Pearl-Clutching Over Violent Video Games: "In Which The Left Becomes The Religious Right"
Mytheos Holt writes at TheFederalist about the recent hyperventilations by Anita Sarkeesian, Jonathan McIntosh, and others over the violence in the trailer for "Doom" -- an enhanced reworking of the classic 1995 computer game.
In short, there's "Discomfort with the Dark Side of Human Nature."
Holt makes the point -- as have others, backed up by research -- that video games provide an outlet for evil:
If the "Doom" trailer is anything, it's evidence that people don't mind being crooked timber, and in fact celebrate things that give them a safe outlet for their more crooked tendencies, rather than trying to destroy them. Moreover, that the game explicitly pits the player against demons suggests players prefer to see their crookedness channeled toward heroism, and actually celebrate more ancient heroic virtues as a means of compensating for the urge toward violence. The "Doom" trailer, in short, seeks to make peace with the human proclivity toward violence even as it turns it against sin, rather than try to write both out of existence. For its efforts, it gets cheers. With good reason. Like "Hatred" before it, it's a humanistic game.For Leftist ideologues like Sarkeesian and McIntosh, the game is a reminder that their ideology is forever cut off from human nature, and that their utopian vision of a world without urges toward violence will always ultimately be chainsawed by reality before being drowned in a storm of unapologetically humanistic gunfire.
via @Popehat
Sarkeesian makes a shit ton of money though. Double edged sword cuz she swindles it out of feminists but ...damn am I jealous cuz I hate working some days.
Thunderf00t makes these amazing youtube videos debunking her if anyone's interested. Really mocking the shit out of feminists because they kicked him out of the atheist circle cuz he disagreed with them saying men are scum.
Ppen at June 16, 2015 7:38 AM
I started playing Doom when it first came out. I was around 10. I LOVED it. My dad's friend used to build his own customized courses, and I used to play with him and my dad and their friends over the brand-new thing called the Internet. They got a kick out of a tiny little girl playing this game with them.
My dad got a ton of flack from other family members for "letting" me "immerse myself" in a violent game. My dad told them that because he was doing his job (parenting) right, he didn't have to worry about letting me escape into a fun game. And that they were projecting their concerns about their own shitty kids.
sofar at June 16, 2015 7:38 AM
"For Leftist ideologues like Sarkeesian and McIntosh, the game is a reminder that their ideology is forever cut off from human nature, and that their utopian vision of a world without urges toward violence will always ultimately be chainsawed by reality before being drowned in a storm of unapologetically humanistic gunfire."
This same blindness keeps libs from understanding the military or the people who voluntarily join it.
A big part of this fantasy that every inate male tendency is just a social construct, forms the basis for the war on boys, men, and the hysteria over sexual assault.
Isab at June 16, 2015 7:41 AM
Thank you critics. I haven't been keeping up (lately) on new video games out, now I see this!
Oh, and how exactly are things supposed to die when shot? In their sleep?
the other patrick at June 16, 2015 7:42 AM
Oh, id, how I love you. I doubt I have the hardware that can run this, but drool.
I played Doom as an adult. I enjoyed the hell out of it, both solo and in group mode. Shotgun, plasma rifle, and the BFG-9000 were all favorites.
Cyberdaemons...why did it have to be cyberdaemons? I hate those guys.
I R A Darth Aggie at June 16, 2015 9:20 AM
Government in the boardroom, the bedroom, and the game room.
Cousin Dave at June 16, 2015 10:06 AM
Why do they always freak out about doom or GTA but never a peep about postal? I mean, in doom you are a hero fighting back the evil hordes. In GTA you are a crook, but if you are a stupid crook you get killed by the cops. In postal you are a psycho just killing as many innocents as possible. In my opinion it is one of the few truly evil games out there.
Ben at June 16, 2015 12:41 PM
Smacks of trying to get their names out there and stay "relevent" (for various values) now that gamergate has (at least AFAIK) died down a lot.
Sort of like how any black person being injured or killed by a cop requires immediate response, before any details are even out yet. Have to keep the narrative going.
Miguelitosd at June 16, 2015 4:31 PM
Look, they are missing the point entirely. The real problem with Doom are the intense headaches induced by the claustrophobic first person view. Maybe that's what makes people go postal.
Astra at June 16, 2015 6:11 PM
I love Dragon Age: Inquisition (and Skyrim, before that.)
DAI caused quite a kerfluffle because a few of the major characters were gay or bisexual.
Personally, I was offended because you get an award if you kill all the dragons, and that's genocide!
Well, and because of the post-credit cliffhanger.
Pirate Jo at June 16, 2015 6:38 PM
'This same blindness keeps libs from understanding the military or the people who voluntarily join it."
Let's file that under "ignorant nonsense".
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at June 16, 2015 10:13 PM
Pirate Jo: Yeah, Mass Effect had a similar early kerfluffle for the possible gay relationship possibilities.
All the Dragon Age games (IIRC) have allowed any coupling desired. At least I know DA2 did. Been long enough that I don't remeber for DA:O anymore.
Miguelitosd at June 17, 2015 5:12 PM
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