A Psychological Analysis of Fran Bow

Comments · 278

• MA

  @makinginternetcontent · 2 years ago

  To me, what makes this game so powerful is that it doesn't shy away from the horror of trauma or mental illness but also doesn't just use it for shock value. A lot of games will just use the "aesthetics" of mental illness without actually portraying the experience of mental illness. I think the game's strongest part is being made by someone that has this experience first hand. great video!

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• 21

  @21oli12 · 3 years ago

  I choose to believe that she finally found peace and happiness, Fran deserves it after all she went through, especially knowing that the inspiration behind the game is a personal experiences.

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• AL

  @Alicia-rv3sf · 2 years ago

  This game beautifully embodies the saying that art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable… It really hit some spots in a younger me, that no game before or after ever has.

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• CO

  @Coolingtulip · 2 years ago

  “You can break something in two seconds , but it can take forever to fix it”

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• TA

  @tatltails3923 · 2 years ago

  Slight correction: the Other Fran in Chapter 5 is not a Past Fran, it's a Fran from a universe where she was never given Mr. Midnight and thus never had the motivation to escape the asylum. Kinda puts a hole in the Fran Was Raised In The Asylum theory, but other than that the video was wonderful!

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• RY

  @rydersj · 3 years ago

  I think one thing that history shows surrounding this topic is that it&apos;s a <i>lot</i> easier to break the human mind than it is to fix it. From the perspective of mental health research, pretty much all treatment methods of the past are seen as ineffective, unethical, and even barbaric compared to modern standards. Yet even in terms of modern standards, many people fail to find help with mental illness. It&apos;s crazy that over such a long period of time, we still have so many questions about the human mind.<br><br>This game really brings that feeling to the surface for me, because the whole time you&apos;re left wondering what&apos;s really going on. Did Fran murder her parents as a result of duotine experimentation, or did all of her hallucinations begin after the murder, as a sort of subconscious defence mechanism to escape from the reality of what she did? This is obviously an extreme example, but our subconscious is unbelievably powerful in its ability to change our perception of reality, so it doesn&apos;t surprise me that we know so little about it. How are we supposed to know what&apos;s real?<br><br>Great analysis as usual, and it&apos;s cool that you included all your sources in the description!

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• BY

  @bylethdemeduk2775 · 2 years ago

  I feel like part of the game and it&apos;s story touches on misdiagnosis and how that affects someone who is being treated. The medication is clearly the wring one and at the time where the game takes place there was extreme explanations for mental illnesses and so extreme measures were taken. Fran has been giveing multiple differnt medications (if I remeber correctly) at this age but she is very young, and thar also impacts how a child grows up, she was expected to be obident, and &apos;insane&apos; so, that&apos;s what her reality turned into. Her story is sad because she was never in control truely, her options allways lead her to the same end, atleast when she gets there, she finds her own happiness away from the judgement and dictation of the adults who failed her and pushed her into the position she was in during the game

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• SP

  @sp1n4l_sn4p · 2 years ago

  i watched fran bow when i was like 8, played it for myself at 12, replayed it twice a few months ago at 15.<br>Fran Bow honestly has always been the kind of comfort game i have always needed, to be able to believe in these wonderful magical worlds and creatures, just for a bit, is so so tun and distracting from the real world.

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• RA

  @randomtree7295 · 2 years ago (edited)

  I personally always belived that it was aunt grace and oswald who killed fran&apos;s parents for interfering with oswald&apos;s plans- it makes more sense to me and helps reframe fran from &quot;oooh creepy crazy girl&quot; to a girl who was exploited and framed by those with power over her as dangerous. <br>See how when she lashes against Aunt Grace in chapter 5, how oswald immidetiatly decides to use lethal force against her. Its because of how Oswald and Grace have dehumanised her, now seeing her as just a dangerous crazy girl so they can justify all the violence they inflict on her

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• CO

  @communistanthill · 2 years ago

  a little off topic but regarding the Where aspect of Fran Bow;<br>starting off, I think there&apos;s more merit to the game possibly taking place in Sweden than the fact that the developers are from here. Our history with mental health and &quot;asylums&quot; especially is horrific not to mention our parts in the history of the scientific community (eugenics and such).<br>But even more importantly I think getting hung up on where the game takes place misses the point of it. Because all of these countries have a long history of abusing mentally ill/neurodivergent/disabled people, which is why <s>I think at least</s> the studio were so vauge about location. Their other game explicitly takes place in Sweden so if they wanted to define where this all happens they would. But I think the crituiqe extending past borders and into the modern(ish) research practices of European science is an important aspect of the game. They&apos;re not making it to take a look at any specific country, but a specific medical practice that a lot of countries have adopted.

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• MA

  @Matreats · 2 years ago

  LORD - This game really hits me hard :( I cried so many times while playing through it and at the end it was just so bittersweet :( Her connection with her cat is also something I deeply relate with, since I grew up with a cat of my own that only just recently died.

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• FA

  @Fairygoblet · 2 years ago

  I think that what Fran bow went through was real, but that the drug Works in phases and the first phase is linking you with your subconscious, followed by the differing realities. That&apos;s why in the beginning there&apos;s a clearer definition between reality and Fran&apos;s mind, and it&apos;s mostly horror content.

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