Ebert Regrets Attack on Gaming

[shogunblade]

I'm a little offended, personally.

I love reading Roger Ebert's reviews, watching his old reviews, and disagreeing with him whenever I find a movie that I like that he didn't. I can gather that he went in with no knowledge of video games, and just like my views on Politics, if I know nothing, why go in talking about something I know nothing about?

However, what this says to me, honestly, is that it gives most gamers a reason to gloat about the idea that They Were Right, and a reason to act like most people did when John Lennon said that he thought the Beatles were bigger than Jesus: To suddenly denounce the man with handfuls of negative remarks and when he fixes the bridge, it starts to remind me of the line from a very fun game:

Spoiler: Contains Spoilers from Portal

It made people who were otherwise fine with him seem very negative, then this gathers into some kind of really obnoxious "Yeah, and don't you forget it!" rally amongst people.

I kind of liked Roger's response on everything the 1st time. I disagree that video games cannot become art, but I respected his right to say it, and then to find so many people become rather rude about it.

I don't know why, but it kind of rubs me the wrong way, not Roger's opinion, but everybody else's opinion ON his opinion.

 

[narwhalman218]

I feel like this apology is really insincere because he is only doing this because of the wrath that his statement incurred. It's like if someone does something that is really mean to you and you ask them to apologize, they may apologize, but they don't really mean it. They only do it to make you shut up.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

It's never easy to say that you were wrong, and it's doubly hard to do it in public as Ebert did. There's a lot of humility on display here, and that deserves a lot of respect.

There's the modicum of humility, but he tries too hard to defend his opinion despite claiming to be posting that he was wrong to voice it. That and some of the comments he makes come-off as snarky. He makes it sound as-if gamers are only able to see games as art because our brains aren't as massively evolved as his.

Over-all, it's good that he knows that he should keep his opinion to himself if he doesn't have solid backing, but he still hasn't learned anything practical.

 

[The Random One]

Ha, I find it funny how people are complaining that he didn't back down entirely. As if people shouldn't even be allowed to think videogames aren't the cat's pajamas. 'Enjoying the last Call of Duty, sir? Ah, you're not too fond of it, yes? Off to the slammer with you!'

I, for one, am glad he backed down on the exact grounds I thought he went wrong (i.e. he was talking about something he knows nothing about) and didn't complain about our attitude, so he probably manage to filter out all of the idiots insulting his mom that surely went after him and paid more attention to the people who actually had something to say.

 

[Miumaru]

Games are more art than any movie or television show. Unless drawings and paintings are not art?

 

[Cain_Zeros]

So, basically what he's really say is, "I'm ignorant about what I was talking about, and have no desire to change that, but I regret pissing so many people off, and there's a slight chance that I'll turn out to be wrong later, but I won't know because I have no desire to ever play video games." Yeah? Well fuck you too old man.

 

[Nouw]

He corrected himself. That way the fall is softened.

 

[HyenaThePirate]

This is nonsense. Why even bother calling this an apology? This is like if I set fire to your house because I hated you, and then said it was wrong of me to hate you because I do not really know you, but I still feel that burning down your house was a necessary action that I would do again, just without telling you I did it because I hate you.

All he did was try to win back a few precious potential CUSTOMERS.. because with so many people in an uproar it was bound to be affecting his BANK ACCOUNT. So he issues a half assed explanation about his ignorant beliefs and expects us to take it as some sort of humbled apology and people are lapping it up like dogs to antifreeze!

If the man said "Black people will never make as good of movies as white people because they lack the creative talent" and then wrote something like this as an apology because he wasn't "informed enough about the Black community to have made his opinion openly" it wouldn't erase the fact that he was a bigot.

Same principle applies here. Ebert, go stick your two thumbs up your ass, I ain't buyin what you are selling. Come back to me AFTER you've played or at least watched someone play through Heavy Rain, Mass Effect, God of War, or Shadow of the Colossus and then run your mouth about games not being "Art". If for nothing ELSE, the visual settings in the freaking background in EVERY single one of those games is in and of itself "Art" in that it creates a believable and imaginative world that conveys the VIEWER and their emotions to a transcendent state of suspension of disbelief. If you can play a game like Okami and not feel that the world is rich, vibrant, and aesthetically awe-inspiring, you need to admit that you don't truly understand one whit about "Art" and that your entire life and career has been nothing more than you talking out of your ass to people too stupid to realize that your opinion on anything is about as vapid as Paris Hilton on a bender.

EDIT: One other thing..

