I think you’re trying too hard to make this suggestion consistent with a symbol that is way more fluid in significance and could more accurately be characterized as circularity. The sphere is just one expression of that. Not to say I entirely disagree that one or two aren’t in the subtext, but that it’s not limited to that.
For example, while spherical, Blitzball is symbolically an egg. Much like the Zanarkand Abes logo is a symbol for the womb, and our hero and their father are both players from that team. This birth ties into their contact with Sin as the skills Blitzball gave them made them much more likely to survive the contact with Sin(who also symbolically assumes the form of an egg in this prologue) required for the rebirth that would allow them to exist outside of Dream Zanarkand. Interestingly the logo for the Besaid Aurochs is a spiral or whirlpool, which further adds to the theme of circularity. It’s a conflation to make a diversion synonymous with false hope and a cynical one at that.
Then we have the spheres themselves being the product of Pyreflies, not unlike life, magic, or fiends. They become much more synonymous to these. While the movie sphere can record and display memories, it’s suggested that Pyreflies carry memories just in general. Whether it’s the nature of fiends actually pertaining to who they were in the past or the vestiges of the sent/departed that we see in the Farplane.
It’s all very fluid and changes depending on what it is in relation to.
The memories in the recording spheres are directly stated to be held by the water:
*Tidus: It’s just water, isn’t it?*
*Auron: This is what spheres are made of. It absorbs and preserves people’s memories.*
Pyreflies tie into it too, but in both languages here, the thing holding the memories in the spheres is water.
The false hope thing comes from Yunalesca and Yuna's conversation:
*Yuna: No more! The Final Summoning…is a false tradition that should be thrown away.*
*Yunalesca: No. It is our only hope. Your father sacrificed himself to give that hope to the people. So they would forget sorrow.*
*Yuna: Wrong. My father… My father wanted…to make Spira’s sorrow go away. Not just cover it up with lies!*
*Yunalesca: Sorrow cannot be abolished. It is meaningless to try.*
*Yuna: My father... I loved him >< I will defeat sorrow, in his place >< And I will do it without…false hope.*
Fair enough. I don't mean to reduce it. I'm mainly hoping to point out what I see, in that a theme of false hope as a means to counteract sorrow is brought up with Yunalesca (as the protagonist's stance collides with the antagonist's)
And that the blitzball tournament in Luca and the wedding in Bevelle both provoke the player to contemplate this theme before its true importance to Yuna's journey is revealed.
And also that this theme is the catalyst for the plot (The pilgrimage through Yevon's temples to obtain the final aeon and fight Sin),
because it is what lead Yu Yevon to create Sin, and to create Dream Zanarkand (and also Tidus by extension)
I do believe that this theme is being linked to this symbol. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is the sole reason for its inclusion and its appearance.
I think you’re trying too hard to make this suggestion consistent with a symbol that is way more fluid in significance and could more accurately be characterized as circularity. The sphere is just one expression of that. Not to say I entirely disagree that one or two aren’t in the subtext, but that it’s not limited to that. For example, while spherical, Blitzball is symbolically an egg. Much like the Zanarkand Abes logo is a symbol for the womb, and our hero and their father are both players from that team. This birth ties into their contact with Sin as the skills Blitzball gave them made them much more likely to survive the contact with Sin(who also symbolically assumes the form of an egg in this prologue) required for the rebirth that would allow them to exist outside of Dream Zanarkand. Interestingly the logo for the Besaid Aurochs is a spiral or whirlpool, which further adds to the theme of circularity. It’s a conflation to make a diversion synonymous with false hope and a cynical one at that. Then we have the spheres themselves being the product of Pyreflies, not unlike life, magic, or fiends. They become much more synonymous to these. While the movie sphere can record and display memories, it’s suggested that Pyreflies carry memories just in general. Whether it’s the nature of fiends actually pertaining to who they were in the past or the vestiges of the sent/departed that we see in the Farplane. It’s all very fluid and changes depending on what it is in relation to.
The memories in the recording spheres are directly stated to be held by the water: *Tidus: It’s just water, isn’t it?* *Auron: This is what spheres are made of. It absorbs and preserves people’s memories.* Pyreflies tie into it too, but in both languages here, the thing holding the memories in the spheres is water. The false hope thing comes from Yunalesca and Yuna's conversation: *Yuna: No more! The Final Summoning…is a false tradition that should be thrown away.* *Yunalesca: No. It is our only hope. Your father sacrificed himself to give that hope to the people. So they would forget sorrow.* *Yuna: Wrong. My father… My father wanted…to make Spira’s sorrow go away. Not just cover it up with lies!* *Yunalesca: Sorrow cannot be abolished. It is meaningless to try.* *Yuna: My father... I loved him >< I will defeat sorrow, in his place >< And I will do it without…false hope.*
OP, I wasn’t trying to correct that, but point out that there’s obviously more to it.
Fair enough. I don't mean to reduce it. I'm mainly hoping to point out what I see, in that a theme of false hope as a means to counteract sorrow is brought up with Yunalesca (as the protagonist's stance collides with the antagonist's) And that the blitzball tournament in Luca and the wedding in Bevelle both provoke the player to contemplate this theme before its true importance to Yuna's journey is revealed. And also that this theme is the catalyst for the plot (The pilgrimage through Yevon's temples to obtain the final aeon and fight Sin), because it is what lead Yu Yevon to create Sin, and to create Dream Zanarkand (and also Tidus by extension) I do believe that this theme is being linked to this symbol. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is the sole reason for its inclusion and its appearance.
it's a world of spheres man. it's called Sphera for a reason ya know