Portal 2 Controversy?
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Isn't it odd that it was at that part that he found offensive? I mean earlier in the game Glados fakes a phone call to Chell's parents and says "the birth parents you are trying to reach do not love you." In comparison to Wheatley's "Fatty, fatty, no parents" which should he have overreacted to?
For those of you that remember Half-Life: Opposing Force.
A handful of years ago some nutjob got himself quoted in an online news article, claiming that the game glamorized the killing of doctors (think abortion clinics). Now, you know as well as I do that there were very few medical doctors in the game, they didn't perform any abortions, and their deaths were portrayed as "bad". (Yes, there's a bad joke in there about retro-active abortion, whatever.) It certainly doesn't take an in-game Ph.D. to see that someone had an agenda to dangle his cause in front of the media.
In this case, adoption? Really? Some people have a thin skin. Some people with thin skins are too high-strung, or just needlessly alarmist. And some of those people live in small towns with crappy newspapers and poorly paid journalists that shrug and say... "Well, we did need something to pad out page 9..."
A handful of years ago some nutjob got himself quoted in an online news article, claiming that the game glamorized the killing of doctors (think abortion clinics). Now, you know as well as I do that there were very few medical doctors in the game, they didn't perform any abortions, and their deaths were portrayed as "bad". (Yes, there's a bad joke in there about retro-active abortion, whatever.) It certainly doesn't take an in-game Ph.D. to see that someone had an agenda to dangle his cause in front of the media.
In this case, adoption? Really? Some people have a thin skin. Some people with thin skins are too high-strung, or just needlessly alarmist. And some of those people live in small towns with crappy newspapers and poorly paid journalists that shrug and say... "Well, we did need something to pad out page 9..."
I can understand where the dad is coming from. He's feels that the comments made by Glados in the game could have a negative affect on his adopted daughter. Now before we all go and say he's an idiot for thinking this, *looks at previous comments* (oops, too late) please consider that this is always a possibility. As much as we hate to admit it, comments like this can have a negative affect on kids.
I think he may have overeacted a little in this case because his daughter doesn't care about it, but I think we should try to understand his side opinion before dismissing it.
I think he may have overeacted a little in this case because his daughter doesn't care about it, but I think we should try to understand his side opinion before dismissing it.
I love the implication that it should have been labelled "E for Everyone (except for Orphans)", like he's really suggesting that someone analyse every single variable in order to compile a list of people that may be slightly offended by a games content.
I don't know about you, but I remember enough about being 10 to know that I wasn't an idiot. This guy is clearly annoyed because the game brought up a topic of conversation that he isn't ready for, and made the assumption that his daughter isn't ready for it either. I think he's quite clearly wrong about that and that she just wants him to shut up so that she can get back to her game.
Children are smart. We do not need to patronise them by pretending that they need us to protect them from a humourous insult made by a video game robot.
I still can't believe that I just watched a news broadcast about a man who was offended because a video game called his daughter "fatty fatty no parents"...
I don't know about you, but I remember enough about being 10 to know that I wasn't an idiot. This guy is clearly annoyed because the game brought up a topic of conversation that he isn't ready for, and made the assumption that his daughter isn't ready for it either. I think he's quite clearly wrong about that and that she just wants him to shut up so that she can get back to her game.
Children are smart. We do not need to patronise them by pretending that they need us to protect them from a humourous insult made by a video game robot.
I still can't believe that I just watched a news broadcast about a man who was offended because a video game called his daughter "fatty fatty no parents"...
Really? Someone actually got upset that the VILLAINS said mean things to the main character? That's like if someone was outraged because Lord Zed was always trying to Destroy the Power Rangers.
And another thing, he seriously doesn't know how to explain this to his kid? How about "Well, they're the bad guys, they're just trying to be mean by saying things that aren't true?"
There! Free parenting advice!
And another thing, he seriously doesn't know how to explain this to his kid? How about "Well, they're the bad guys, they're just trying to be mean by saying things that aren't true?"
There! Free parenting advice!
This is just the same old story, and not only with regards to video games: someone says something, someone else gets offended and all up in arms about it, and it sparks a public debate on whether the content in question is "inappropriate for children" and/or should be banned, etc.
The answer, of course, is NO.
