The Last Of Us: Lesbian Backlash Part II

Last week I posted a video to YouTube to criticize the backlash that the gameplay trailer received for a lesbian kiss between Ellie and another character. This backlash also mirrored the criticism and heteronormative assumptions (e.g. she could still be straight) that the Left Behind DLC received.

 

The like/dislike ratio on my video is currently 24/30 and I was almost tempted to disable comments due to all the intolerance they display. Of course, the free speech warriors will say that disabling the comments would make me intolerant since I can’t accept other opinions. Let me explain something to these people. If I were to disable the comments, that would not mean I don’t think people had the right to make comments. Free speech does not mean everyone must agree with what you say or that you are not ever allowed to be censored in anyway. You have the legal right to swear in a kid’s show but that would likely face censorship. If you insult your boss it is your freedom of speech to do so, but don’t complain about your rights being infringed if you get fired. In short, freedom of speech means you won’t get locked up for your opinions. You have the right to be a bigot but I don’t have to agree or give you a platform that allows other likeminded people to swarm to my video.

Do comments like, “Im not supporting any faggot game” really warrant a response or any attention? Do they contribute to democratic debate? Someone making comments like this doesn’t even have to watch the video or listen to a word I say. They can just read the title.

I have gone ahead and deleted comments that discuss a lesbian “agenda” or “political correctness” or “sjws” because they also demonstrate people didn’t bother watching the video. I spoke for a few minutes about how the things we are either used to or not intolerant of e.g. straight, white male characters get little scrutiny. People will play 10+ video games this year with straight white leads. As soon as one game comes out with a lesbian character an “agenda” is afoot. Do these people ever think the disproportionate dominance (in relation the US demographics) of white characters in the media is part of an “agenda?” I bet they don’t.

I had another person, who likely didn’t watch the video, complain about politics infecting his video games. The implication here is that lesbian inclusion is inherently political, and another implication is that video games should never have characters who aren’t straight since games are just supposed to be escapism. If you can watch an 11 minute video, with a ten second lesbian kiss, and think your escapism is ruined, it appears you are just focusing on the kiss too much. Why are you focusing on the kiss too much? Because it really bothers you. Why does it really bother you? Because you are homophobic. Of course, you won’t just say that in a comment. I can almost respect the user that just said he doesn’t want to support a “faggot game.” At least he could own up to his bigotry in a sense: He won’t call himself a bigot or own that label, but he doesn’t try to play the victim and hide his intolerance through complaints about “sjws” and “agendas.”

The Last of Us 2 Lesbian Backlash

The Last of Us 2 released a gameplay trailer earlier this week and I was a little late getting to it. However, I am glad that I got to the footage late because I was able to view the backlog of comments, specifically the backlash to the lesbian kiss between Ellie and another female character. As I’ve discussed in a previous post about The Last of Us: Left Behind, we are conditioned to view heterosexuality as a default, as something natural. It’s the reason we can watch hundreds of movies with straight characters and never complain about “an agenda” and then see one video game with a lesbian and think the video game developers are forcing us to suck dick at gunpoint.

My video on this topic is one of my most watched ones (58 views since last night) and also way more dislikes than likes. I honestly feel like society is just regressing now, where any progressiveness gets labelled as being the work of sjws so that people never have to abandon their bigotry.

 

The Last of Us 2

Spoilers for The Last of Us

Aside from my deep interest in movies and comics, I also complete the geek trifecta with my interest in gaming. I can’t say I’m an avid gamer at the moment since television and reading have taken up more of my free time at the moment. I have an Xbox One but currently only have Arkham Knight and Halo 5, both of which I have been addicted to at one point or another.

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Halo was my main reason for selecting an xbox 360 years ago, and then upgrading to the Xbox One. I loved the storyline and all of the science fiction elements. My attachment to Halo might also be due to the fact that it was one of the first “seventh generation (post 2005)” video games I ever played. Since getting my xbox I haven’t had the opportunity to play too many playstation exclusives, but I did come across The Last of Us while I was visiting a friend a few years ago.

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The Last of Us takes place in a world where a mutated Cordyceps fungus attacked humans, turning them into cannibalistic hosts.

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The game’s opening follows Joel as he tries to flee Austin with his brother and daughter, Sarah. Sarah is fatally shot by a soldier, before the game cuts to twenty years later.

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Most of humanity is now residing in walled quarantine zones and numerous groups of bandits reside across the post-apocalyptic landscape. Joel and his friend Tess, now work as black market smugglers. The crux of the game revolves around their assignment to transport, a young girl, Ellie, across post-apocalyptic America. Their mission is to get Ellie to the fireflies, a rebel group aiming to disband the quarantine zones. Joel and Tess later discover that Ellie is immune to the fungus and is being escorted to the fireflies so that they can try to develop a cure.

Joel and Ellie bond over the course of the story, and they eventually reach the firefly hide out. It is at this point that Marlene, leader of the fireflies, tells Joel that Ellie has to be killed in order for the cure to be developed. The virus grows all over the brain and Ellie’s brain must be examined in order to create the cure. Joel kills Marlene and the fireflies at the base before taking an unconscious Ellie back to his brother’s hideout. When Ellie awakes, he lies and tells her that the Fireflies stopped looking for a cure.

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My friend told me about the heart-breaking opening and insisted that I check the game out. After playing for an hour, I made plans to buy the game, only to be told that it was a playstation exclusive. I tried not to take it personal and caught up on the rest of the game through walkthroughs. It may seem weird to write about a game if I haven’t played through the entire thing, but I think that makes it even more important for me to write about this. As a gamer, I have never felt so attached to a story that I wasn’t playing myself.  I rarely watch walkthroughs, unless I am stuck on a certain level and am seeking help. For The Last of Us I watched the walkthroughs so I could follow the story. It was my only option, aside from purchasing a playstation. Sadly, my money needs to be saved for things like a new place and a car, so I can’t justify that decision.

