I think the meanings of Light and Darkness has altered drastically from when Kingdom Hearts first began to where it is now.
In the first game, I took Light to be a blanket term refering to multiple virtues, such as courage, kindness, generosity, etc., and Darkness to be primarily concerned with corruptive forces in the spirit, such as greed, jealousy, anger. At least, looking at Darkness is this fashion explains Riku's arc in the game: aspects of his character while still in Light consist of a friendly rivalry with Sora, love and compassion for Kairi, and the desire to protect his friends. Once he starts to embrace Darkness, however, these traits begin to become corrupted: the rivalry becomes jealousy, love and compassion becomes a brooding obsession, and protection of others becomes giving himself a monopoly on power and force. It's not just a matter of "going over to the side of Dark," it's losing what it meant to be in the Light in the first place. Darkness as corruption also adds to the fates of the Disney villains: each of them fail to keep their hubris in check, and each fall as their ambitions and anger become exagerated, engulphing them entirely. By the same token, Light being the absence of this corruption and negative virtue is what makes Kairi and the Princesses good people: it's not because they're on the right side, but because they are devoid of any and all negative aspects which define the Darkness. At the end of the game, when Sora announces that Kingdom Hearts is Light, what he is refering to is the idea that there is one part of this universe which cannot be corrupted, and therefore Ansem, with all of his anger and hatred (negative emotions) could not bear to see it, and why Sora, with his kindness and courage (positive emotions), could.
But then, come further games, it seems that Light and Dark have become grossly simplified and made into concrete terms. King Mickey ponders why people fear the Darkness, indicating that Darkness has nothing inherently negative about it; Sora accepts that he and Riku will be the Darkness, as if there is nothing to fear; and Birth By Sleep has countless examples of Dark and Light being refered to as if they were arbitrary titles, simply refering to two factions in a feud. Light and Dark go from something abstract and symbolic to something grounded and simple. It's no longer about conflict within one's self, it's about conflict between seperate persons, very much a Light vs Dark rather than trying to control the Dark within yourself.
Discuss. No right or wrong answers, just something to think about.
I think the meanings of Light and Darkness has altered drastically from when Kingdom Hearts first began to where it is now.
In the first game, I took Light to be a blanket term refering to multiple virtues, such as courage, kindness, generosity, etc., and Darkness to be primarily concerned with corruptive forces in the spirit, such as greed, jealousy, anger. At least, looking at Darkness is this fashion explains Riku's arc in the game: aspects of his character while still in Light consist of a friendly rivalry with Sora, love and compassion for Kairi, and the desire to protect his friends. Once he starts to embrace Darkness, however, these traits begin to become corrupted: the rivalry becomes jealousy, love and compassion becomes a brooding obsession, and protection of others becomes giving himself a monopoly on power and force. It's not just a matter of "going over to the side of Dark," it's losing what it meant to be in the Light in the first place. Darkness as corruption also adds to the fates of the Disney villains: each of them fail to keep their hubris in check, and each fall as their ambitions and anger become exagerated, engulphing them entirely. By the same token, Light being the absence of this corruption and negative virtue is what makes Kairi and the Princesses good people: it's not because they're on the right side, but because they are devoid of any and all negative aspects which define the Darkness. At the end of the game, when Sora announces that Kingdom Hearts is Light, what he is refering to is the idea that there is one part of this universe which cannot be corrupted, and therefore Ansem, with all of his anger and hatred (negative emotions) could not bear to see it, and why Sora, with his kindness and courage (positive emotions), could.
But then, come further games, it seems that Light and Dark have become grossly simplified and made into concrete terms. King Mickey ponders why people fear the Darkness, indicating that Darkness has nothing inherently negative about it; Sora accepts that he and Riku will be the Darkness, as if there is nothing to fear; and Birth By Sleep has countless examples of Dark and Light being refered to as if they were arbitrary titles, simply refering to two factions in a feud. Light and Dark go from something abstract and symbolic to something grounded and simple. It's no longer about conflict within one's self, it's about conflict between seperate persons, very much a Light vs Dark rather than trying to control the Dark within yourself.
Discuss. No right or wrong answers, just something to think about.