Just another blog from a thirtysomething sociology, comic book and video game nerd. Make yourself comfortable under my corner of sky. Minority culture to Zombie Apocalypses- its all game here.
Comicsalliance has quickly become one of my favorite places to go for alternative takes on comic book news. It not only has some gorgeous art by indie artists, and clever re-interpretations of some of the more mindbogglingly dense comic book continuities.
Lately, a writer (Laura Hudson, whom Ive developed a lot of respect for) has been raising the occasional question about gender/sexism and the comic book industry. Valid questions about whether the depiction of female characters in popular culture as written by, drawn by, and consumed (presumably) men can come off as objects instead of characters...and proceeds to shed light on a lot of evidence why this might be.
An earlier commentary on Catwoman, who is often described as a woman who is "sex positive" and a "femme fatale"(I reference it here), debuted in a new DC comic where she spent numerous pages walking around in a bra being oggled by the p.o.v of the reader before we even see her face. Compartmentalization and framed by her "t&a" before we get to finding out who we're talking about. Thats just one of the more popularized points of evidence indicating recent sexism in comics that've come out of the dialog.
I'm sure anyone who's been paying the mildest bit of attention to my blog knows how nerdy I am, and how meaningful and profound I find 2K's Bioshock series to be. Its commentary on objectivist utopia was brilliant and chillingly effecting. The hype-o-meter has been on overdrive about its pseudo-prequel Bioshock: Infinite for months now, and I've had a metaphorical hard on about it since reading about the narrative behind it. 1920's Imperialist Americana set in a fantastical steampunk inspired city in the sky. Whats not to nerdgasm over?
The fine folk at 2K have been toying with the curious about this game for weeks now; Releasing a steady yet evasive stream of information about the combat system, the increasingly fascinating character Elizabeth, the various factions that people the floating city Colombia. And now, finally, they've released the 15 minute demo amid a fair degree (much of it warranted by my mark) of fanfare.
Several things jump out at me upon review of the video that make the fanboy in me giddy, but in the interests of seeming less like an irrational boob, I'll point out some gameplay and story mechanics that make Bioshock: Infinite stand out:
Elizabeth- As a sociologist and optimistic equality advocate it used to annoy me as a boy to watch Princess Peach get kidnapped and be so utterly helpless and reliant upon the Mario Brothers for her liberation. It becomes a very complicated undertaking to make a believable, modern female characters who reinforce any other idea to the typically male audience that women are to be fought over, controlled or at worse, silent partners in their own stories. Its too soon to tell if Elizabeth won't fall into the typical damsel tropes, but I'm very much liking what I'm seeing. Elizabeth's relationship with the protagonist Booker DeWitt seems based on mutual benefit and quid pro quo. Elizabeth's relationship with Dewitt differs drastically from that of the Songbird, who has been charged with "protecting" her ...which basically caused her to live a very sequestered life in a guilded cage. She expresses quite plainly she'd rather die than live that isolated life again. In 15 minutes 2K has hand waved the stilted motivations of earlier female protagonists (I'm looking at you Princess Peach) and created a person of depth, weakness and resolve. Note how when she encounters the dead horse, she reminds Booker that she's not merely someone he can control, that she doesn't need his permission. Despite being a game mechanic- a tool for the game player to use to get to point B, she reminds the player she's a character with her own ideas and feelings, and not going to be simply content to be supplicant. And despite the setting (1920s America) not offering a lot in the way of progressive thought on gender equality, this in its own way evidences a sort of empowerment I only wish was more prone to the time period.
(Red?) Factions- The original Bioshock's narrative was about a shimmering city built on the capitolistic ideals of a tycoon fleeing what he feared was socialist tendencies of the modern world (and really really keep restrictions off of genetic experimentation...), but by the time your cipher of a character arrives, the civilization is already in tatters. Colombia gives us the distinction of seeing this "Worlds Fair" like experiment of American exceptionalism grapple with itself in "real time". The original Bioshock essentially imploded under the weight of unchecked greed and psychotic side effects of science run amuck but Colombia has two initially well intentioned groups- the Founders- xenophobic conservatives who want to preserve their vision of Columbia and protect their way of life at the exclusion of would be interlopers, and the Vox Populi- the marginalized, disenfranchised youth movement turned militant and increasingly misguided. Ideas even now ripped from the headlines (of places like Arizona). Given this blog is oft about dystopia its important to note that both fractions have at least in the demo, descended into both anarchy and a "win at all costs" mentality that harms only the civilization they're all so invested in.
