What's with all the "ism's" as of late?

[Ironbat92]

For the last few months, I've been seeing a rise in the forums of people talking about the various ism's (sexism, feminism, racism, est.) Maybe it's just, but why is it every week that I keep seeing "is X game racist" this, or "sexuality in game" that, and so on. Admittedly, I'm not big on any of that, But I just want to know why there so much discussion here, on the escapist, as of late?

 

[dyre]

I've always thought arguments on racism/feminism/religion/etc are easy ways to sound smart without actually doing research or any kind of intellectual legwork. I mean, complaining that a game has shit gameplay doesn't seem nearly as smart as complaining that the game is misogynist, amirite? So that's probably why such arguments are so common on the Escapist/the internet. Of course, there are probably historians/feminists/theologians who have done copious amounts of research on the subject, but they're usually ignored on forums like this.

 

[Erttheking]

It's a hot topic right now, people are commonly butting heads over it which makes people more angry and trying to shout louder to make themselves heard over each other and it just gonna spirals out of control from there. The voice of reason gets drowned out and two sides shouting at each other is all people hear. It's pretty much going to go out of control until it burns out. Which disappoints me because I've seen plenty of people who want to discuss it but all the shouting tends to eclipse their posts.

 

[Legion]

The last couple of months haven't had many at all. Not compared to the last year and a half overall. It's only been this week that people decided to start the cycle all over again. Which is a shame, because I was just starting to actually get involved in the forums again.

I'd say there are a handful of reasons:

1) They get a lot of attention and are an easy way to farm badges. A cynical view, but in many cases this is true. Just look at how many views/replies they have compared to other topics on the same page.

2) Some people feel that such discussions really need to be had in order to tackle the perceived issues. These people are normally the ones who word their OP without a chip on their shoulder or obvious bias.

3) There is something of a chain effect. One topic is had, and then other people are inspired directly or indirectly by it to discuss something else. You will often see certain topics discussed soon after the news section mentions something for example.

4) Some people like arguing. This is normally obvious by the fact that the threads about it that are civil barely last a page, whereas the ones that involve the aforementioned chip on the shoulder tend to devolve into pages of people trading insults with one another.

 

[Foolery]

No clue. To me, it's mostly meaningless digital conversation by people who don't fully grasp social issues all that well and are making mountains out of molehills simply because they can. I pay very little attention to it, really. I just enjoy my games and go about my business.

 

[CloudAtlas]

Games are just becoming increasingly influental and are maturing as a medium. Games are attempting to tell more mature stories, stories that adress sexism, racism and such. Consequently, if they do, people talk about it. Games are also increasingly held to the same standards as other forms of entertainment, which have been criticised for their problematic content for much longer. And gamers themselves are growing up with their industry, there are more and more older gamers, and their preferences might not be the same as they once were. If you're 40 years old, married, and father of a daughter, chances are you think differently about the content of your games, the messages they might send her, as you did when you were 15.

Edit: Or you go with the alternative explanation, that the people who want to talk about these issues just want to argue, sound smart, earn utterly meaningless badges or whatever...

 

[Eamar]

Yeah, compared to what it's been like in the past, it really hasn't been that big of a deal here over the last couple of months. You ain't seen nothing yet...

I don't have a huge issue with them, to be honest. I don't participate in ones that have already gone nuclear before I see them and find them pretty easy to ignore when I'm not in the mood. I have had some genuinely good discussions recently though - if you look past the people screaming at each other you'll often find others engaging in reasonable conversations in the background.

Plus participating in a big -ism discussion is a great way to feel popular when people who agree with you send friend requests, and it's an excellent tool for weeding out those people you'd rather just ignore in future

 

[Andy Shandy]

As for why the discussion is becoming more prevalent on the whole, games are growing up as a medium. With that comes being reviewed more critically, instead of just being viewed as a toy for kids.

On The Escapist, it's actually died down a bit compared to what it was a couple of months ago. But it'll be back, I'm sure, when the next "ism"-controversy happens.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

"As of late"? It's only been going on for quite a few years. I suppose it's because it's easy to have an opinion on -isms, and it's tempting to defend that opinion since we're all so sure about how we feel about "pressing issues".

 

[MysticSlayer]

Gamers are growing up. Rather than being a bunch of children and teenagers that would eventually outgrow our favorite "toy" when we hit college, gamers are starting to span a much wider and older demographic. That means we have more people who actually care about the various political and social issues often negatively affecting people because of their race, gender, etc., and those people are likely going to bring those viewpoints into any discussion about a game's story and message. It also shows that games are being taken more seriously as art and entertainment, and just like books, movies, and music, it is starting to receive the same level of critical analysis that those mediums have been receiving for decades to centuries. The thing is, many gamers haven't thought about it except for the last few years (some discussion has existed for years now, but it wasn't as prevalent), so the sudden influx of analysis makes it seem more prominent than it actually is simply because it is comparatively much more common than many of us are used to.