That's what the First Amendment (USA) is all about. Content should never be quashed, regardless of its potential inflammatory nature. The proper response to content you find offensive or disturbing is not to close your eyes, plug your ears, and pretend it never happened; the proper response is to deconstruct the content and think about WHY it is so objectionable to you. What core values and beliefs might you hold to elicit that emotional response? In this case, the father's overreaction could indicate many things. Perhaps he feels he's unequipped to protect and educate his daughter to weather the perpetual onslaught of modern culture. Perhaps he himself has not quite banished from his mind the societal notion that being adopted makes one inferior (it doesn't). Or perhaps he is indeed just a self-important tosser. Regardless, this incident says far more about him than about Portal 2, Valve, gaming, or even his daughter.
As a wise man once said, "When did 'sticks and stones may break my bones' stop being relevant? Isn't that what you teach children, for god's sake? That's what you teach toddlers! 'He called me an idiot!' 'Don't worry about it; he's a dick!'" As a kid, I was constantly a victim of bullies. I never really learned how to deal with it, and on reflection that made me worse off as a person. However, bullying - and offensive content in general - is never going away. It's a fact of life, a force of nature. Humans thrive on overcoming adversity, and if I'd had the choice between my dad somehow forcing the bullies to stay away from me and him teaching me how to defeat them myself, I'd have chosen the latter. Challenging adversity and overcoming it is how people and cultures learn and evolve.
To this guy, I say: you will not always be there to fight your daughter's battles; the best you can do is teach her how best to fight her own. Explain to her how the hateful things people say and do should not matter, that her focus should be on her own life and ambitions, not always on what other people think of her. Show her that being adopted is nothing to be ashamed of; she has a loving family and a good life, period. And for god's sake, don't go to the news. Americans have become far too litigious. You're a parent, so BE one. Your daughter needs a dad, not a lawyer.
The answer, of course, is NO.
That's what the First Amendment (USA) is all about. Content should never be quashed, regardless of its potential inflammatory nature. The proper response to content you find offensive or disturbing is not to close your eyes, plug your ears, and pretend it never happened; the proper response is to deconstruct the content and think about WHY it is so objectionable to you. What core values and beliefs might you hold to elicit that emotional response? In this case, the father's overreaction could indicate many things. Perhaps he feels he's unequipped to protect and educate his daughter to weather the perpetual onslaught of modern culture. Perhaps he himself has not quite banished from his mind the societal notion that being adopted makes one inferior (it doesn't). Or perhaps he is indeed just a self-important tosser. Regardless, this incident says far more about him than about Portal 2, Valve, gaming, or even his daughter.
As a wise man once said, "When did 'sticks and stones may break my bones' stop being relevant? Isn't that what you teach children, for god's sake? That's what you teach toddlers! 'He called me an idiot!' 'Don't worry about it; he's a dick!'" As a kid, I was constantly a victim of bullies. I never really learned how to deal with it, and on reflection that made me worse off as a person. However, bullying - and offensive content in general - is never going away. It's a fact of life, a force of nature. Humans thrive on overcoming adversity, and if I'd had the choice between my dad somehow forcing the bullies to stay away from me and him teaching me how to defeat them myself, I'd have chosen the latter. Challenging adversity and overcoming it is how people and cultures learn and evolve.
To this guy, I say: you will not always be there to fight your daughter's battles; the best you can do is teach her how best to fight her own. Explain to her how the hateful things people say and do should not matter, that her focus should be on her own life and ambitions, not always on what other people think of her. Show her that being adopted is nothing to be ashamed of; she has a loving family and a good life, period. And for god's sake, don't go to the news. Americans have become far too litigious. You're a parent, so BE one. Your daughter needs a dad, not a lawyer.
Even when Wheatley insults Chell, Glados defends her, asking 'what's wrong with being adopted?'. Wheatley is unable to come up with an answer and in fact states that some of his best friends are adopted.
So once it is taken in full context, the game renders the 'insult' empty and non-offensive. Seems to me that the dad should have paid a bit more attention to the rest of the dialogue.
So once it is taken in full context, the game renders the 'insult' empty and non-offensive. Seems to me that the dad should have paid a bit more attention to the rest of the dialogue.
OVERREACTION ALERT! OVERREACTION ALERT!
seriosly did he even listened i mean just listen to whetlys quotes!
"whats wrong with being adopted... um... a lack of parents" thats not insensitivity thats a litlle harmlles joke!!!
and realy? portal? the most kid friendly yet awsome and visionary game ive ever played? thats just wrong they want something to blame on it so they can say all video games are evil or whatever...
seriosly did he even listened i mean just listen to whetlys quotes!