EasterEgghunt- Note the scene in the middle where Elizabeth accidently opens a tear into the 1980s? Tears for Fears is playing, people. Nuff said.
Kerion Gillen, the heir apparent to the Uncanny X-Men comic, has a miiiindblowing interview up at his former (present?) digs- Rockpapershotgun. Both the site and the commentary it has on Bioshock: Infinite is worth the attention.
There's given the sheer amount of pretty and thoughtful here, there's likely to be a few more fanboyish posts down the pipe for Infinite, you can pretty much count on that. In the meantime- enjoy the pixel porn and mindfuckery.
Below is a post of an interesting article about an upcoming (and impressive looking) FPS/Sci-fi game called XCOM, and more importantly its very interesting take on minority characters you find yourself working with to save the world.
One of the most often repeated, if utterly foolhardy, arguments against gay characters in games is that their sexuality is never a relevant detail to the plot. So I was more than a little curious and delighted to hear a developer put such a strong emphasis on a character's homosexuality in the game's second public showing. Thankfully, Thomas was gracious enough to sit and chat with me about the character of Dr. Weir, and how social commentary is a natural partner for the videogame medium.
"Weir is an Australian," Thomas began. "He's not a citizen of the States, although he came there to study particle accelerators, and already found himself an outsider on that grounds alone simply because of the paranoia of foreigners that was prevalent in the mid-century."
"But on top of that, he is also a closeted homosexual. He has both a sexual and a political opposition to the elite of the country, which are still very conservative - very focused on America as the best and the brightest - and he doesn't fit their paradigm. It is hard for them to acknowledge that one of the best scientists in the world is, in their minds, deviant. So he's struggled with that for a long time."
"But all of sudden this alien invasion hits and they need him and they have to put it aside. But then you see those tensions come to bear in the base. There are characters who don't like working with him. They are people of their time. And so you'll see different positions represented amongst the core cast. But he is - he is a man with true grit. He's able to weather it pretty well, and the player kind of gets to decide where they fall on that continuum. You can basically decide how to treat him."
Of course, homosexuality wasn't the only civil rights movement making headway in the 60's, and XCOM will explore other socio-cultural tensions of the time.
"As a narrative guy, it's the reason I'm excited to work on the game. The setting was chosen very specifically because I feel that the socio-cultural tension was about to come to a head. It was an old America and a new America kind of locked in a mortal combat, and it was very interesting for me to start exploring what was going on at the time."
"Agent Barns, for example, the African American guy who runs the agent operation and recruits for you, he was working COINTELPRO in the FBI - and that was a bureau program to run surveillance on the American people, not known by anybody - and Dr. Martin Luther King was his assignment. He was supposed to infiltrate that movement and discredit King by finding evidence that he was Red. He didn't find anything, and he was asked to fabricate it. He refused, and was almost going to be kicked out by J. Edgar Hoover and his cronies, but at that time the alien invasion happens and XCOM snaps him up."
I commented that it sounded like XCOM was really more of a 60's period piece that happened to use aliens as a catalyst to bring out the social climate.
Between these two characters mentioned, this game sounds fascinating. Whats the idea many a dystopian story has suggested? When confronted with bigger problems (i.e- world threatening invasions etc) there's nothing like a threat of an apocalyptic scale to unify people and (at least temporarily) forget our collective "differences". Marginally at least.
There are of course incidences to the contrary: Alan Turning was a gifted British mathematician that proved to be influential during WWII by code breaking and using his considerable talents to counter the threat of Nazi Germany in England. In the 1952, Turning was convicted of "indecency"(for being proven to be a homosexual) and subsequently chemically castrated, and committed what is believed to be suicide two years later.
