{"id":32,"date":"2026-02-15T19:47:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T19:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/?p=32"},"modified":"2026-02-15T21:24:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T21:24:04","slug":"humans-think-they-want-control-what-they-really-want-is-permission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/2026\/02\/15\/humans-think-they-want-control-what-they-really-want-is-permission\/","title":{"rendered":"Humans Think They Want Control. What They Really Want Is Permission."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What <em>Life Is Strange<\/em> taught me about rhetorical responsibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve already read my full review of <em>Life Is Strange<\/em>, you know I think it\u2019s less about time travel and more about sacrifice. If you haven\u2019t, you can read it here \u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/2026\/02\/07\/life-is-strange-is-not-about-time-travel\/\">Life is Strange is Not About Time Travel | Static Pages, Moving Meaning<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there\u2019s something I wanted to address that came to me in a fever dream two weeks ago while my paralysis demon hovered over me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We say we want control over our lives, because we&#8217;re God-modders at heart.<br>But what we actually want is permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that difference matters far more than you think, so let me explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fantasy of Rewind<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The rewind mechanic in the original <em>Life Is Strange<\/em> feels intoxicating at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You mess up.<br>You undo it.<br>You fix it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You get to sculpt the \u201cright\u201d version of events and it repeats like clockwork, making you feel invincible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But here\u2019s the uncomfortable truth: most of the time, we aren\u2019t trying to correct mistakes. We\u2019re only trying to escape consequences that arise from them, and that\u2019s not the same thing at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"858\" height=\"860\" class=\"wp-image-36\" style=\"width: 150px\" src=\"http:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/afb37e46255685044c6ce93aa3afe5c3.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/afb37e46255685044c6ce93aa3afe5c3.jpg 858w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/afb37e46255685044c6ce93aa3afe5c3-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/afb37e46255685044c6ce93aa3afe5c3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/afb37e46255685044c6ce93aa3afe5c3-768x770.jpg 768w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/afb37e46255685044c6ce93aa3afe5c3-299x300.jpg 299w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is where the game becomes rhetorically interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rhetoric Is All About Consequence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In classical rhetoric, persuasion is never neutral. Words don\u2019t just describe the reality around us, they shape it altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every argument carries, or should carry, what rhetoricians like to call:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A value system<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A risk<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A consequence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When Max rewinds time, she isn\u2019t just correcting dialogue. She\u2019s quite literally intervening in causality, and the world pushes back at that point of entropy to eradicate it. It&#8217;s poetic. That pushback is the argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The game quietly insists that just because you can intervene doesn\u2019t mean you should. And that\u2019s the power of rhetorical responsibility, if Uncle Ben taught us literally anything at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" class=\"wp-image-34\" style=\"width: 150px\" src=\"http:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/e50aa61a97c103b05ebb62c6612ba2df.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/e50aa61a97c103b05ebb62c6612ba2df.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/e50aa61a97c103b05ebb62c6612ba2df-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/e50aa61a97c103b05ebb62c6612ba2df-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/e50aa61a97c103b05ebb62c6612ba2df-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/e50aa61a97c103b05ebb62c6612ba2df-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Here&#8217;s the Illusion We Carry into the Digital Age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We essentially do live in a world of soft rewinds on the worldwide web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can actually delete the tweet.<br>You can even edit the caption.<br>Unsay the thing.<br>Rebrand the mistake, if you truly must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The internet gives us the illusion of revision without residue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the residue is always there via carbon footprint that may or may not haunt you when you&#8217;re trying to get a new job or try to sleep at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Screenshots will always exist, memory exists in <em>someone<\/em>, and deleting something doesn&#8217;t lessen the potential impact by any means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Life Is Strange<\/em> exaggerates the rewind for dramatic game effect, but the underlying question is deeply contemporary and exciting (so contemporary and exciting I could give a TED Talk on it on the spot, while gloving).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If you could take back what you said, would you, and at what cost?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You Don\u2019t Actually Want Infinite Choice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s where it gets uncomfortable for many of you, and unfortunately, I don&#8217;t hold hands first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Infinite choice isn\u2019t liberating. It\u2019s incredibly destabilizing and enabling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The more options you have, the less stable your identity becomes. If you can always revise yourself or versions of yourself, who even are you in the mirror when revision is no longer possible?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"563\" class=\"wp-image-40\" style=\"width: 150px\" src=\"http:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/8ac23b88e9d864dab062432bcb66f9b3.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/8ac23b88e9d864dab062432bcb66f9b3.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/8ac23b88e9d864dab062432bcb66f9b3-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/8ac23b88e9d864dab062432bcb66f9b3-1024x534.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/8ac23b88e9d864dab062432bcb66f9b3-768x400.jpg 768w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/8ac23b88e9d864dab062432bcb66f9b3-500x261.