If anything, I think the good outweighs the bad. Games are becoming more accepted. We have the possibility of this helping us to get more and better characters of all demographics. This also may open up the possibility that games can have more meaningful discussions about the serious political and social issues still negatively affect millions. OK, so we have to deal with overly heated conversations. That seems like a small price to pay for helping games get better and become more accepted.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I'd say there are a handful of reasons:

1) They get a lot of attention and are an easy way to farm badges. A cynical view, but in many cases this is true. Just look at how many views/replies they have compared to other topics on the same page.

2) Some people feel that such discussions really need to be had in order to tackle the perceived issues. These people are normally the ones who word their OP without a chip on their shoulder or obvious bias.

3) There is something of a chain effect. One topic is had, and then other people are inspired directly or indirectly by it to discuss something else. You will often see certain topics discussed soon after the news section mentions something for example.

4) Some people like arguing. This is normally obvious by the fact that the threads about it that are civil barely last a page, whereas the ones that involve the aforementioned chip on the shoulder tend to devolve into pages of people trading insults with one another.

Oooh, I stopped in to communicate ALL these talking points, but look how nicely you've already covered them! I'm just going to piggyback you here and say +1!

All four of those might read as cynical, but they're pretty bang-on.

 

[Faluva]

Games are just becoming increasingly influental and are maturing as a medium. Games are attempting to tell more mature stories, stories that adress sexism, racism and such. Consequently, if they do, people talk about it. Games are also increasingly held to the same standards as other forms of entertainment, which have been criticised for their problematic content for much longer. And gamers themselves are growing up with their industry, there are more and more older gamers, and their preferences might not be the same as they once were. If you're 40 years old, married, and father of a daughter, chances are you think differently about the content of your games, the messages they might send her, as you did when you were 15.

Name at least 10 games that had mature storyline / custom societies or universes. I doubt your claim (bold).

 

[Exhuminator]

it's mostly meaningless digital conversation by people who don't fully grasp social issues all that well and are making mountains out of molehills simply because they can

This comment succinctly and accurately encompasses the entire issue perfectly.

I'd like to add some people hunt online just looking for something, anything, to be upset about, and then make a fuss about it. To those people I say, if you want to legitimately decry sexism pay more attention to the labor market and less attention to disposable entertainment.

 

[Raikas]

To those people I say, if you want to legitimately decry sexism pay more attention to the labor market and less attention to disposable entertainment.

Eh, I think a lot of the online chatter about pop culture stuff is over the top and overly serious too, but there's nothing that says that a person can't be doing both. And pop culture does reflect the rest of society, so it's not that worthless of an activity.

 

[Exhuminator]

And pop culture does reflect the rest of society, so it's not that worthless of an activity.

So argue change for what it's reflecting instead of trying to change the reflection itself.

 

[King Aragorn]

One of the reasons I stopped posting/coming over here for almost a year is the fact that every other thread was addressing sexism or something. It was just so tiring and so repetitive, and it yeah to some extent, it did seem that some people were just looking for an ego boost so they can feel ''above the sheeple''.
But some legitimately good conversation did come out of it, but just...can't we have one thread for all of that?

Games are just becoming increasingly influental and are maturing as a medium. Games are attempting to tell more mature stories, stories that adress sexism, racism and such. Consequently, if they do, people talk about it. Games are also increasingly held to the same standards as other forms of entertainment, which have been criticised for their problematic content for much longer. And gamers themselves are growing up with their industry, there are more and more older gamers, and their preferences might not be the same as they once were. If you're 40 years old, married, and father of a daughter, chances are you think differently about the content of your games, the messages they might send her, as you did when you were 15.

Name at least 10 games that had mature storyline / custom societies or universes. I doubt your claim (bold).

Do you mean either of each or both of those in one?

 

[Raikas]

And pop culture does reflect the rest of society, so it's not that worthless of an activity.

So argue change for what it's reflecting instead of trying to change the reflection itself.

Yeah, but again they may well be doing both. I've seen people who create awesome work on Deviant Art (for example), but if you looked at their Tumblr you'd think they spent all their time ranting.

I mean, we're having this conversation now, but I know zero about what you do at work or in terms of volunteering or art and so on - online chatter is (presumably) a tiny percentage of our lives, so I don't see why anyone would want to assume that it's such a time-such to the people who want to get upset about pop culture representation (which isn't to say that it necessarily isn't - just that there's no way for us to know).

 

[Muspelheim]

Well, the boat is rocking slighty, as more people get aboard. And some other people are rather upset by this. It'll likely even out with time, or we'll all just grow accustomed to it.

 

[King Aragorn]

Pop culture is ever reaching, and trying to change certain tropes/reflections in it can have quite an effect. There is a reason why cinema was used as Nazi propaganda, it can get to people.