It stands as one of the most galling examples of how moral "correctness" and rigid expectations regarding sexual conduct/sexuality can lead to the ruin of otherwise brilliant people. Much about homosexuality during the time period XCOM is set in is still wrapped up in the idea that gay= defective and that its a national security risk. Of course, the way the culture demonized gay men and women it somewhat became a self fulfilling prophecy...
The other compelling bit about the argument is what the US Government, especially in the Jim Crow south, did to black servicemembers, Treating them with distrust and genera purpose malaise. The heavy scrutiny and intel conducted by the FBI against Martin Luther King Jr was done in the interests of finding something to damage his credibility or discredit him (and prove the idea that black people were "agitated" into activism by Communists and otherwise fine with segregation*).
*See note #168.
XCOM's character details, coupled with this pretty amazing looking trailer released at E3 last week puts it waaaay wayyy higher on my list of must have video games this year. I'll be keeping a very close eye on this one.
Look on this and be amazed. I won't gush about how much I love the concept and themes at play in Bioshock (much), but needless to say I'm eagerly anticipating Bioshock:Infinite. Which is in some ways a prequel (?) and some ways a bold continuation of the exploration of socio-political ideology through video games. (Yay!)
According to this interview Levine et al seem committed to offering the gamer more choices still. Elizabeth looks like a compelling and endearing ally and I think this story, set amid the backdrop of 1912, American Ultranationalism, American Exceptionalism and Xenophobia (which seems particularly timely - if memory serves Bioshock: Infinite was announced right around the time the State of Arizona introduced its "immigration" bill justifying profiling). The propaganda posters littering the streets of Columbia seem pretty jarringly demonizing of would be interlopers, but we're talking about a steampunk reality springing from the initial salvos of the cold war (1912) so it makes sense thematically. Its a wonder how little society can change in 100 years. A post for another time, perhaps.
(Above is the 10 minute demo for the game for your pixel porn viewing pleasure)
Still, Bioshock Infinite looks thought provoking, gorgeous and immersive
and I cannot wait to get my mitts on it. More on this as it comes.
UPDATE: Gaygamer.net just did a keen post about Bioshock: Infinite's (intricately crafted) propaganda. Observe here. Also? I'd prefer to buy vigors that are "proven against hooligans". How this concept astounds.
An interesting piece from Destructoid on the role of political movements in video games. I clicked the link hoping they'd cover the use of objectivist political ideology in Bioshock and happily was not disappointed.
The author criticisizes the fact that Rapture is, upon the player's arrival, a dystopia. Where all the lassies-faire capitalism and self interest ultimately led to the fall of one of the most prosperous utopias in "existence". Rapture fell because corporate greed and personal interest in genetic splicing without checks and regulations so changed the otherwise brilliant population of thinkers, enterpeneurs and artists that they morphed gradually into homicidal maniacs. All of this socio-political intrigue painted against a backdrop of an undersea metropolis comprised of lavish art-deco stylings and steampunk trappings and made for a truly troubling, effecting atmosphere in which to explore the game's world.
Whether or not the story so artfully told in Bioshock's narritive is meant to be a cautionary tale, its narrative is one that is unique for both a first person shooter (which are so dime a dozen with their gritted teeth and space marines its slipped well past cliche) and a modern console game in that it creates a game atmosphere so steeped in story and so lavishly detailed that it is difficult to disconnect from it and "just shoot stuff" the way one would a Halo game. Rapture is a crumbling, yet fascinating world I found myself wondering about even while anxiously exploring its nooks and crannies, peopled with a majority of mad citizens its difficult not to pity as they shout incoherent jibberish and try to take your life. Very few of the characters encountered are even remotely sane by the time you stumble upon Rapture, very little of the city salvageable. And so many of the more fascinating characters display their ability to navigate the moral ambiguity of the world they've come to for profit and prestige.
