The prompt for my essay was "Describe how an artwork has influenced your life." So I wrote my paper about how Pokemon Red got me into video games, and how that has influenced my interest in technology. This was last month. I finally get the paper back, having scored an 85%, which ordinarily I'd be okay with but, on the grade sheet, she wrote "The paper was excellently written but video games are not works of art." She said I had not 'followed the directions properly'. I tried making my case but she would not relent. I'm thinking of going to my counselor, since it makes up like half my quarter grade and I'm kind of pissed about being docked points because she disagrees with me on what is, at best, a semantic argument. Should I?
Pissed at my English teacher, justified?
- Thread starter renegade7
- Start date
Yes, yes you should. If she docked you that much over something so trivial then you should argue and try to get the grade you deserve. People need to understand that, while not all games are art, they do have the capacity to be. Not to mention, haven't people always told us that art is all about perception? If you perceive it as art, then it is god damned art!
Not worth it. You got a solid 85%, sparking a conflict over what you yourself admit is semantics is more likely to do more harm in the long run than good. If this were a conflict that came up repeatedly it might be worth arguing, but honestly over a one time issue it's not worth the righteous indignation.
Besides your teacher most likely had clear examples in mind for the project. She didn't say 'anything that changed your life' but an artwork and... I'm sorry, but it's freakin pokemon. I kinda agree with her. Look I loved Pokemon red too, I still own it in fact, but it ain't art. It's just a game, a means of silly entertainment. She would have been just as annoyed if you'd said it was a basketball game you watched as a kid or an action figure you grew up playing with. It's just not the sort of thing that pops to mind when an English tearcher is talking about 'artwork'.
I don't think it's anything personal on her part, admittedly I don't know the teacher obviously, but regardless fanning the flames over a relatively inconsequential issue again is more likely to do harm in the long term than good.
Besides your teacher most likely had clear examples in mind for the project. She didn't say 'anything that changed your life' but an artwork and... I'm sorry, but it's freakin pokemon. I kinda agree with her. Look I loved Pokemon red too, I still own it in fact, but it ain't art. It's just a game, a means of silly entertainment. She would have been just as annoyed if you'd said it was a basketball game you watched as a kid or an action figure you grew up playing with. It's just not the sort of thing that pops to mind when an English tearcher is talking about 'artwork'.
I don't think it's anything personal on her part, admittedly I don't know the teacher obviously, but regardless fanning the flames over a relatively inconsequential issue again is more likely to do harm in the long term than good.
Yes, you should. but I wouldn't go in guns aflame trying to get your score up, but I'd go in and try to let it be known that games ARE works of art. Even write an essay or paper with some of the most beautiful and artful games. Besides, docking marks just cause you alone don't think games are works of art is kinda unfair. It's just cause she doesn't understand the idea of games being artful, so she just shrugs. Though The Madman is kinda right about the Pokemon thing.
Anyways, go with games with fantastic detail and worlds, some with crazy well done attacks and animations, beautiful orchestral soundtracks, and even ones with amazing stories. Honestly, Okami and Okamiden are great for pretty much all of those, except the orchestral music part. But it's still amazing. And the ending to Okamiden made me cry. No joke. Me, a guy, who's played MANY games since he was 5, managed to cry this time. That's saying something huge for sure.
You may or may not get your score up, but if you offer to write a paper to try and show her games are works of art, she may be willing to re-consider. Just go in to prove yourself, not justify a score increase.
Games to use for this:
Okami [everything]
Okamiden [everything]
El Shaddai [animations and details]
Lunar Silver Star Harmony [story, music, animation, both character, cutscene, as well as attack animations]
(maybe) Kingdom Hearts [some story elements, and a few other things. This isn't a top choice]
(maybe) Final Fantasy [depends which one really]
(maybe) Xenoblade [for its worlds and detail]
I know I'm missing others, but these are some decent ones to work with.
Anyways, go with games with fantastic detail and worlds, some with crazy well done attacks and animations, beautiful orchestral soundtracks, and even ones with amazing stories. Honestly, Okami and Okamiden are great for pretty much all of those, except the orchestral music part. But it's still amazing. And the ending to Okamiden made me cry. No joke. Me, a guy, who's played MANY games since he was 5, managed to cry this time. That's saying something huge for sure.
You may or may not get your score up, but if you offer to write a paper to try and show her games are works of art, she may be willing to re-consider. Just go in to prove yourself, not justify a score increase.
Games to use for this:
Okami [everything]
Okamiden [everything]
El Shaddai [animations and details]
Lunar Silver Star Harmony [story, music, animation, both character, cutscene, as well as attack animations]
(maybe) Kingdom Hearts [some story elements, and a few other things. This isn't a top choice]
(maybe) Final Fantasy [depends which one really]
(maybe) Xenoblade [for its worlds and detail]
I know I'm missing others, but these are some decent ones to work with.
This is really something you should've brought up with her before you even started writing it. That's entirely your error.
The topic of whether or not video games are art or not has cropped up on this very site, with notable people saying "no" or "not yet". Leaving that unresolved ambiguity with such a large portion of your grade at stake is irresponsible. You should be glad you got an 85%.
You could have taken two minutes the day the assignment was given after class to clear this whole thing up before it started. You didn't. Your fault.
The topic of whether or not video games are art or not has cropped up on this very site, with notable people saying "no" or "not yet". Leaving that unresolved ambiguity with such a large portion of your grade at stake is irresponsible. You should be glad you got an 85%.
You could have taken two minutes the day the assignment was given after class to clear this whole thing up before it started. You didn't. Your fault.