One of the things that stood out most about the series was the caliber of acting, especially from Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. I enjoyed Baker as the Joker in Arkham Origins and I am amazed that he, like many voice actors, can play two characters with radically different voices and personalities so well. Johnson is the heart of the story in many ways and the greatest treat of the walkthroughs was watching Ellie and Joel’s relationship develop into a true father-daughter bond.

I always hate it when people argue that voice acting isn’t real acting, and then place voice actors on the bottom of a hierarchy. Games like The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto V are some of the best arguments for voice acting as an art form. Both games utilize motion capture, meaning that the voice actors actually perform the physical movements of their characters. This is becoming increasingly common as technology improves and it also means that the only difference between some voice actors, and “real actors” is that you don’t see the voice actors on screen.

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Ashley Johnson in a motion capture suit

All of this is to say, that I deeply enjoyed The Last of Us. Today, the announcement of The Last of Us: Part II is reverberating all over the internet. Like any good trailer, the announcement trailer doesn’t give away too much. Firstly, the graphics are amazing and leave me excited to think about how photo-realistic video games will be in another ten years. Yes, I’ll probably still be playing video games by then.

Ellie’s growth makes it clear that this sequel takes place years after the original. I couldn’t help but notice that she looks more like Tess now. The house she is sitting in is marked by a firefly logo, and we know that she wants to kill “them” all. I’ve been told that I am Canada’s Sherlock, so I believe Ellie is now determined to kill all of the fireflies. Obviously Ellie must have found out the truth about Joel’s escape from them by this point. Perhaps the new Firefly leader was able to find them and launched an attack on their home. If an attack was carried out and Ellie lost someone close to her because of it, it would explain her anger at the Fireflies. It doesn’t make as much sense for her to want to kill them all only because she found out that they originally intended to kill her. Joel doesn’t seem as fired up as she does, either because he realizes how dangerous it is or because he didn’t lose anyone else due to the fireflies. His brother, Tommy, could still be alive then. Perhaps Ellie lost someone that Joel wasn’t as close to, such as a new friend. The trailer did leave me with the feeling that Joel will die in this game. He came close last time, and his luck may run out if he accompanies Ellie on her mission.

Although I don’t have a playstation I am still excited for this game. I am somewhat wary of a sequel, since I felt like the first game ended on a perfect note. I am just hoping that the sequel lives up to the first. We have Baker and Johnson back, and the same creative team. I am sure that they don’t want to bring down the original either, since it took this long for the announcement of a sequel. I will find a way to play this one as well, and I am sure that I am not alone.

Arkham Knight

Hello everyone,

Aside from comics, tv, and movies I am also a gamer, which helps to bring more diversity to my geeky repertoire. I wouldn’t say that I spend most of my free time playing and I purposely try not to. However, I do enjoy playing a few hours a week. Some of my favourite series include Halo and the Arkham games. I completed the story mode of Halo 5 and before I delved into the online play, I decided to finally start Arkham Knight.

I played Arkham City when that first came out in 2011 and I have been hooked on the series since. Arkham Origins was somewhat forgettable but still an enjoyable game. I did also like the fact that it added online challenge modes, where you could actually compete in real-time with other players. The only online options for Arkham City allowed your score on challenges to be ranked with that of other players.

I am only about 10% of the way through the story so far, not to mention all of the riddle challenges and trophies. However, there was one aspect of the game that I love and hate at the same time. After looking up my issue online it seems like a lot of people feel the same way. Getting to drive the batmobile is a great new feature, at least in theory. It offers something new to the gameplay while also giving players access to Batman’s full arsenal. The design is amazing and while the controls take a big of getting used to, riding in the batmobile can be a great experience. The only problem is that the batmobile isn’t only a cool side feature, it is an essential part of gameplay for many levels so far. Whether it is riddler challenges or puzzles in the main story, the batmobile is crucial. At times, the action/adventure game becomes a racing game for long stretches at a time. If you don’t like racing games, that’s just too bad.

Gameplay with the batmobile can get repetitive at times since its combat offers more limited options than Batman’s. There are three main weapons/ tools and that’s about it, compared to the myriad combination of gadgets and fighting techniques that Batman offers. There are entire levels or checkpoints that involve the batmobile taking on unmanned tanks. These entire levels will be the same combo of dodging and shooting. Those who don’t like shooting games, probably won’t like these parts. Of course there is nothing wrong with the game incorporating elements from numerous genres, but it does represent a pretty fundamental shift from the previous three games, which all focused on stealth or combat modes. Those who have become accustomed to this by now could very well be thrown off completely by the change. There is one level where the batmobile has to take on tanks and a helicopter at the same time. You must then eliminated about seven hostiles while trying to dodge a barrage of missiles.

After failing for the fifth time, I looked up a walkthrough for this part online and the comments reveal the same level of frustration I had. One person even said that they returned the game since they couldn’t get past this part to enjoy the rest. Of course, I didn’t do that. I was able to beat the level after a few more tries, using some tips I found online. However, I think a big part of why people might be so frustrated or willing to quit is because of the change in playing style that they might not have anticipated. Although we might want variation in stories, certain genres of games have conventions that many people might want a game to follow. If Halo 5 introduced more puzzles, people might be thrown off by that.

I’m still enjoying the game and I look forward to playing more, but I can’t help but think the combat sequences with the batmobile will only get more repetitive as the game goes on.