// mention of prison arc torture , dreamsmp , mention of the real world prison system
i apologise in advance if this sounds outlandish or dramatic, but i really think the dreamsmp creators have created something amazing when it comes to the lore and the community that follows.
i really appreciate the fact that every character, as far as i know, is at varying levels of morally gray. it encourages people to analyse these characters further because there’s no forced “evil” or “good” labels, which discourages, in theory, people being questioned on their morality for viewing these characters from a non traditional perspective. this is explicitly supported by the fact we see nearly every character’s perspective on themselves, the people around them and the situation at hand - and the dsmp creators have never been shy to make these perspectives drastically different yet understandable, making it extremely hard for the viewer to only empathise with one (not necessarily an individual - just one idea, group, etc.) and shun the rest. it spreads the message that things in life aren’t always straightforward, especially not people, and sometimes things require more in depth thought and conversation before you judge it. essentially, i believe the dsmp lore almost requires you to apply critical thinking and open-mindedness to be able to properly engage in coversation regarding it. (and i think this is really important because even though, yes, critical thinking is taught in schools, it’s a skill we often see people devalue and not use. the dsmp encouraging it is allowing their audience to develop these skills in a way that incorporates their interests - which they will then incorporate more into their lives, because repetition/application is one of the best ways to learn something. this is ESPECIALLY important because a majority of their audience are young teens who, out of anyone, need to begin learning and developing this skill).
i also appreciate that they incoprate politics into the lore. not enough to make it seem like they are trying to influence one political belief over another (or, well, not in my opinion, at least), but enough to cover the basics and flaws of certain political beliefs/systems and pique someone’s interest enough to do further research. i think now more than ever politics is becoming a huge part of everyone’s lives as people grow tired and frustrated at how the world’s going due to people in power’s lack of care/action - but there’s still this entire stigma around politics being this convoluted, boring, dividing, and useless thing. i firmly believe politics should be able to be openly discussed and talked about, as that’s how people actually find interest and the importance in it and begin to properly develop their more educated opinions, which leads to the change people need. the dreamsmp does exactly this. it allows people a space to discuss and learn about politics in the context of fictional characters. it helps people realise politics doesn’t have to be this scary out of bounds topic for only the professionals - it’s something that everyone can, and likely should, learn about, and it doesn’t only have to exist in a real world setting, it can, and consistently will, be used in entertainment settings too. (also, just like the last point, introducing young people to politics in a way that applies to their interests, and then allowing them to discuss it without having to do it with real world issues, helps make them familiar, comfortable and knowledgable about the topic by the time they do have the power to make political decisions.)
lastly, as kind of an extension to the first point, the dreamsmp guides you to question the morality of not only the characters but the situations they’re in and then apply that thinking to the real life situations they’re basing it off. the most notable example being the prison arc. the amount of debates i’ve seen that question about the morality of whats happening to c!dream, especially considering he’s seen as the “villian character” and his torturers, more often that not, aren’t - and whether his past actions justify what’s happening to him, and then seeing those conversations lead to people having realisations about the real world prison system and the morality of that - is ridiculously interesting to me. the fact that the dreamsmp members have successfully created a roleplay that inspires these deep, thought provoking conversations is admirable, and i’m incredibly glad it exists. my point of view on the basis of morality has been shaped greatly due to having access to all these discussions people are having, and then doing further research, all because i’m finally realising the importance of it - and i couldn’t be more grateful.
(plus, yknow, theyve been consistently making entertaining content of millions of people world wide for over a year now which has encouraged tens of thousands of beautiful creative pieces and inspiring discussions. so, that too of course xD)
