Posted April 03, 2016
high rated
The only real concern I have is when a situation is clearly forced for the sake of real-world political-correctness.
There's stories, movies, games, art, etc. out there that can have unique and diverse characters without trying to drape it in shiny things and pretty lights and scream "look at me, look at me, I'm being progressive and therefore you can't criticize me!" Not only that, but I also find nothing wrong with NOT having a diverse cast of characters. There can be situations where only men are involved, or only women, or only straight characters, or bi, or white, purple, pink, etc. Hell, even having a cast of characters that have actual flaws is better and far more interesting than a cast of characters that are considered "proper" in this day and age.
Art, in general, is made to criticize things, to be unpolitically-correct. To go against the status quo and get people thinking. To get people discussing. The problem is when art turns to propaganda and becomes something that's no longer expressing unique, diverse, and different ideas, but only the ideas that the powers that be determine is proper for public consumption. Ideas you can't disagree with without being a pariah.
For the longest time, gamers and game developers have fought long and hard against those who demand games be censored and toned down due to graphic violence out of a sense of ultra-conversative morality. Often, this was done for show and politics, and most gamers saw it for what it was. Those who didn't investigate thoroughly enough, non-gamers, journalists, etc. were typically the ones who bought into this.
The current issue is that certain organizations similarly demand censoring and changes made to games out of a sense of being "appropriate" in another light. That being a burning desire to be politically-correct, to force diversity and push commentary approving political-correctness as it pertains to the real-world within fictional ones.
I'm not saying it can't be appropriate to a story's lore or background, but it's pretty clear at times when it's being done for the sake of enforcing certain ideologies that preclude any real difference of opinion in the slightest. When even the mildest, most carefully-worded arguments are shouted down as being "sexist" or "racist' or whatever other demonizing term there is available just to shut up any opposition, you know there's a problem. Even when those within the political parties of the real-world that seem most-likely to go along with this stop and ask what's really going on only to get shouted down as being "facist" to shut them up, it's clear there's no desire to truly discuss things. It doesn't matter who or what they are, if they disagree, they get a "friendly" labeling to try to dismiss their individual thoughts and ideas out of fear someone will listen.
It's at the point where even the most loosely-related, if related at all, criticism is assumed to be a direct strike against women, gays, transgenders, or whatever other group of people someone feels slighted for on their behalf. Even if the criticism was made by a member of one of those or more.
There's no allowance for a difference of opinion. Publishers are afraid of a negative backlash in the least when it's popular right now to be ultra politically-correct. Your game doesn't have a "strong female protagonist"? A popular tabloid-esque blog will write a scathing review about your game and sic some noisy people on you until you change things. Your game features a male character who has a romantic preference for only female player characters? Rant until he's changed to have a much deeper physical appreciation for other males. If not caught during development, then into the sequels, spin-offs, and remakes these things go.
This kind of thing happens. You know what happened when Black Widow in the Avengers 2 film expressed a desire to wishing she had a choice of having a child or not? Angry people ranting on twitter and scaring Joss Whedon off the internet for writing a female character who MIGHT want a child and not appearing "strong" enough to not care about losing the ability to bear a child.
So when I see posts by people who don't understand why others might be even the least bit upset over something like this, it's hard not to join the frustrated gamers, a diverse group of them from across the world made up of different genders, races, romantic preferences, political and religious beliefs, and etc. who are fighting a second fight against those who want to deliberately censor and alter games and the way new games are made, no longer because of ultra-violence, but now over an appearance of lacking political-correctness.
In the end, gay characters are likely to happen, at least quietly, in the worlds of D&D. People with different opinions and beliefs are also very likely to happen. That's no problem to me, and I welcome that. But if you plan to write and re-write stories, characters, lore, etc. just to do the equivalent of "bible-thumping" with political-correctness because you want to be part of the "in-crowd" that demand their way or no way, then you're no longer an artist pushing at the boundaries, just another puppet retreading what's popular and "proper".