Hells yes, be pissed. I'd be! Video games are expressions of creativity. As someone who believes writing to be an art, I say fight for those fifteen points. It was obviously a decent essay, or else she'd have faulted you further. Video games are interactive storytelling, a lot of artistic vision goes into them. Fight the good fight, my brother. *raises sword*
with everything involved in videogames, they most certainly are art especially if a fucking red line on a white background counts as "abstract art" and sells for millions, or people go nuts over elephants with paint brushes.
If my writing strategies teacher said that to me (im taking game dev in college) i would put my jungle boot through her teeth.
If my writing strategies teacher said that to me (im taking game dev in college) i would put my jungle boot through her teeth.
Pokemon Red as an artwork... Not what I would call a good basis for that arguement, but 85% is very hard to argue with.
If I was in your shoes, I would not be pissed. I would have suggested using Pokemon the cartoon series as the basis for the essay, then explain how it got you into the games which got you into gaming, While still bringing up valid points would not cross the murky waters of the topic "Are Video Games Art?
If I was in your shoes, I would not be pissed. I would have suggested using Pokemon the cartoon series as the basis for the essay, then explain how it got you into the games which got you into gaming, While still bringing up valid points would not cross the murky waters of the topic "Are Video Games Art?
There are a few sides to this argument. If you just want to skip to the end and to my advice, go right ahead.renegade7 said:
1. Video Games aren't art: Ok, I don't fully believe that. Much more accurate is "not all video games are art". There are some games out there that are just terrible. Their graphics are terrible, story telling is terrible, etc. They just aren't art. There are some games that have elements of art (graphics, story telling, etc), but it seems more like a bits of other paintings pasted together than actual art. Then there are some games that are art. Silent Hill 2 for example.
2. What you should do: Calmly ask your teacher for the criteria of art or what she considers art. Calmly ask why video games do not fulfill that criteria. Calmly explain why Pokemon Red fulfills at least some portion of that criteria. Calmly defend your position; try to link parallels to the things she said were art. I honestly cannot tell you why Pokemon Red is art(I don't think it is). Nor can I tell you what elements of art it has. That is on you. The key is to do it calmly. As soon as tempers start running high, the discussion is over and you have lost. The teacher did not specify what was or wasn't art, it is on her if your definitions clashed.
Your professor is in the wrong here, but I'm not sure you should start trouble over it. You still got a decent grade and you'll have to interact with this woman for some time to come. Is the maximum 15% that you stand to gain worth the risk of her remembering you unfondly when she grades your next paper?
Basically, this. Can't say much more than this, except that you are totally in the right. If she hasn't docked points from people who used music/movies/books/paintings as their artwork, then point it out and show her the double standard.crudus said:
If they only reason she docked you points on your grade is because you think video games are art and she doesn't, well, yeah, you should be pretty pissed. If you wrote a paper that explains why the game is so important to you than a good teacher would understand, doesn't sound like she's a very good teacher...
I think maybe the English teacher was hoping to get something less material, i.e. finding an interest in technology through commercial products, as she was hoping for something more philosophical, like how Kurt Cobain's music reflects the quiet desperation in his life, how pokemon is a symbol for the ultimate goal of commercialism: money for nothing. "Gotta catch 'em all," is a slogan that has more implications than neon-colored animals, it's a war cry for kids to buy up as many products as they can, products that unlike stamps or baseball cards, will never achieve any great value. Eighty years from now your Pokemoin Red cartridge will be worth less than the plastic it's made with.
I could be wrong, but she might have been hoping for somethind deeper than "video games got me interested in video games," which, you have to admit, is the point of a video game.
I could be wrong, but she might have been hoping for somethind deeper than "video games got me interested in video games," which, you have to admit, is the point of a video game.
It's not about there being good or bad games. The fact is there are incredibly crappy pieces of "art" that I wouldn't consider to be art. But who the hell am I to tell someone what's art and what isn't.crudus said:
Shouldn't she know the most basic thing about art; it's relative.
Art is what people call art.
OP: Maybe you should remind your teacher of this.
I don't know which level you're on here, but I kinda have to agree with...
Certainly, her claiming that "video games are not works of art" is ludicrous, especially when the definitions of "art" are so loose as to allow a blender with a goldfish in it to qualify.
For that, I'd be pissed off too, but your specific example I just can't get behind.
Had it been me, I might have chosen to write about the Assassin's Creed series and how it inspired me to vacation in Rome.
In fact, I did write that, for a combined English/Arts project; the factual parts being about Rome, the families, the Vatican and the paintings therein. Scored what'd equate to about 95%
Did an essay about the Mass Effect universe too.
...in that, for one thing, of all the games you could have chosen to use as examples of how video games can be art, Pokemon simply isn't a sensible choice, especially when you have so many other great options out there.The Madman said:
Certainly, her claiming that "video games are not works of art" is ludicrous, especially when the definitions of "art" are so loose as to allow a blender with a goldfish in it to qualify.
For that, I'd be pissed off too, but your specific example I just can't get behind.
Had it been me, I might have chosen to write about the Assassin's Creed series and how it inspired me to vacation in Rome.
In fact, I did write that, for a combined English/Arts project; the factual parts being about Rome, the families, the Vatican and the paintings therein. Scored what'd equate to about 95%
Did an essay about the Mass Effect universe too.
Try citing Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Entertainment_Merchants_Association] and claim that the sticking point in the case was that video games are art and that they communicate ideas (That's an oversimplification, granted)renegade7 said:
If she won't listen to legal precedent, you can always appeal to school authorities. Even if they won't get her to change the grade, that will be something noted about her, and she likely wouldn't like that.
You should have cleared this up with her before hand though.