Philosophy, Myth, Video Games

I'm currently working through Horkheimer and Adorno's Dialectic of Enlightenment. The dialectic the title refers to seems to be between nature and society and potentially between myth (magic) and science (though the latter may fit into the former). While reading through their analysis of The Odyssey a few light bulbs started going off, and I definitely got a kick out of it. Namely, Horkheimer and Adorno were pointing out the compulsions of mythical beings - they are cursed to act out the powers that define them (e.g., Medusa is compelled to turn those who gaze upon her as stone. If she does not, what is she?). Then I came upon this quote:

"Mythical inevitability is defined by the equivalence between the curse, the abominable act which expiates it, and the guilt arising from the act, which reproduces the curse. All law in history up to now bears the trace of this pattern. In myth each moment of the cycle pays off the preceding moment and thereby helps to establish the continuity of guilt as law. Against this Odysseus fights. The self represents rational universality against the inevitability of fate."

Now, perhaps for some this underlying theme in myth would call up certain works, but for me it speaks directly to video games I've played. In Final Fantasy X, as Tidus and Yuna reach Zanarkand to learn the summon that will defeat Sin, they learn that the summon has long since been destroyed. One of their comrades must become the summon, but after they defeat Sin that summon will be reborn as Sin - perpetuating the cycle of mythical inevitability. (Now that I think about it, this is also a similar theme in The Matrix). In the face of this endless curse, Tidus and Yuna refuse to take part, and fight against the fate that constitutes the myth shared by so many.