify the means' mentality by using his criminal organization to topple the power of Piltover's government. Because of this, he is seen as an unethical monster to most of the other characters.
Vi: The oldest of the orphans that Vander adopted, she is a tough and rebellious thief that wants to fight for the Undercity that she grew up in. Her parents were killed during the riot on the bridge. She is the biological sister to Powder. Vi represents a younger, more naive perspective of fighting for what you believe in no matter what. Towards the beginning of the show, she does not fully understand the cost of what a full revolution would truly have. Despite this, she follows Vander out of a familial bond.
Jayce: Jayce is a young inventor from Piltover who experienced first hand the power of magic. He wants to combine magic and technology to bring forth a new era of progress in Piltover. He succeeds in this endeavor, and creates what is known as hextech. Hextech is the combination of science and magic to create new inventions. but becomes so swept up in politics that he begins to lose sight of why he wanted to do these things in the first place.
Viktor: Viktor is a young scientist who moved from the Undercity to Piltover in order to attend a prestigious academy. He meets Jayce, and assists him in his invention of hextech. Viktor, unlike Jayce, does not get too involved with the politics of Piltover, and becomes increasingly frustrated at Jayce's hesitance to push newer inventions to the public. This impatience is exemplified by the fact that Viktor is dying, and wants to progress hextech to a point where it can potentially heal his disease.
Jinx/Powder: The youngest orphan that Vander takes in, and is seen as helpless by most other characters. In order to prove herself, Powder uses a force she does not fully understand and incurs a tragedy that leads to the death of those close to her. She is then taken in by Silco, who becomes an adopted father to her. However, as she becomes more violent and impulsive. She, like Silco, becomes a major antagonist towards the second half of the show.
Jinx is an important character due to her development throughout the series. Her relationship between her sister Vi and Silco very much resembles the relationship between the upper and lower cities. While she wants to depend on Vi, and have her sister there to look out for her, she cannot deny the damage she both endured/ inflicted. Much like Zaun, Powder reaches her breaking point and decided to become the villainous Jinx by the end of the first season.
Each of these characters interact in a way that advances the concept of these barriers that exist between the upper class and lower class.
The above clip is an example of how societal differences can affect how a character may perceive a different "group" of people. In this scene, Jayce reaches a limit and lets his internal biases control his advice to Viktor. The show does an excellent job at avoiding focalization- and provides other counter views in the story so the audience can immediately come to the conclusion that Jayce is clearly in the wrong for saying something like that. This comes to an emotional point in the show, where Viktor explains how he is FROM the Undercity, and Jayce realizes the impact of his words.
This is absolutely true outside of fiction. The article "The Dangerous Separation of the American Upper Middle Class" describes the disconnect as, "An upper middle class status is likely to be both a cause and consequence of a high degree of self- confidence and ability to navigate the complexities of the world." (Reeves, Richard)
The graph above compares the proportion of those believing things are changing too face and the amount of income they have. Interestingly, those of higher income are more comfortable with change than those of lower income. These complex viewpoints are shown in Arcane, particularly with Silco. Silco fears the development of hextech, because that means Piltover can create a better defense for itself against Silco's shimmer. He desperately wants to delay it's progression because he believes that the Undercity will not stand a chance against it.
SECTION 3: MIXING THE FANTASTICAL WITH THE POLITICAL
The central story of Arcane revolves around the development of two technologies: Shimmer and Hextech. Shimmer is a purple liquid substance that puts it's consumer into a manic bloodlust. The consumer possesses supernatural strength, however will return to normal after the effects wear off. This substance is extremely addictive, and spreads rapidly throughout the Undercity. This is executed by Silco, who creates multiple Shimmer factories in the Undercity.
(A vial of Shimmer being held by it's creator, Singed)
The fictional substance of Shimmer is a clear symbol for real-life drugs that have created an epidemic in society. It closely resembles steroids or hallucinogens. Steroids can give temporary muscle growth, however, there is an extremely large risk on a unhealthy dependency. The Journal article Drug Legislation and the Minority Poor mentions, "Minority communities have been hardest hit by addictive drug epidemics over past decades and the sentiments of their representatives will of necessity carry great weight in legislative debates. The violence associated with the sale and use of drugs is found primarily in the minority communities of large and medium-sized cities." (Kornblum, William) The correlation of drug usage and low income has been an issue throughout American history. But why is Shimmer most popular in the Undercity? It is because of the lack of power the citizens feel like they have. Many Undercity residents are forced to defend themselves against criminals, and this desperation has them clamoring for any form of power they can get. The St. Joseph Institute states that drug abuse can come from, "Feeling as though you are powerless over your own future..." (St. Joseph Institute). Poverty increases vulnerability and fear, and that fear is covered up through drug addiction. Arcane shows how this feeling of helplessness stems from the lack of proper protection from those who are supposed to protect them.
The other primary invention throughout the show is called Hextech. It was developed by Jayce and Viktor. It is the combination of magic and technology, which was originally a taboo within the community. Hextech is used to create incredible inventions. One example being a way to teleport an entire flying ship to other nations. This granted huge benefits to international trade, and Jayce was seen as an icon by Piltover.
(A Hexgate, which transports airships across the world instantly.)
As tensions build between Topside and the Undercity, the ruling council of Piltover approach Jayce and Viktor with ideas of using hextech as a means of defense. Both Jayce and Viktor are opposed to this, because it went against what Hextech was designed to do in the first place. They created it in order to help people only. But, due to the divide between the two sides of the nation, it was being used to harm others. A Pandora's Box was opened. The story turns from an attempt to create something new to an arms race. Hextech was kept from Undercity in order to prevent Undercity denizens from using it to revolt. Historically, there has always been a level of inaccessibility of new technologies for lower class citizens. In modern times, the technology of a school possesses greatly impacts the effectiveness of educating it's students. The article Is Technology Widening Opportunity Between Rich and Poor Kids? references sociologists Keith E. Stannovich and Anne E. Cunningham, who says, "'The very tool designed to level the playing field is, in fact, un-leveling it. The not-so-small disparities in skills for children of affluence and children of poverty are about to get even larger.'" (Paul, Annie) While educational technology and weaponry are very forms of innovation, they mark a similar precedent. Arcane highlights how something that may seem beneficial for all may only create a bigger divide.
The series Arcane does an effective using it's story to commentate how there is a fundamental disconnect between the upper and lower gaps. Additionally, those who govern this society will inevitably abuse the system they control in order to make themselves feel safer or wealthier. While violence is not an answer to these issues, allowing them to sit and fester will make the gap worse. If class equality is to be achievable, those who are not given a platform must be given it. And the higher class must do their part to adequately assist in reform.
