Apparently, answering a question that someone asked me about a video game project on kickstarter is a big, scary no-no among certain fringe contingents of the internet.
oh for… this makes me so angry!!! What a bunch of ignorants, I can’t even.
They…
When we talk about media, and representation in media, it’s extremely important to note how these conversations are framed. The bottom line is that whether the decisions are being made by corporate executives in fancy offices or some twenty-something in a cramped studio apartment, they are all making a choice. They are choosing whether to include people of color and women. Then, if they include them, they are choosing how to include them.
Historical accuracy has become a worrying rally cry. It has become a politically correct way to say: I don’t want to include certain people in my media and I don’t want to examine my choices as to why. They hold onto this historical fallacy that there was a time in Europe when everyone was white (there wasn’t). That there was a time when women operated solely within a strict framework; that they never expressed independent thoughts or acted counter to the “rules” of the time (that never happened either). And because these fallacies have become so ingrained in our collective conscience, people violently defend them without any critical thought.
And, of course, they can continue to make these choices because the media they create continues to make them money. In this particular instance, the makers of this project don’t have any motivation to critically examine their choices because their all white, male-centric game received funding to be made and will, very likely, turn a profit once it’s released. They can ignore consumers who are women and/or people of color because they don’t need their money. Instead of being honest about it, they have successfully justified their choices using the historical accuracy fallacy. And people believe them and defend them, to the point of harassment and death threats, because it allows them to maintain a comfortable status quo where the only stories worth consuming are those with white male heroes.
Basically, it’s time to stop pretending that the people creating our media have their hands tied by history. They are making a choice to not represent people of color and women (and any other marginalized group). They make these choices and laugh all the way to the bank while others defend them based on a world they think (or wish) existed. IMHO, that’s pretty freaking gross.
So many good points here, but especially the bolded.
Medievalpoc, in the face of harassment, states the position of the *ahem* “opposition”
Key and Teeth 