Why are we afraid of criticism?

[QuietlyListening]

Often I have seen the refrain of, "Please stop talking about X. All this focus on social issues will suck the life and fun out of games."

This leads me to the following question:

WHAT!?

In what medium has criticism left art worse off? Are books terrible because there's literary criticism? Are movies worse because there are disciplines devoted to studying film? Is TV boring now that we analyze shows for social themes?

It boggles my mind that anyone could think that serious artistic criticism could be anything but good. Personally, some of the most enriching discussions I've had have been over some of the most trivial examples of entertainment. So what the hell are people afraid of?

 

[Strain42]

From what I've gathered, which I'll admit up front isn't much because I've been staying far away from a lot of this stuff because...well to put it bluntly I really don't care...

It's not that people are mad that it's being talked about. They're mad because that's ALL that seems to be talked about.

I can look at a lot of the topics here and you'll see like ten topics about Quinn or Phish or Anita for every one topic about...actual video games.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright came out a few weeks ago, and it was awesome, and fun. Why aren't there more topics about that?

It's fine to have discussions about serious issues that pop up in a medium, but when those discussions start to outweigh the topics about games just being the hobby that they are, it's kinda easy to just feel exasperated by it and have a "Ugh, can we just stop talking about this?" attitude.

 

[shrekfan246]

It's not that people are mad that it's being talked about. They're mad because that's ALL that seems to be talked about.

I can look at a lot of the topics here and you'll see like ten topics about Quinn or Phish or Anita for every one topic about...actual video games.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright came out a few weeks ago, and it was awesome, and fun. Why aren't there more topics about that?

The obvious solution would be for people to stop making threads about them all the time, then.

Somebody on Twitter actually apparently ran the numbers collected from ~40 different websites that focus on news relevant to the games industry, and you know what percentage of actual articles written by journalists over the past two years apparently covered "social justice" topics?

.45%

Admittedly, individual websites are liable to have much higher statistics than that. But even here on The Escapist, which is only a few steps above Kotaku on the scale of "covering" those types of topics, the ratio is still heavily in favor of otherwise more-overtly "actual video game" topics. It just gets drowned out because the sociopolitical topics are generally the only ones that gain any sort of staying power, so they're the ones people are more likely to continuously see.

I'll admit it, I'd like to see those threads less often. But that's not because I don't think they're discussions worth having; the past two years have provided me with overwhelming evidence supporting my belief that these subjects just can't be productively discussed on the internet.

 

[Malbourne]

I don't really talk much about this sort of issue, either, so it's time to see if I can gel a cohesive opinion:

If I'm reading the connection of points correctly, then discussion of social issues in games is criticism; when some people prefer not to discuss these sorts of issues, it's because they're afraid of criticism, rather than because they're jaded by the topics in question or they're more interested in underlying mechanics or they just don't think the issues to be relevant enough.

I guess my answer is relevant to those people who actually are afraid of criticism, then (if that criticism is the critique of a game's social commentary or stance): maybe it dilutes what games should really be in their (and I guess my) eyes. I usually just play games to have fun, and it could be as a plumber or a dictator scrabbling for power. Social issues could be a factor, but I'm not afraid of a discussion considering their utility within a given title.

Woof, this discussion was harder to get into than I thought. Maybe I was just having difficulty getting at the point of the OP, so apologies!

 

[Strain42]

It's not that people are mad that it's being talked about. They're mad because that's ALL that seems to be talked about.

I can look at a lot of the topics here and you'll see like ten topics about Quinn or Phish or Anita for every one topic about...actual video games.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright came out a few weeks ago, and it was awesome, and fun. Why aren't there more topics about that?

The obvious solution would be for people to stop making threads about them all the time, then.

Somebody on Twitter actually apparently ran the numbers collected from ~40 different websites that focus on news relevant to the games industry, and you know what percentage of actual articles written by journalists over the past two years apparently covered "social justice" topics?

.45%

Admittedly, individual websites are liable to have much higher statistics than that. But even here on The Escapist, which is only a few steps above Kotaku on the scale of "covering" those types of topics, the ratio is still heavily in favor of otherwise more-overtly "actual video game" topics. It just gets drowned out because the sociopolitical topics are generally the only ones that gain any sort of staying power, so they're the ones people are more likely to continuously see.

I'll admit it, I'd like to see those threads less often. But that's not because I don't think they're discussions worth having; the past two years have provided me with overwhelming evidence supporting my belief that these subjects just can't be productively discussed on the internet.

I stand corrected. Thank you, number cruncher.

...that may have sounded sarcastic and douchey, but I didn't mean it to. I'm being sincere. Like I said, this isn't my area of expertise.

It's nice to know the numbers are still in the favor of actual games, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes.

 

[shrekfan246]

I stand corrected. Thank you, number cruncher.

...that may have sounded sarcastic and douchey, but I didn't mean it to. I'm being sincere. Like I said, this isn't my area of expertise.

It's nice to know the numbers are still in the favor of actual games, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes.

Yeah, while the articles are still slanted like that, the actual forums are something of a more complicated beast.

It's pretty hard to accurately gauge the percentage of something like that though, not least of all because of how quickly forums move and the propensity for threads to get merged or deleted over time.

Here, for example, it does seem like "social justice" is talked about with more consistency than anything else, and it's been that way since Sarkeesian first blew up on the internet two and a half years ago. The funny thing, of course, is that more than half of the time those threads are made by people who are trying to discredit Sarkeesian, the "feminist" movement, or "social justice warriors". We do get the occasional pro-feminist thread or people who innocently enough create a thread trying to legitimately discuss the points raised by something like Tropes Vs. Women, but those tend to get derailed fairly rapidly every single time.