"whats wrong with being adopted... um... a lack of parents" thats not insensitivity thats a litlle harmlles joke!!!
and realy? portal? the most kid friendly yet awsome and visionary game ive ever played? thats just wrong they want something to blame on it so they can say all video games are evil or whatever...
They make so many jokes about being adopted, as though they think being adopted is automatically hilarious or an insult. Frankly I felt it was idiotic of whoever the writer was.
See, this is the problem. You automatically equate being adopted to be a "mean thing". It's not. Typical herp derp bullshit from the typical crowd of people too dim to possibly empathize with somebody just because a particular condition doesn't effect them. "Well I'm not fat, or black or jewish... and I think fat black jew jokes are hilarious!" Sigh internet. Just... sigh.Dorian6 said:
.... Ummm... wait... It was a Joke, and it was coming from the Moron of the game. Who was trying to be mean but failing horribly. Even Glados defended you after he said it by saying that what he just said was mean. What's next someone getting upset at all the fat jokes in the game? I mean really now.
I get the bashing towards Violent and sexually explicit games(I don't agree with them), but this is Portal! It's a Puzzle game! Your goal isn't to go around shooting people, but to go around and try to figure a way to get out of the mess you are in, in a non violent manor. The news media hate for video games has no limit.
Also at the end of the Video they said that they were "Passing the buck on to someone else." because they called Sony and they told them to call Valve. You know the developers and creators of the game? Sony has no part of the actual creation of the game it would have had the same effect if they were playing it on Xbox 360 and called Microsoft.
I get the bashing towards Violent and sexually explicit games(I don't agree with them), but this is Portal! It's a Puzzle game! Your goal isn't to go around shooting people, but to go around and try to figure a way to get out of the mess you are in, in a non violent manor. The news media hate for video games has no limit.
Also at the end of the Video they said that they were "Passing the buck on to someone else." because they called Sony and they told them to call Valve. You know the developers and creators of the game? Sony has no part of the actual creation of the game it would have had the same effect if they were playing it on Xbox 360 and called Microsoft.
Someone has far to much time on their hands...
Now he can team up w/ Jack Thompson and form the Megazord of Video Games are Bad on Children!
Now he can team up w/ Jack Thompson and form the Megazord of Video Games are Bad on Children!
Glados herself makes the joke several times. The girl has probably gotten over being adopted, you know how school kids are. The father, of course, is just doing his job as a father and trying to protect her... she doesn't seem to need it but it's at least understandable without making a great stretch of the imagination.darkbshadow said:
The problem here for most people of course is "oh my god he has a problem with my favorite hobby, how dares he!!111oneone" No, he has a problem with the person who wrote the "jokes". Is this worth going to the media over? No. He could have just written a letter if anything.
The video is of course going to incense you, as a gamer because of the ignorance involved. However, the man is parenting. Isn't that what we're always saying parents should well... do?
Well, I'm glad that parents are paying attention to what they're kids are doing.
Not so glad that he can't take a joke.
I gotta say, I love that at the end, the reporter's say that Sony was "passing the work onto someone else" as if a company without the rights to change a game is going to change said game.
I'm pretty sure that those newscasters don't know crap.
Not so glad that he can't take a joke.
I gotta say, I love that at the end, the reporter's say that Sony was "passing the work onto someone else" as if a company without the rights to change a game is going to change said game.
I'm pretty sure that those newscasters don't know crap.
We equate it to being a "mean thing" because it was said with malicious intent. GLados / Wheatley are trying to be mean when they insult you.Ghengis John said:
An example of this would be "smart". Smart alone isn't a "mean thing", but if you call someone a "smarty pants" you're generally trying to be demeaning. Being adopted isn't a "mean thing" alone. However, taunting someone about being adopted is a "mean thing". It's all about context and intent.
Finally, being black, jewish, or adopted isn't a condition.
Maybe you should look into your own herp derp bullshit before you accuse others of it.
Yeah, no he isn't "protecting his daughter". If he forbids her from playing the game he's "protecting his daughter". Taking a quote out of context and running to the media so they can butcher the story is not "protecting his daughter". If she was being bullied at all for being adopted I can't imagine this story being on the local news will help her case at all.Ghengis John said:
My parents did one hell of a job parenting me but I don't remember them needing to ever run off to the local news outlet to get the job done.
I'm glad he's taking an active role in parenting by policing what his kids do. However, going to the media about such a small thing taken out of context is not reasonable.