We all know how terrifying the start of 2020 has been. But at least we have Animal Crossing: New Horizons to get us through these weird times. After a long day of general dread, I can pop on the Nintendo Switch and be greeted by Isabelle’s friendly voice and painfully adorable news updates. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has given many people the escapism they so desperately need, so much so that you’ll be lucky to get your hands on a sold out Nintendo Switch.
But the game is more than escapism, its drivers are the embodiment of 2020 pastoralism and just about as close as we can get to this old literary dream world in our complicated lifestyles of today. Say what you will about Tom Nook, that mythical raccoon’s island getaway is as close as I’ll get to a tangible version of romanticized literary pastoralism.
Understanding Pastoralism
In the book nerd perspective, pastoralism is writing that shows the society of shepherds as one that’s free from the corruption and complications of city life. [1] This can include poems or stories that romanticize a pastoral existence, one where your biggest stresses are the low-pressure ventures of shepherding a few sheep and picking beautiful flowers for your love in the idyllic countryside. This type of literature often included flowery love poems or songs between two poets.
The Pastoralism of Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Generally, pastoral literature was written for people in the cities or those far from the countryside to present them with an idealized version of living without the pains of everyday life. [2] For anyone who has played Animal Crossing, the pains of paying a 500,000 bell loan (come on Tom Nook!) or trying to farm as many tarantulas as possible might be pretty capitalistic and far from the fantasy life of pastoralism. But hear me out.
If you are playing Animal Crossing with this competitive gamer mindset and getting as many bells as digitally possible, you can still be living the 2020 version of pastoralism. There is no way shepherds of today, no matter how beautiful the countryside, are living without mortgages. And just like your adorably dressed avatar in Animal Crossing, they’re selling things from the land to pay off that massive loan. So even in the hardcore Animal Crossing gamer sense, you’re living the modern pastoralism fantasy by living off the land to pay those bills. And hey, there are still plenty of flowers, beautiful vistas, and lovely sunsets to delight at.
There’s another way to emulate true literary pastoralism while playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Imagine with me gameplay where you don’t have to have the best of everything, you don’t have to get KK Slider to come to your island, and you don’t have to have a 5-star island. It is possible. Though the game gently guides you into the direction of completing those milestones, you could play the perfect pastoral fantasty: planting flowers, gently farming the land, and just taking in the virtual scenery all around your avatar. There are no points in Animal Crossing, there is no winning or losing. This is as far from the pressures of everyday life we can get, and it’s a digital way to recreate pastoralism right on your couch.
Reconsidering Pastoralism in the Lens of Animal Crossing
Let’s take one of the most quintessential pastoral poems, The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe and look at the first few stanzas:
“Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;”
You’re going to tell me this isn’t about Animal Crossing: New Horizons?! Ok it’s not, but anyone who’s played a few minutes of the game can see these pastoral themes translated into the pixelated world of New Horizons. If anyone tries to tell you literary pastoralism is dead, you can tell them it’s not, it’s just that Tom Nook owns it all.
Sources:
- Encyclopedia Brittanica – Pastoral Literature
- JSTOR – Pastoralism