Brigid Tennenbaum is one of the more (rare/sane) morally centered characters in the game. Contrast with the idea as a child in WWII concentration camps, she was introduced to genetics/science and found her calling (even if it was at the expense of others in the camps). Tenenbaum found a profitiable procedure that could allow for genetic augmentation, which came at a cost. And Rapture's children were ultimltely turned into soulless scavengers in the pursiut of ADAM, the genetic fuel which drove such augmentation. Her guilt and revulsion over what her research had done to otherwise innocent girls drove Dr. Tenenbaum to redeem herself by liberating the girls of their condition. It is here where the player gets confronted with one of many moral delimmas in the game. Liberate the innocent at a cost, or profit and become powerful and end the girls lives. Depending on how one internalizes objectivism, the player can just as easily exploit and benefit the way the figurehead who created Rapture envisioned. Saving the Little Sisters earns you their gratitude and the occasional assistance, but the game is notably more difficult sans the additional ADAM not sparing the children affords.
It of course speaks to my touchy feely politics that I could never bring myself to harvest the Little Sisters and was hobbled (somewhat) by it. Bioshock is successful because it connects the player to this ethical delimma- profit or protect but at a horrible cost. It dances with the idea that one can be a powerful self made man, on the backs of or at the expense of others, and dovetails some of the more unfortunate implications of this philosophy.
Many would in reality break with the idea of profit if it meant literally ending the life of an innocent child, but in the altered states of video gaming its a murkier and easier thought exercise to navigate. One Bioshock crafts exceedingly well. Sure, the people of Rapture are deranged, and the once gleaming city beneath the sea has become a tarnished fantasy, a failed scheme that the entirety of their culture has had to pay for with their sanity and lives- but its an incredibly thought provoking and meaningful game. The likes of which we rarely see amid all the plasma grenade launching gratuity of roided out Space Marines.
Below is just about the most hauntingly somber scores I've ever heard in a game. I used to choke up whenever it played during my first play through. Aptly named "Empty Houses" after the gorgeous ruined homes the increasingly mad abandoned.
One would think the "concerned parents" could conceivably be objecting to Mass Effect would be doing so well before Bioware became more inclusive. Or at very least they should have been. If kids are playing games that are as wohdin rightly suggested are M for mature, their parents SHOULD be concerned. But including content like this (which might I add is about as racy as a benign prime time soap) is only a "problem" provided said parents are neglegent enough to allow their children to play it. Masking blatant homophobia behind the guise of handwringing worry for children is an amusing feint. If we condone or appreciate that a game has content that might appeal to a broader spectrum of players, it may in fact harm the children!
The subtext of arguments like this are often the most telling part.Nevermind that the regenerated futuristic space marine you play as can blow sentient beings up and court inter-species relationships...he or she can also now mack on guys or girls in his party, depending on the players preference. How this is any different from Bioware's other games and their forward thinking inclusive style over the past several years is lost on me. Its a very rational page from sci-fi writers that have the stones to think outside of the rigid confines of our limited culture. We immerse ourselves in fantasy worlds because the ones we live in are barren, restrictive, unwelcoming. So we fling ourselves into our minds eye, into futures where who we are isn't so reductive. Dr. Who's devil may care Captian Jack Harkness speaks to a this idea that sci-fi, especially science fiction taking place hundreds to thousands of years in the future would HOPEFULLY not have the laundry lists of hangups and stigmas that drive some in our culture to misery. Instead the likes of Harkness hail from a time period where our sexual rigidity is "quaint" at best. The way social change works, while arduously slow at times, does in fact mean that somwhere down the line, it will be a non-issue which romantic choices you have in a video game (I only wish it were sooner). It is not wrong to want to dream a world where the universe could conceivably be saved by a well trained, lauded soldier who just so happens to date guys. In the far flung future, let's hope there are bigger problems to keep us up at night than "protecting our imaginary children" from potential plot devices in games they shouldn't be playing in the first place. Horrific implications averted. Children saved. See you in Space, Cowboy.
I think it says scores about where we are in society regarding acceptance and tolerance, when the narrative choices of a video game provide increasing sexual diversity. Bioware has always been ahead of the curve in this regard with their role playing games and the "chose your own adventure" sort of potentiality. The result has been senarios where the interactions and the bonds one forges with the characters around them are deepened.
