FFVII REMAKE vs POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

Pixel

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I figured I'd post this here, since it seems to generate some interesting discussion.

 
For me, this is really simple. Intention in storytelling is what -in the end- dictates whether something is racist/sexist/prejudice. Depictions can still be insensitive unintentionally, but we shouldn't treat people like scum for minor mistakes. The video details the sorts of reasons why claiming these characters are horrible stereotypes, is in fact forcing a stereotype onto these characters; it forces these three dimensional characters into a one dimensional category as a way to argue that their depictions are morally wrong, which is ironically devaluing the people these characters may represent. They're literally arguing that these depictions shouldn't exist because they damage the perception of the people they represent, by essentially arguing these people shouldn't exist in media. People will say that the way Barret speaks is racist, but simultaneously ignore the fact that his character completely contradicts the horrible stereotype of black men traditionally being terrible father figures who run out on their families. They'll trash him, or Tifa, or whoever for surface level things, but ignore the stuff that really counts.

I can't think of a single moment/character that oversteps the boundaries to a truly offensive degree. Even the gay men in the Honey Bee Inn I would argue are not stereotyping gay men; these are essentially sex workers. Their job is to please people sexually/romantically (for lack of a better way to describe it), even if that doesn't actually involve any explicit sexual acts. As such, to me their mannerisms don't feel they're written in the way they are because these characters are gay. It feels like they're written that way because that's their job in the story. It's just like Bayonetta. She is not sexist because she's a highly sexualized female character... that's a large part of her personality, and there's nothing wrong with that. That is part of her character.

Now, how the meta chooses to interact with her sexuality is a different matter. While Bayonetta herself isn't an objectifying character, you could argue the way the camera ogles at her is objectifying, because it is not under her control, it is under the control of the developers, and it is designed to be sexually 'entertaining' for people beyond Bayonetta or her control. It is her choice to be sexual. It is not her choice to have a camera close in on her crotch as she does the splits or whatever. Final Fantasy VII doesn't have meta interactions like this, and as such I don't think it does anything wrong. It depicts these events from a flat, sterile angle, showing the events like they happen.
 
I definitely agree with that. you shouldn't change art because society decided that they didn't like how that art portrayed someone or something. not to mention that there really are people out there who look like that, or talk like that or have personalities like that. the portrayal doesn't come from thin air, it comes from real people existing and to call it offensive is to call the very existence of someone offensive. my bottom line is if you truly don't like the way something or someone in a game is portrayed then don't buy the game. nobody has a gun to your head in the store, nobody forces you to play it or watch it, or talk about it. that's all a conscious choice.
 
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