The Haunting Echoes of Trauma and Capitalism in “Mouth Washing”
By Mia Marcinowski
Psychological horror has always been a very prominent genre, often not given the credit it deserves. Some notable examples of this genre would be American Psycho, Silence of The Lambs, The Babadook, and many others. This subtype of horror isn’t so scary while you’re watching or playing, but it leaves you thinking for days or even weeks after the first time you saw it and “Mouth Washing” is no exception.
“Mouth Washing” is a psychological horror game developed by Wrong Organ and published by Critical Reflex. It is a very complex story about capitalism’s effects on people and the degree to which societal norms can ruin people’s quality of life. The story follows a crew of five people on a freighter spaceship making a delivery. The trip is over a year long, and they’re 147 days in.Everyone in this game is a victim of the system, and they all deal with it in different ways. The only people who can’t stand it are Captain Curly and Jimmy,though they have drastically different ways of showing it. Curly is the captain of the Tulpar and is described as trusting, understanding,and dependable. Not much is known about his life prior to being hired at Pony Express. After the crash, he is rendered completely helpless by the abuse Jimmy is subjecting him to. All Curly wanted was an escape from the constant feeling that he was stuck as a pilot forever. He had opened up to Jimmy about this, and it was used against him in front of the rest of the crew – on Curly’s birthday no less – so Jimmy could later blame him for the crash. Later on, Jimmy is confronted about sexually assaulting Anya. He threatens everyone’s lives, saying it can all just “look like an accident” and that “the Tulpar crew was never found, no one lived to tell the tale,” which is absolutely insane, and Curly just lets him walk into the cockpit as if he didn’t just say he was going to crash the ship and kill their whole crew.
Anya, the ship’s nurse and the only woman on board, is often shut down because of it. Jimmy constantly berates and belittles her for no reason other than because he can. When she told Jimmy she couldn’t give Curly his medicine since he couldn’t swallow and needed help,, Jimmy responded with, “We have to be worthy of our titles, Nurse Anya,” trying to undermine her again. Later, we learn she didn’t want to give him his medicine because he couldn’t refuse, paralleling how she felt about her own situation. Sexual assault is a secondary theme in the story,,and it’s not overplayed for pity points for her; it genuinely fits into her character and shows how she had to be scared of Jimmy. It wasn’t the idea she was alone with a bunch of men, stranded in space, but the fear most women need to have when going anywhere. Swansea is the only man on the ship who genuinely believed her. All the men she trusted and believed would help do nothing. She is forced to see Jimmy every day, forced to be chastised by him with no end in sight. It’s honestly understandable that she felt trapped, because she was, in every sense of the word. She’s stranded on a spaceship with the man who drastically hurt her.
Daisuke, an intern who follows Swansea around, is his polar opposite-full of life and energy, creating a sun and moon dynamic. Daisuke looks up to Swansea, and one line from Swansea’s monologue, “Old dogs laughing and snarling on a waterbed floor, mocking the moon for daring to show its face,” reflects this. “Old dogs” refers to Swansea, and the waterbed floor symbolizes his instability, which he refuses to admit. The moon represents Daisuke and his positive energy. It’s tragic that both people Swansea grew close to, seeing his kids in them, died because of Jimmy’s actions. The worst part is Swansea had already resigned to his fate the moment alcohol was offered to him, while Daisuke remained hopeful, always lifting team morale. Swansea, the ship’s mechanic, is the most realistic character in the game. A pessimist and cold person, he’s a recovering alcoholic with 13 years of sobriety. His trauma and recovery have hardened him into who he is. Swansea even saved a cryo-pod for Daisuke, but Daisuke didn’t make it. Near the end, he delivers a strong monologue about his life, how the system failed him, and the emptiness of the “American Dream.” “All nausea and wreckage and vomit and ugly cruelty. The only problem in the world, an empty bottle. Those were the best days of my life.” He admits caring for Daisuke, making his earlier actions even more tragic. Swansea always knew Jimmy’s true intentions. Jimmy, the character we play, is the co-pilot of the ship.
The reason I’m not calling him a protagonist is that he could never be described as such. He caused the crash all because he wanted to be Captain of the ship. He fights for control constantly and is always grappling for more, manipulating and gaslighting the rest of his crew into believing that Curly is responsible for the crash to make himself seem like the best option for Captain. He even manipulates specific members into doing what he wants; he is by all definitions an opportunistic narcissist. Jimmy is a victim of the system, but it doesn’t excuse his actions. They are all victims, but most are victims of Jimmy and the system. The amazing part is that there is no protagonist as–everyone is fundamentally flawed and unable to recover from the constant trauma on the Tulpar. They’re all victims, and the capitalistic ideals that claim to be “the way the world works” fail everyone. Swansea even says, “The only thing worse than dying slowly is not gettin’ paid.” Corporations cut pay to pocket more from the work of middle and lower-class workers while they reap the rewards. The game even shows capitalist propaganda in a cartoon, claiming working for a stable company is good for your wallet, which is a half-truth. While it’s true a stable company can help, corporations don’t play by fair rules. In-game posters highlight that corporations care about only productivity and cutting downtime, not workers’ well-being. While the game exaggerates, it’s not far from reality and the unfair business practices that they do.