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final act of the game (no spoilers here, keep your pants on) removes the rewind mechanic entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No optimization for you, no comparison either, and no statistics. Too bad, so sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s just you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That design choice is not accidental by the developers or the writers, but you didn&#8217;t need me to inform you of that. It forces you to confront something rhetoric has always known and has been trying to convey to the masses for ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Choice only ever matters to us when we believe it\u2019s irreversible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"735\" height=\"995\" class=\"wp-image-37\" style=\"width: 150px\" src=\"http:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/154b5d2df2bffd58b372866f072e66f0.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/154b5d2df2bffd58b372866f072e66f0.jpg 735w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/154b5d2df2bffd58b372866f072e66f0-222x300.jpg 222w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why This Matters Beyond the Game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you care about writing in any sense, especially writing online, this is going to be crucial for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you publish something in your voice, whether your name is attached or not:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You are shaping public perception.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You are influencing interpersonal interpretation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You are committing to a version of yourself that has chosen a specific side on something.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You don\u2019t get to rewind the way you think you do. Sure, you can edit, but the act of saying something in public changes you alongside the preconceived idea of you in other individuals&#8217; heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s the quiet terror <em>Life Is Strange<\/em> understands and perfects <em>deliciously<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What the Game Is Really Asking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, here&#8217;s what it isn&#8217;t asking, despite the obvious story you&#8217;re faced with: \u201cWould you save the people in the town?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What it\u2019s actually asking: &#8220;Who are you when revision stops?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"735\" height=\"676\" class=\"wp-image-39\" style=\"width: 150px\" src=\"http:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/c737054d9f122b35552e99be696f0287.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/c737054d9f122b35552e99be696f0287.jpg 735w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/c737054d9f122b35552e99be696f0287-300x276.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/c737054d9f122b35552e99be696f0287-326x300.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that question is enough to unravel some precisely because it applies directly to us as a populous, as writers, as persuaders, and as digital beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why I\u2019m Writing About This on a Rhetoric Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>If it isn&#8217;t obvious already<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because narrative games like this one show us something that theory alone can\u2019t and likely never can. They make us stew in consequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can read Aristotle or Burke and peruse thousands of manuscripts to learn about ethos and agency and constraint and the whole nine. But when a medium makes you sit in the discomfort of a decision you can\u2019t undo? That\u2019s not just rhetoric embodied. That\u2019s argument through design, like an obnoxious flair bartender leaving you in waiting for ten whole minutes before serving you an overly shaken cocktail of rhetorically infused moonshine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"708\" class=\"wp-image-42\" style=\"width: 150px\" src=\"http:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/c130e1df24ea4eb6be9dc5b778a184d3.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/c130e1df24ea4eb6be9dc5b778a184d3.jpg 736w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/c130e1df24ea4eb6be9dc5b778a184d3-300x289.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/c130e1df24ea4eb6be9dc5b778a184d3-312x300.jpg 312w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s why I think digital storytelling deserves to be taken seriously in rhetorical study, especially by the pretentious overheads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your Turn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever wished you could rewind something you said? Don&#8217;t lie to me, the answer is &#8220;Yes.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But would you actually undo it, or would you change who you were to avoid saying it in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drop a comment below. Surprise me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And again, if you want the deeper breakdown of how <em>Life Is Strange<\/em> operates as a rhetorical system, read my full review here \u2192 <a href=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/2026\/02\/07\/life-is-strange-is-not-about-time-travel\/\">Life is Strange is Not About Time Travel | Static Pages, Moving Meaning<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re just getting started, dudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"736\" class=\"wp-image-41\" style=\"width: 150px\" src=\"http:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/9fa89f21385ad165b556d6b76dc968ae.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/9fa89f21385ad165b556d6b76dc968ae.jpg 736w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/9fa89f21385ad165b556d6b76dc968ae-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7040\/2026\/02\/9fa89f21385ad165b556d6b76dc968ae-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Life Is Strange taught me about rhetorical responsibility If you\u2019ve already read my full review of Life Is Strange, you know I think it\u2019s less about time travel and more about sacrifice. If you haven\u2019t, you can read it here \u2192 Life is Strange is Not About Time Travel&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/2026\/02\/15\/humans-think-they-want-control-what-they-really-want-is-permission\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7383,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[23,19,14,12,11,22,21,26,24,25,13,16,15,18,20],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-consequence","tag-control","tag-humans","tag-is","tag-life","tag-permission","tag-really","tag-responsibility","tag-rewind","tag-rhetorical","tag-strange","tag-they","tag-think","tag-want","tag-what"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7383"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/cnewf001\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}