ecocriticism showing up in "Portal 2"

Slight spoilers for Portal 2 ahead.

Portal 2 is one of the greatest games ever made; critically acclaimed by multiple publications and critics. It's not hard to see why. The pacing, and the writing, and the gameplay--it all culminates into an extremely effective experience. So I wanted to discuss this game. My problem was I didn't know how. Because Portal 2 is just good, and I really like it, and that was the extent of my thoughts. So, I tried to think a little harder.

Ecocriticism was one of the many literary theories touched on throughout my time at college. It stuck out to me, mainly because I found drawing connections between nature and humanity relatively simple (when I knew where to look). Larger, more encompassing theories and movements can also include bits of ecocritical theory if you squint your eyes hard enough. Ecocriticism highlights the relationship between humans and the global environmental crisis, and how literature affects the way we view this crisis. Funnily enough, Cheryll Glotfelty mentions in her landmark ecocritical publication, The Ecocriticism Reader, that if your view of the outside world was formed solely on major literary publications, you would "never suspect that the earth's life support systems were under stress." It has certainly become a more popular focus in our modern era, but it is interesting to see how such a crucial modern issue has seemingly fallen to the wayside.

So why is this important to a game like Portal 2? Short answer: the irresponsible and reckless pursuit of science for science's sake.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1648163/characters/nm0580351/?ref_=tt_cl_c_2, Wheatley in one of the many brutal-looking laboratory/testing chambers.

Allow me to squint my eyes a bit, because there really isn't a lot of nature or wilderness in this game. In fact, this game is centered on Chell, the player character, escaping a series of science testing chambers using Portal 2's titular portal gun, deep underground. These testing chambers are a small part of the larger fictional Aperture Science Laboratory. Cave Johnson, the lab's creator and owner, is not a scientist. He's a business owner. Not sure I would even say that actually. But I do know that the way he runs this lab is not typical nor is it very safe. One of my favorite lines of his is very telling of his "science philosophy," as it were:

"Just a heads up: We're gonna have a superconductor turned up full blast and pointed at you for the duration of this next test. I'll be honest, we're throwing science at the wall here to see what sticks. No idea what it'll do. Probably nothing. Best-case scenario, you might get some superpowers. Worst case, some tumors, which we'll cut out."

Hilarity aside, Johnson's scientific method is more or less thinking something is science and then doing it. Doesn't matter the cost, even if there is nothing to be gained from trying it. This guy has got zero hypotheses. He would probably call me a loser or something for saying that.

Circling back to ecocritical theory, Johnson's lab and that lab's practices feel representative of a blind march towards environmental apathy. In Portal 2, the environment is a resource that should be exploited for scientific gain and nothing more. There's a reason that the endings of both Portal and Portal 2 show the player a glimpse of the natural world after escape--especially after being trapped in a technological hell-maze. Pushing science too far, particularly at the detriment of the environment, reveals only destruction for humanity.

And there's a reason that Chell is the only human left in Aperture--because the technology that Aperture developed wiped the rest of the laboratory out. All that remained was Chell, the machines, and the natural world outside, far from her grasp.

Not to say that all technology inevitably leads to the destruction of humanity (but that's a fun rabbit hole); Portal 2 represents an extreme, often satirical example of science going too far. And whether intentional or not, science going too far in any context often directly impacts the state of the environment.

"Science isn't about WHY. It's about WHY NOT. Why is so much of our science dangerous? Why not marry safe science if you love it so much." -Cave Johnson