To the people that seem to think that its ridiculous for people to make such a fuss over his original statement in the first place (or his apology for it) because "he is entitled to his opinion", keep in mind:

When you choose to SHARE your OPINION in a public forum, you are WILLINGLY and VOLUNTARILY placing that opinion out there to be praised or CRITICIZED. Sure it is his opinion, we ALL have opinions, but when that Opinion leaves YOUR BRAIN and exits YOUR MOUTH due to your desire to make it known, then you have NO RIGHT complaining when someone DISAGREES with your opinion as it is everyone's RIGHT to disagree. Especially if your opinion is in any way offensive. You have EVERY right in the world to say that you hate "Chinese people" but that does not give you immunity to the incredible backlash of people who are Chinese or like chinese people. If you make such a statement, publicly and openly, then you do so with the understanding that someone who hears or reads it will disagree with you, and may do so fervently. To then wax philosophically about how someday Chinese people may or may not prove themselves to be a worthy addition to humanity is not something to be taken as humility or earn begrudging respect. It just reinforces the stupidity of making the original statement publicly to begin with.

So just like his original statement, which by his own admission was made from the FAR END of ignorant, his "regret" for making that statement (also made publicly) earns him no reprieve from criticism. He still made an ignorant statement about something he knows nothing about, has no credentials to support, and that he underestimated the massive support FOR. That was STUPID. That was IGNORANT. And he paid the price for it by all of the anger that flew back in his face. Now he comes out saying he regrets saying such an ignorant, stupid statement but only because the people who disagree with him made their feelings clear.. it's almost an insult to be quite honest because he in no way acknowledges that Game lover Opinions matter, only that his own opinion is somehow superior to our own in the present. It is a statement of arrogance and he deserves every bit of vitriolic ire he has been receiving. Apparently he has not learned any lesson from this, even in his attempt to backpedal from it.

 

[The Arc of Eden]

Ebert can go fuck himself. He has no idea what art is. I'm not saying I do but that guy has given good reviews to the shittiest movies i've ever had the pleasure of regretting seen. He's out of touch with his own genre, why even bother with him. I never cared about what he likes or says before, Why start now? Don't acknowledge him.

 

[TheArma]

I don't know if they can be inspired to transcend themselves. Perhaps they can.

I think we gamers can and as a matter of course do, which is something no other art form does, at least not for me. When I am playing Mass Effect I am Commander Sheppard, I am saving the galaxy, I am somewhere and someone else for an hour or two. That's what gaming is all about and it's s shame when someone (famous film critic or binman) doesn't give themselves the chance to experience that.

That said I don't actually care what is and isn't art, I am in for entertainment and enjoyment. I'm not even sure how I would define 'art'. The result of creative expression? That's almost everything...

 

[Raziel_Likes_Souls]

He might have an opinion no one likes, but at least he realizes he shouldn't have said it. I don't hate the man for his opinion, but you can't just snub a whole other media of worthiness. At least he caught that.

 

[sammi43055]

Maybe he should have thought about that comment before he said it in the first place. I don't really care about this whole situation, but I just don't understand why he would say such a silly thing in the first place. Plus, everyone on the internet likes to argue with everyone else ad their opinions so the negative reaction was kind of predictable.

 

[Boba Frag]

While his opinion hasn't changed, I have to respect the man for publicly admitting that he wasn't in the best qualified position to comment on stuff like this.

He's an absolutely brilliant reviewer and deserves to have some of the heat turned off him.
He didn't take back what he said as he said he still believes that, but at least he's conceded that a game won't be made in future that will equal Citizen Kane or Schindler's list in emotional truth.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Olook someone had a lapse in judgement and corrected his statements, don't see much of that anymore!

Ah you fucking ninja... I concur anyway.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

I know this is bad netiquette - especially on the escapist, but I'm going to bump this thread because I've had an epiphany. I hate 99.9% of all movies. Loathe them. Despise them. Wish them dead from the bottom of my heart. Now, I could go ranting about how and why, but the reason I'm posting in just this thread is to agree with this guy.

Ebert can go fuck himself. He has no idea what art is. I'm not saying I do but that guy has given good reviews to the shittiest movies i've ever had the pleasure of regretting seen. He's out of touch with his own genre, why even bother with him. I never cared about what he likes or says before, Why start now? Don't acknowledge him.

Agreed, although I would like to add that I shit on Gene Siskel's memory. I hope Rogert Ebert reads this, as my hate for him burns with the fury of a thousand suns.

 

[thedeathscythe]

Ill give him some credit, he has at least come back and said he was wrong, and, in some way offered an apolgy. It takes guts for someone to say that to thousands who he had scorned.

For that, I do respect him

Same here, I left him a comment pointing out the flaws that I saw in his logic that seemed to have no experience with video games, but I can let him off the hook for owning up and admitting that he made a public opinion on something that he actually had never even touched. It would be like insulting the louvre yet never having seen it.

 

[Thespian]

Who would ever feel reassured by this apology? I don't hate Ebert, nothing close to it, but he is shockingly arrogant.

This wasn't an apology, it was a "Oh, right, I forgot that jumping to massive conclusions with absolutely no legs to stand on just to thoroughly insult a huge international past-time I know nothing about just because it's new was a dumb career move. Better make it better."

I'm sure he harbours the same feelings, he just realizes that how tactless he was.