Jhin & The Theater of Cruelty

Dreamspitter·10/13/2017, 4:04:46 AM·28 votes·3,363 views

Shen's father, Lord Kusho said "Good and evil are not truths. They are born from men and each sees the shades differently."

So what does Jhin believe in?

"I am avant-garde - you are stuck in the past." -Jhin

Much of the avant-garde theater developed in France from 1914-1939 can be seen as a revolt against tradition.

"The Noxian invasion should be a wake-up call. We need more elaborate productions."-Jhin

Deeply affected by the events of World War I, the artists of the movement felt increasing skepticism of the existing societal structures that had allowed for global warfare.

"My theater is the mind."-Jhin

In his writings on the Theater of Cruelty, Artaud points to both “theater” and “cruelty” that are separate from their colloquial meanings. For Artaud, theater does not merely refer to a staged performance before a passive audience. The theater is a practice, which “wakes us up. Nerves and heart,” and through which we experience, “immediate violent action,” that “inspires us with the fiery magnetism of its images and acts upon us like a spiritual therapeutics whose touch can never be forgotten.”

At that moment, a town guard stumbled from the entrance, his face pale and hollow. "Her flesh, it was... it was... " he said. He took a few steps, then collapsed to the ground in shock. "He saw it. He saw the flower!" Against the far wall, the tavern's owner laughed. Then he began weeping - his face painted by madness. These were not people who would forget seeing Khada Jhin's work. -Golden Excellence, Jhin's color story

"Art requires a certain cruelty." -Jhin

According to scholar Nathan Gorelick, “Cruelty is, more profoundly, the unrelenting agitation of a life that has become unnecessary, lazy, or removed from a compelling force. The Theater of Cruelty gives expression to everything that is ‘crime, love, war, or madness’ in order to ‘unforgettably root within us the ideas of perpetual conflict, a spasm in which life is continually lacerated, in which everything in creation rises up and asserts itself against our appointed rank.’

"My genius will be understood - eventually." -Jhin

Artaud felt that the focus of theater in the west had become far too narrow—primarily examining the psychological suffering of individuals or the societal struggles of specific groups of people. He wanted to delve into the aspects of the subconscious that he believed were often the root cause of human being’s mistreatment of one another.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_Cruelty

Could it be that Jhin believes in a twisted form of the Artaud's Theater of Cruelty? And if so, was it drawn from other artists and philosophers of his time, or did he devise it himself? And if not, did the idea at least contribute to some of his development?

15 Comments

RiotWAAARGHbobo10/13/2017, 7:49:15 PM25 votes

Well done! No one spotted these references before. (At least not that I saw).

[slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

Cookie time.

some degenerate10/14/2017, 12:25:40 PM4 votes

This is extremely interesting, and a very good find.

I've always suspected this as well, especially when he says very peculiar quotes like "You only understand harmony. Discord is required for contrast," and the like, but now that we've essentially gotten a confirmation from a Rioter, there's a lot to dig into and speculate now.

Overall, it sounds like Jhin seems to seriously despise Ionian society to such a huge extent that he willingly wants to drive people insane through his artwork so that they can finally be "free" from the nation's restrictive and dehumanizing societal pressure and culture. Ionia is constantly striving for peace and balance... But if history is anything to go by, that almost always leads to inevitable complacency, degeneracy or just outright corruption.

Zed is probably the greatest example of this. If it wasn't for Jhin's "art," then Zed would've never strayed on his own path, exposed himself to the forbidden shadows, doubted and betrayed the Kinkou Order, formed the Order of Shadows, rescued Kayn, formed an alliance with Syndra and so on. He would've never started questioning Ionian society, philosophy and politics. He would've never started seeing it for how backwards and archaic it truly is. He would've never had a desire or a motivation to change any of it. He'd probably just continue following the ways of the Kinkou Order in an effort to impress his father figure, much like Shen.

All in all, this really makes me wonder what he has in mind for Shen and Zed for his 'final masterpiece.' Because at this point, I seriously doubt he just wants to kill both of them off and call it a day. Does he want want both of them dead due to their past association with the old Kinkou Order, which was all about balance? Is he leading them on a trail to uncover something even greater? Is there more to Ionia's society and political system then we know - perhaps it's truly corrupt at its core and their philosophies of "peace" and "balance" is just one giant public facade? Better yet, what about Jhin himself? Was he too once a normal, mentally healthy individual until a traumatic event drove him insane, inevitably leading him to completely question and defy Ionia's traditional ways as well? It's a lot to think about.

TyrekGoldenspear10/13/2017, 10:30:25 PM4 votes

Phew, you get a cookie for that insight.

Placentas10/13/2017, 1:50:03 PM4 votes

Jhin Jhin Jhin Jhin

Ungrateful Thug10/13/2017, 10:27:21 PM3 votes

Nice

Kloqdq10/17/2017, 5:47:52 PM1 votes

This is such an interesting find within the lore! Nice pick up, this is really cool!

Fear the Kayn10/14/2017, 7:11:20 AM1 votes

Very Jhin teresting

Heinous Bearclaw10/14/2017, 9:40:35 AM1 votes

So my takeaway from this is that the avant-garde and other pretentious "artiste" types are ultimately a bunch of sociopaths.

...which, if I'm being honest, I think I've always suspected on some level.

He Who Struggles10/15/2017, 7:33:32 AM1 votes

I like this analysis. It's things like these that make me like the lore side of league and want to see more. What I want to see is more interactions with Shen and Jhin. We clearly see how Jhin affected Zed, but it is a lot more ambiguous with Shen. He was most definitely affected by Jhim ofc not as much as Zed was he still clearly believes in balance. Balance (Shen) vs Discord (Jhin)