PART ONE! WHOOP!
Since you've edited your post to be slightly less defamatory, I won't bother with that stuff. But there is an awful lot, in light of that tone, I overlooked, so I'll address that laundry list now.
Before I start, I'm going to make it clear. I never even made a statement regarding Sarkeesian being a personal hero, a missionary to save the plebes, etcetera. I just asked questions regarding someone's view of her, and got a public lashing from you for it. Which I guess I should have expected, but it's still juvenile. I play Metal Gear because it's (mostly!) mature. I wish some fringes of the community would act accordingly rather than claim I'm flip flopping or other such namecalling. It's pointless.
That said, putting it on Front Street: Yeah, she's right. About a lot of stuff, even the majority of her work. I don't think she's a hero, and I take issue with presentation, output, and clarity of message with her often, but she points are still wildly valid, and that validity is only strengthened by the vitriol that she's met with. If the gaming community at large said “I think you're overreacting a bit,” and explained why she's not right in clear language without resorting to false sillogisms, then maybe we'd be having a different conversation.
Fair Use applies to the original LP'ers because the content in the game, the models, the art, the music, is copyrighted. But they upload a video, and then that video is reused without credit. Art was also used in promotional materials, without permission and the general attitude towards anyone is that "we can use whatever because we're a charity so screw you".
See above: I Am Not Sarkeesian's Personal Army. We're allied with similar views. The same is true of the Obama presidency, that doesn't mean I don't take issues with all his policies. (And let's be frank, there's no comparing a media activist and the president, it's just the most straightforward analogy at hand right now.) But you are addressing me, so I'll hit the other Sarkeesian points too. Already got wet, might as well go swimming.
That's really shitty that the artist was neither asked nor credited for such an experience. As for LP's, this seems pretty small, but I suppose if I were in that position, I would've wanted permission first, so yes, she should've asked in the same way all LPers should request written documentation from devs and publishers for use of said material. I'll let her know on my telephone line to her house about the issue.
Also, I'd like to point out that she received funds to play and record games, and according to her financials, they've spent tens of thousands of dollars on equipment, and yet there is no noticeable increase in the production values, nor does she record her own game footage half the time, instead opting to use other people's LP's.
This link has a before/after picture, and the sound quality is purportedly better. I have speakers made of Dinty Moore cans and string, so I can't tell. I'm willing to concede on this point, because I just don't know enough nor can I compare with any degree of meaningful expertise.
Apparently, telling someone "I don't like you" is 'harassment' now. News to me.
http://femfreq.tumblr.com/post/109319269825/one-week-of-harassment-on-twitter Yeah. That's not “I don't like you.” That's worthy of a federal investigation. The volume and the persistence is worthy of a federal investigation.
As always, please keep in mind that it’s entirely possible to be critical of some aspects of a piece of media while still finding other parts valuable or enjoyable. Not when "being critical" is literally making up issues. Guess what? When you make up non-existent problems, people are going to tell you to shove off.
Women in video games are usually one or several of the following: in need of rescuing, possess exceedingly sexualised proportions, are helpless, are demure, are brashly sexy without ever expressing desire for sex (think the difference between looking tired and saying you're sleepy), wear skimpy or skin-tight clothing, and rely largely on men for their liberation/agency/validation/safety/propulsion of the plot. Saying there aren't problems with women in media isn't limited, of course, to video games: I had no idea The Gracies were a thing, but I would think that if representation for women weren't an issue in films/books/music/television/games, the awards wouldn't exist. The White Straight Male Awards haven't yet come into existence, but lord knows I've tried.
I haven't found anything to back up your ascertations, by and large. Just a lot of ad-hominem stuff by people who pretend to be MGS fans like the picture in my opening post. Now here's the part that makes me curious. You show up and make a post about how you're "bummed out" to see people represented a certain way by a certain someone. Then you play dumb about who I'm talking about, and continue to flip-flop back and forth between defending MGS, defending Anita, and using the kind of quotes she uses to defend herself.
I don't have her numbers in front of me beyond the same public knowledge everyone else does. So I can't speak beyond the above statements. That said, I'm not flip-flopping: I like feminism, I think games need more of it, I think enjoyable violent games are neither damaging nor in need of removal from the industry at large, and I think Sarkeesian's work has a ton of validity. I asked you “why,” and “who,” because your posts were vague and I thought you might initially be referring to the Solid_Snake_420_BlazeDatMagpie guy on Twitter. I use “the kind of quotes” she does defending her stances because they're valid, and not “well here's my supposition about events.” This conversation would be more straightforward for both of us if we both assumed only what is directly stated than suppose as to the motives or machinations of the other person's internal monologue.
Feminism doesn't mean hating everything, destroying men, or making games that aren't fun Some feminists would actually disagree with that.
Some =/= all. Some Americans are KKK members. Some dogs pee on carpets. Some fruits are maybe vegetables. GODDAMN TOMATOES I CAN'T TAKE YOUR CONSTANT MIXED SIGNALS
Also, see above for the "making games that aren't fun" thing. Of course, the ones that try to make games can't seem to make games at all.
Actually, a couple of my favourite titles have folks of that bent at the helm. The Legacy of Kain series has always been fantastically convolutedly written, and those games typically revolve around a guy finding dudes to rip the souls/blood out of while waxing philosophic about it. Their lead? Amy Henig. Same lady behind Uncharted 1, 2, and 3's writing, games famous for a handsome male hero who saves the girl and shoots the shit out of foreign countries. Although 2 had a lot of input from Neil Druckmann, himself an appreciator of Sarkeesian's work. Druckmann, in fact, stated the power of Ellie's arc as a young woman is about her liberation not necessarily from men but about (true to equality) that her independence is completed by the end-game cutscene's acceptence of Joel's statement (trying not to spoil, here.)
I think if one were to take issue with something, it would be her Kickstarter, Which was a blatant scam? Yeah, I concur. I never would've gone on to say scam, but that said, I'm gonna retract my Kickstarter reservations in lieu of looking up the data. Although FF hasn't delivered the number of videos promised, they've over-delivered with the amount of time. Eleven videos of ten minutes each is around two hours, while her output has been just about three, with a proposed ton of new content to come.
but even then the points she draws are valid, and actually from footage unmanipulated. Yeah, dragging around hookers the game penalizes you for killing and calling it oppression isn't manipulative at all. Games aren't islands unto themselves. It's not like we live in a world where people don't drag around hookers after violent outbursts, and a game where that isn't just available, it's portrayed as mostly insignificant in the larger scheme of things is pretty unpleasant. It's the same reason we don't have kids in GTA or Fallout (sans Fallout 1). Because there is a line, and that's crossing it.
Even then, a game penalising the player is not the same as an option being unavailable. What is added to the gameplay? What meaningful or fun addition occurs there? Hell, I wouldn't give a flyfuck if there's a “spare civilian” option that is as equally difficult to accomplish, but rewarding instead.
To quote her Women as Decoration part one, Sarkeesian even states “I should note that this kind of misogynist behaviour is not always mandatory.”
Games are about agency. Not all games are created equal. Snowboarding games are about snowboarding, but somehow, they manage to squeeze in not sex appeal (which is fine) but sexual objectification (which is not.)