The most interesting part? While this would have been big news to gay fanboys and nerd dudes of a queer persuasion only once upon a time, now we live in a world where this story is front page news on more mainstream video game sites. And while not everyone is going to be in the market for same-sex romancing of alien species... it certainly says a lot that we're beginning to live in worlds that envision such parings as possible, viable and worthy of inclusion. Brave new universe indeed.
With all the zombie themed material out there-from popular First Person Shooters with inexplicable zombie modes, to the demure sisters of the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice doing battle with the undead (No, I’m not making this up) , its safe to say that zombies have shambled into the public consumption in a major way. Its debatable that all of these depictions of the mindless undead are good, but the frequency of zombie lore in the mainstream entertainment media has notably increased recently.
Zombie lore can be traced back to Haiti and West African witchcraft conjuring up undead servants to do their bidding based on collective fears of the supernatural, but more Western portrayals- like George Romeo’s cult classic Night of the Living Dead preys upon other persistent phobias in Western culture: contagion, overpopulation and misuse of technology and science leading to the fall of civilization and eventual dystopia. And this dystopia resonates well in the modern world, where the population grows increasingly larger and the potential dangers from it (plague and outbreak, failure of government to meet these needs etc.) seem to lurk around every corner. Rid the public of their humanity and their ability for empathy and conscious thought and the teaming unchecked masses become credible and persistent dangers clamoring for the one commodity left. Fresh meat.
Its an easier thing to tell gory, one-liner heavy, high action stories about the humanity’s last stand in the face of outbreak and groupthink, than it is to tell the very human stories of isolation and loss that would likely surround such an unfortunate series of events.Why Kirkman’s the Walking Dead series works so well both in comic book and television formats is because it tells the very underscored stories of emotional fallout, grief and uncertainty surrounding the sudden caving of society, and mines that in incredibly interesting ways as the story progresses. What do we give up to ensure safety in a world where social conventions have forsaken us and what do we hold on to when culture no longer provides us with structure? The series also has some brilliant character beats from its diverse and disparate cast of characters. (Almost always the best of them come from the almost uncomfortably efficient zombie slayer Michonne), and how all of the characters seem painfully, failingly human in unthinkable circumstances. The father and son duo that meets Rick in the beginning of the story have become insular to the point of distrusting live humans more than their undead counterparts. The father Morgan grapples with the grim truth that his wife is outside among the horde and cannot bring himself to kill her or leave the neighborhood. The reason it works, and works so well is that the cycle of grief and erosion of humanity is so well played and so smartly depicted that its hard not to ponder the moral and logistical implications of it all.
Judging from the massive success of the Pilot, having been seen by 8.3 million viewers over the weekend, people have the chance to sink their teeth into the meaty, surprisingly thought provoking series and hopefully will continue to as it progresses. In the zombie glutted market over the past few years, it really is the freshest brain around.
Xbox Live has a very odd subscription demographic and a particularly large problem (especially when compared to the skewed older Ps3). Granted, playing a challenging round of Hard Rain on Left 4 Dead 2 with a good group is nothing short of rewarding, and playing a good death match of the latest Halo iteration? Fun! But the added costs, not so much. Its almost impossible to log on Xbox Live and play 5 minutes of a multi player match without being called a N***** , a "Fag" or any number of juvenile slurs.
There are several factors to consider when it comes to what seems like an entire community of young(ish) "anonymous" gamers w/ voice mics shouting venom out into the openness of net-space, but the ones I'm most curious about is a.) the demographics b.) the administrative policy and c.) how to fight the tide of the sea of douche.
A.) The Age Demographics of Xbox Live:
A cursory google search qued up the following from Gamer.Blorge:
Microsoft Xbox 360
The Xbox 360, currently sitting in a very comfortable second place in terms of sales, appeals mainly to males aged between 12 and 17, and females aged between 25 and 34. This seems like a bizarre mix but the younger age range for boys could explain the level of petty whining and douchebaggery on display over Xbox Live
.
