Everyone knows
Mario is cool as fuck. But who knows what he's thinking? Who knows why he crushes turtles? And why do we think about him as fondly as we think of the mystical (nonexistent?) Dr Pepper? Perchance.
I believe it was Kant who said "Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play."
Mario exhibits experience by crushing turts all
day, but he exhibits theory by stating "Lets-a go!" Keep it up, baby!
When
Mario leaves his place of safety to stomp a turty, he knows that he may Die. And yet, for a man who can purchase lives with
money, a life becomes a mere store of value. A tax that can be paid for, much as a rich man feels any law with a fine is a price. We think of
Mario as a hero,but he is simply a one percenter of a more privileged variety. The lifekind. Perchance.