@ahifi: The problem with just show the person as a normal thing in life and don't shove it down my throat meme,... when you just make it normalized people scream why include it anyway. See avengers endgame and the nonstraight character. They were a quick line blink and you miss it "my partner" People got mad that it was just lip service. Then you have Disney say they will make the main character non-straight. People say it's just publicity. I think it's dang if you do or don't. In the end, our society needs a push or they will never change. Hate to say it but it took years to get where we are with marginalized groups. So much so that even people who currently aren't sexist or racist would be indoctrinated if born just 80 years ago. Just 80, some are still alive today that experienced and saw the change. Like all change, people hate it and resist it. So yeah we will need to include so many cultures and walks of life in shows movies and games that it looks like the cast of hey Arnold in the 90s till people get ok with it and stop commenting that it's shoved down their throat and don't notice it. Then and only then will we likely go back to being ok with a cast that's only one ethnicity again. Note: Leaks of movie execs even stated they thought non-minorities won't sell overseas and abroad so they purposely don't include much...that's info people overlook and I'm sure many share at the top, even though later movies showcased that's not true and society largely is embracing anyone willing to showcase their story on screen. We just don't need to be talked down to where were told we need to learn why sexism or something is bad since the people watching usually arent the people who need to learn that. Thus why viewers always cringe and think it's forced. lol. just my rambling 2 cents.
Haha, 'rambling'? C'mon... there's only one person doing that here. :p But you're totally right re: representation, and I'm with you on that - however, this was always the price for identity politics that I was referring to: it being, at times, frustrating to the majority (and even the minorities!), and no-one having any real semblance of a complete, fixed perspective of how it's workable. It's very subjective and contextual, and that will never sit well with a certain percentage of the population. What one character does right can be seemingly emulated but done wrong; and what would seem like the wrong type of portrayal in one game becomes the right type of portrayal in another game. It also stokes the fires further as it can seemingly mobilise just as many people for trans rights as it does against it. And this can also stoke violence and backlash towards trans people if done irresponsibly - which is less forgivable when done irresponsibly by a company looking to make money.
It's why I was referring to these approaches as really being an apology for the past - it's absolutely necessary (as you say), and appreciated, but nevertheless messy and doesn't really leave that many of us much happier. It's more... 'contentedness'... that we're being done right? At most, a pleasant surprise? Mostly it's just outrage at what has been done wrong at the expense of not acknowledging what was done right (and you could argue I'm somewhat doing that here too). Sometimes the validity of that outrage can be from a very personal place that doesn't necessarily transfer over to the experiences of most trans people. But then there are the people it reaches who know nothing of this world and begin to question if they are trans or not, and that's the beauty of the visibility of it just being present (rather than it being a quality or realistic interpretation of being trans). So it can be both the best and the worst all at once, and not for any one particular reason. Something we just have to accept exists in this place in time and space, as you say.
But yes, absolutely, it is a total minefield when it comes to international stuff too. Was gonna touch upon that previously but I'd already went on so much (and am doing so again). I think you see that less with games because, predominantly, the majority of game sales are going to come in markets where there has been exposure to these themes. Let's face it: gaming may be a worldwide phenomenon, but the type of gaming that's talked about and played on this website isn't. It's still very anglophonic. And it's still an industry with a younger consumer age than other media industries and they are, as such, more exposed to LGBT+ narratives. And where there are a lot more queer creators than in other media industries (except possibly music now and content creators). When it comes to products that are far more international and widespread in their exposure, you do see that trepidation that you reference. So, yeah, no surprise to hear that movie executives' morality is marked by the size of their wallets and purses.
Same kinda stuff with sports. No true equality or workable solution can really happen for trans people (predominantly trans women) in sports until there are internationally agreed solutions which, given the lack of international consensus around transgenderism, probably won't be resolved for at least another few decades. Domestically within some sports? Sure, but don't expect the Olympics to tackle this pro-actively with consensus anytime soon (they have failed thus far).
Anyway, like I said, it's a difficult position for storytellers right now - I empathise, but the solution is to have a diverse writing cast. Or, if a solo author, then to be having discussions and friendships with people who aren't like you. Or be well-read on a topic. To understand what is important and what's just lip service. So yes, absolutely have diversity in games (I'm definitely not arguing against that), but you don't always have to be spreading it so thin as to make it totally transparent. No pun intended!
I think Cyberpunk's offering being Claire - whose transness is brought into the story in an awkward, semi-servile manner - and a transphobic poster maybe says a lot about those 'discussions and friendships' at CD Projekt Red. Going back to the international discussion and somewhat inverting it, that may be a reflection of where their studios are located - a country where even acceptance of gay rights has gone backwards over the past 20 years. Perhaps that even impacted on what they could say on some level that we're not seeing. Does anyone else know what else they included regarding LGBT+ narratives?
Shame the concept didn't get taken up by another studio as the potential for very queer, trans narratives in a cyperpunk world written from the perspective of the late 2010s/early 2020s is rife with so much potential for serious discussion (heart-warming, gruesome and difficult) about the world today - as long as it were taken on by writers who are willing to explore this topic and understand the contexts. The best CDPR served up with regards to this topic is a seemingly tone deaf, l'poulet poop of a dish (with some decent seasoning) that doesn't really say anything. I don't mean to be overly mean as I'd like to think the people who predominantly worked on Claire wanted to do well with what they could within the limited scope they were given - it's a more a dig at the company's attitude and just frustration with what this game could have been.
Trans and non-gender binary (and, to widen the net historically, 'gender bending') people will always exist as long as people live, have some semblance/perception of free will and there continues to be a gender binary, because they have thus far evidently existed for thousands of years in some form. So deal with it, CDPR - and not just in a way that titillates your biases.
Log in to comment