Now, this shouldn't come as much of a shock. Anyone who's played Xbox Live with their mics on for any reasonable period of time has been forced to endure the blatant perviness, over the top racism (often unprovoked nor topical), gay bating, cheating, and general purpose douchebagginess. Its an epidemic. Initially, I'd thought it was an isolated incident when goofing around with Halo, or Gears of War but conferring with a number of fellow gamers has proven that Xbox Live runs rampant with ignorant, vile little monsters.
What drives these trends? Well, the easiest one to put one's finger on is anonymity. Log onto any local newspaper's websites and you can see the power of the internet at work. People find it a lot easier to espouse their teabaggy rants about how Jews are secretly in control of the universe and how black people are all maundering thugs when hiding behind a computer screen. One can join a social environment where borderline antisocial behavior is neither kept in check nor discouraged. Its language lobbed as carelessly as a plasma grenade in Halo 3, and in minor doses arguably excusable, but what you have in large game matches with dozens kids trying to get attention by throwing out whatever words they've learned will spark the most fires, emboldened by their relative anonymity it becomes a really noxious environment. One it seems less and less fun and rational to operate in, let alone pay $8.99 per month to be a part of.
"Publish, distribute, or disseminate any content, topic, name, material, file, or information that incites, advocates, promotes, depicts, constitutes, or expresses child pornography, profanity, hatred, bigotry, racism, illegal drug use, gratuitous or graphic violence, or criminal or fraudulent activity; Create a Gamertag , avatar or use text in other profile fields that may offend other members. This includes comments that look, sound like, stand for, hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate or relate to any of the following: profane words/phrases, topics or content of a sexual nature, hate speech (including but not limited to racial, ethnic, or religious slurs), illegal drugs/controlled substances, or illegal activities"
Now, this seems straightforward enough. I've seen users banned for having namertags that are somewhat suggestive, or racially insensitive (One called "Jewkiller" was inexplicably untouched however) , and seen a gamer from Ft. Gay, West Virginia in some trouble over this putting this information in his profile. I've seen people who use modded systems (cheating/piracy) banned for life. But what I haven't been seeing is any direct recourse for the constant orgy of hate rants and its unfortunate. I know I'm not the only one questioning my sanity for paying for a product I have to endure this level of stupidity to "enjoy". If it is impossible to prevent this sea of douchey behavior, if its "just the nature of the beast that is the interweb" to be crude, bigoted and mean spirited then perhaps its best that I take my football and go home. From what I gather from discussing this issue with others, I'm not the only gamer in the universe who got rid of his Gold account because it was too distracting/aggravating to play online when 80% of the other players are on par with Leeroy Jenkins. But then, what can Xbox Moderators do when the majority of the problem is guys using psychological warfare (try listening to a 15 year old sing off key with his voice autotuned to sound like a robot in a really high pitch for a few minutes.), are throwing around slurs at the top of their lungs because they're a collective of sociopaths intent on conveying such, and individuals who mistake the above for what it is to be "cool". Add groupthink mix well and that about sums up the general vibe of an Xbox Live experience.
C.) Combating the Douche-tide. As offputting as coexist amid the din of pre-pubescent rants and general purpose douchiness, the idea of Xbox Live, of banding together with friends and strangers to team up and chat about the games we play in real time,stlll looks better on paper than it is in practice. Many of my friends only play exclusively with/against people they know and vouch for, or discontinue their accounts due to the absolutely irksome experience that Xbox Live has become. Its masochistic to pay to exist in hostile, unpleasant, belligerent environments and I wonder if in the next generation of Microsoft game products this could be more handily resolved. The easiest way to cut down on the blind item screeds on the online newspaper cites I referenced? Compell the individuals to register their names before posting. When it comes to online avatars and realtime dialouge, it becomes a harder thing to discern who's saying what when, but some game programs have indicaters that flash when a person is talking. When many persons are spewing incendiary speech concurrently, it becomes a more difficult thing to monitor, but seriously, NOT adressing the problem in some decisive way just makes the Xbox Live experience even less inviting to both new users and well...non-dicks. Its a bad business plan and it ruins the experience for those of us who like to play online with children not shouting obsenities at us. I'd love to get some feedback from Xbox Live moderators on this one.And now, some mood music. :)
"Walking Dead" A Ratings Smash - Comic Book Resources