The end result becomes... well, what you said above. People get tired of it, because it's most of what they see on their daily browsing of their favorite websites.

...

Er, as to answering the question posed by the thread title...

I've come to the conclusion that a lot of people on the internet falsely equate "criticism" with "censorship", and believe that allowing "feminist" critiquing will subsequently change the face of gaming forever in some nebulously negative manner. This is, of course, ignoring the fact that Saints Row IV was apparently developed with some of the criticisms that Anita Sarkeesian has made in mind. And the fact that extremists, on any side, are never the people whom you should be taking as the face of whatever movement they're proclaiming to support.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Because we fear change, and if gaming culture is anything, it's a vicious pack mentality that threatens anything different.

 

[Vault101]

Often I have seen the refrain of, "Please stop talking about X. All this focus on social issues will suck the life and fun out of games."

This leads me to the following question:

WHAT!?

of?

I've pointed this out before but the closer someone is to something (on an emotional level) the more they are going to lash out when they feel what they like (and by extension them) has been criticised

"our hobby"

"we are gamers"

"I shamed for being a White straight male"

that kind of thing

NO games arent' special, we ann't special, the criticism of media from an ideological angle has been going on forever and will continue to do so

now in THIS case? were all tired of it...lord knows I am, we go to the same threads see the same bullshit and dish out the same responses

and it gets tiring

 

[Windcaler]

For a long time Ive felt that the crux of the issue lies in a lack of education. Lets also face the fact that this isnt solely a problem with gaming, it affects our entire lives. Its been over a decade since I was in high school but in those days, junoir high, and elementary level education I dont think the ideas of criticism was ever addressed. Even while I got my doctorate while serving in the army I dont think I ever learned about criticism.

Im an adult now. Over time Ive learned what criticism is and why its so vitally important to our society and especially the arts. Unfortunately, as far as Im aware, kids and young people dont learn this stuff in our education system today (yet another reason why I think the education system in the USA needs a massive overhaul). Today to the less educated Criticism is often thought of as hate or hate speech. This is why so many people claim someone is racist when they criticize our current presidents policies/decisions or why someone who doesnt care for the latest Teenage mutant ninja turtles movie is thought of as a "hater". Actually a good place to see this is on the Warframe forums. It seems like every week I see a "why do you hate x warframe/weapon/feature" and Im always quick to point out that I dont hate X I just dont think its very good or its not as good as another option (or I actually like X and they get to hear why its great).

Lack of education and this idea of criticism = hatred is also feeding extremism. Rational, reasonable discussion gets things done and allows us to approach issues from a variety of angles but extremism just prevents anything from getting done.

From where I stand this is why people are afraid of criticism and I hope that as a species we can surpass our ancestors, not repeat their mistakes, and build a better society for everyone. Criticism will be at the core of that endeavor as will the acceptance of criticism

 

[Smooth Operator]

So what you are actually talking about there OP is beating the same dead horse every single damn day, yeah I really can't tell why some people might be sick of that...

 

[Guerilla]

Criticism is fine, political self-righteous indignation and spamming political agenda every. fucking. second. is not.

 

[Erttheking]

Criticism is fine, political self-righteous indignation and spamming political agenda every. fucking. second. is not.

Ok then. I'll be sure to let you know when criticisms of games do that. I'm pretty sure it's a 1% deal though.

 

[Fappy]

Because we fear change, and if gaming culture is anything, it's a vicious pack mentality that threatens anything different.

Yep, pretty much hit the nail on the head there.

A lot of people feel invalidated when their favorite things are criticized so they fight back in whatever way they know how.

 

[Guerilla]

Criticism is fine, political self-righteous indignation and spamming political agenda every. fucking. second. is not.

Ok then. I'll be sure to let you know when criticisms of games do that. I'm pretty sure it's a 1% deal though.

No, it isn't. Like I said before, Kotaku and Sarkeesian alone have turned feminist self-righteous indignation into a lucrative business.

 

[Erttheking]

Criticism is fine, political self-righteous indignation and spamming political agenda every. fucking. second. is not.

Ok then. I'll be sure to let you know when criticisms of games do that. I'm pretty sure it's a 1% deal though.

No, it isn't. Like I said before, Kotaku and Sarkeesian alone have turned feminist self-righteous indignation into a lucrative business.

And I'm pretty sure them and people like them make up 1% of the industry. In fact I'm being EXTREMELY generous with that statistic.

 

[Harpalyce]

Honestly?

All I've seen is people crying very loudly about this when they know they've been caught with hands in the cookie jar, so to speak.

The correct answer, for the record, is "you're right! that IS problematic, and an issue we should discuss, because it's important to discuss such things. But I really like this game for other things it brings to the table like x, y and z." However, people aren't saying that. I think it's mostly because they're scared to make the realization that yes, they're in it for the skimpy cardboard cutout women characters who exist only as sex objects, they're in it for the ability to shoot non-white people for the crime of not being white, they're in it because they think rape is a hilarious joke instead of actually a bad thing to do, etc. etc.

If people actually sat down and thought about these things - if people actually looked at this from a perspective of 'let's think about what will help an industry' - the tune would be different. But it's not. It's just a bunch of babies crying things like "waaa there are feminists in my games waaaa".

A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

 

[Worgen]

I think part of it has to do with the fact that games are still in a rather odd place in the culture. They are still the first place some people go whenever anything bad happens so they can point blame. So I think that helps puts people who are really into games, into a really defensive mind set, to the point of being absolutely retarded about things.