Art != Terrorism
I realize this story has been on the net for some time now, but I only recently became aware of it when it showed up on Play This Thing. I was so furious I was literally shouting at my computer. How can people persist in being so willfully ignorant and obtuse? “Free speech can only go so far?” WTF?!?
I don’t usually allow personal matters to appear on this blog, but in witnessing this travesty I feel it is a matter that concerns us all, whether you live in the United States or not. From the perspective of a game designer, it is simultaneously wonderful and horrifying to see a game get this kind of treatment. On the one hand, only true art could inspire true censorship, and the very notion that people could get so upset about a video game is a sign that games have, or are about to, come of age as an art form. People don’t protest in the streets over trivial entertainment; clearly, there is something here that is, in fact, art.
On the other hand, the mere fact that such obvious stupidity still exists in this country, and over free speech of all things, is simply mind-boggling. The United States citizenry has been spiraling downward ever since they elected Bush the first time, and while I do my best to try to stay optimistic, I am increasingly beset by evidence that they are beyond saving. How do you argue with people like this? What hope do you or I have of changing their minds? This marks the second event I have encountered in as many weeks that has come close to convincing me to move to Canada. The first was Michael Moore’s film Sicko.
I just showed this to a friend, a photographer who has no particular interest in games and likely no bias towards or against them as a medium of communication, and she was shouting at her computer as well. Clearly, this is not a question of a video game but a question of censorship. I recommend you read the post on Play This Thing, but I insist you watch the video coverage embedded below. If you don’t start yelling at your computer too, please comment and tell me. I want to meet the person who isn’t outraged by this.
I totally posted this in my reply to your post “Players as Evildoers.”
My reaction was similar.
Did you? I apologize. I should have checked it out then
This kind of stuff is absolutely infuriating…more because people will so quickly take the position of ignorance and choose to just destroy anything they disagree with, all while trying to hide behind blind “patriotism”. Sadly I see a lot of this in Indiana (where I’m unfortunately living currently), and it scares me to think that this is becoming the dominant reaction to anything that challenges people to think.