There's stories, movies, games, art, etc. out there that can have unique and diverse characters without trying to drape it in shiny things and pretty lights and scream "look at me, look at me, I'm being progressive and therefore you can't criticize me!" Not only that, but I also find nothing wrong with NOT having a diverse cast of characters. There can be situations where only men are involved, or only women, or only straight characters, or bi, or white, purple, pink, etc. Hell, even having a cast of characters that have actual flaws is better and far more interesting than a cast of characters that are considered "proper" in this day and age.
Art, in general, is made to criticize things, to be unpolitically-correct. To go against the status quo and get people thinking. To get people discussing. The problem is when art turns to propaganda and becomes something that's no longer expressing unique, diverse, and different ideas, but only the ideas that the powers that be determine is proper for public consumption. Ideas you can't disagree with without being a pariah.
For the longest time, gamers and game developers have fought long and hard against those who demand games be censored and toned down due to graphic violence out of a sense of ultra-conversative morality. Often, this was done for show and politics, and most gamers saw it for what it was. Those who didn't investigate thoroughly enough, non-gamers, journalists, etc. were typically the ones who bought into this.
The current issue is that certain organizations similarly demand censoring and changes made to games out of a sense of being "appropriate" in another light. That being a burning desire to be politically-correct, to force diversity and push commentary approving political-correctness as it pertains to the real-world within fictional ones.
I'm not saying it can't be appropriate to a story's lore or background, but it's pretty clear at times when it's being done for the sake of enforcing certain ideologies that preclude any real difference of opinion in the slightest. When even the mildest, most carefully-worded arguments are shouted down as being "sexist" or "racist' or whatever other demonizing term there is available just to shut up any opposition, you know there's a problem. Even when those within the political parties of the real-world that seem most-likely to go along with this stop and ask what's really going on only to get shouted down as being "facist" to shut them up, it's clear there's no desire to truly discuss things. It doesn't matter who or what they are, if they disagree, they get a "friendly" labeling to try to dismiss their individual thoughts and ideas out of fear someone will listen.
It's at the point where even the most loosely-related, if related at all, criticism is assumed to be a direct strike against women, gays, transgenders, or whatever other group of people someone feels slighted for on their behalf. Even if the criticism was made by a member of one of those or more.
There's no allowance for a difference of opinion. Publishers are afraid of a negative backlash in the least when it's popular right now to be ultra politically-correct. Your game doesn't have a "strong female protagonist"? A popular tabloid-esque blog will write a scathing review about your game and sic some noisy people on you until you change things. Your game features a male character who has a romantic preference for only female player characters? Rant until he's changed to have a much deeper physical appreciation for other males. If not caught during development, then into the sequels, spin-offs, and remakes these things go.
This kind of thing happens. You know what happened when Black Widow in the Avengers 2 film expressed a desire to wishing she had a choice of having a child or not? Angry people ranting on twitter and scaring Joss Whedon off the internet for writing a female character who MIGHT want a child and not appearing "strong" enough to not care about losing the ability to bear a child.
So when I see posts by people who don't understand why others might be even the least bit upset over something like this, it's hard not to join the frustrated gamers, a diverse group of them from across the world made up of different genders, races, romantic preferences, political and religious beliefs, and etc. who are fighting a second fight against those who want to deliberately censor and alter games and the way new games are made, no longer because of ultra-violence, but now over an appearance of lacking political-correctness.
In the end, gay characters are likely to happen, at least quietly, in the worlds of D&D. People with different opinions and beliefs are also very likely to happen. That's no problem to me, and I welcome that. But if you plan to write and re-write stories, characters, lore, etc. just to do the equivalent of "bible-thumping" with political-correctness because you want to be part of the "in-crowd" that demand their way or no way, then you're no longer an artist pushing at the boundaries, just another puppet retreading what's popular and "proper".
Post edited April 03, 2016 by GalacticKnight