Presentation Day #2

The presentations this week were all pretty solid. The colorblind ones were both the same topic, but there were definitely presented very differently. I felt somewhat bad for the first presenter as she seemed very pressed for time. The second colorblind presentation utilized videos and images in her presentation which kept my attention going. They made good points in the fact that color-blind racism is something that exists. A lot of "white feminists" and people in general tend to exclude race in the discussion, almost under the assumption that "we all bleed red" kind of idea is enough to discuss social justice matter. To look at it, yes, all humans bleed red, but the culture and identity behind race inherently affects our lives whether we like it or not. So the discussion of race is important. Such as the two girls illustrated in their presentations. To ignore the concept of race is racist in itself. People identify by their race, as most of the time they are connected to culture. Being Taiwanese, I identify with my family's culture. If one were to discuss a feminist issue with me, such as lack of women representation in the media, then it would hurt to have the fact that there is even LESS Asian women represented in the media.

With the examples they show, the fact that they were not concerned with the race of Trayvon, shows that they are ignoring the main culprit of the murder in the first place. These days people have been ignoring color in order to also fit themselves into the topic. Such as the issue of "Black lives matter" and people 'correcting' it and saying "ALL lives matter." Which isn't the issue at hand.

There were also a few with really intriguing topics. Such as the beauty blogger one and the hip-hop one. However, I cannot remember much of them to say anything. But they were definitely very unique topics that I would have never thought of popping up.

Presentations Day 1

Regarding the presentations today, I really enjoyed both that were before me. The first one was very interesting, the topic is very complex. They were really professional, and the fact they went off and did some field studies really showed their passion for the topic. I found it exciting that they interviewed professionals in the field, which is pretty cool considering that it implies they have some great networks. While the project topic isn't something I'll ever look into, I do appreciate the chance to glimpse into it.

They fact that they are using a video for their project feels very appropriate to me.

The other presentation is a topic I'm more familiar with, and I found it pretty entertaining to listen to. I enjoyed the fact that she put a lot of information forward for the audience. Women in the gaming industry has a disadvantage compared to their male counterparts. The fact that they are the largest gaming audience, says a lot of the culture that gaming was built around, assuming boys are the largest audience.

Obama's important decision...

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/obama-calls-end-gay-conversion-therapy-youth/

One of the biggest news I've heard so far this week is the breakthrough of Obama calling for an end to conversion therapy for LGBT youth. What is interesting is the usage of social media that sparked this decision. Leah Alcorn was a transgender teen who was put through intensive conversion therapy to revert her back to the good Christian boy that she was. She posted a suicide note, telling readers of her pain and struggles from parents who didn't understand her or try to emphasize with her. This ultimately led to a tragic suicide by jumping in front of a truck.

Her death was spread like wildfire, alongside with her suicide note on Tumblr. The tragedy was then spread around the media to showcase the toxic environment transgendered teens typically go through with no proper support.

Obama has been known as one of the presidents who truly made some milestones in LGBT+ issues that prevail this country. This step of his is a great one to creating a safer country for LGBT+ youth to live in.

Hopefully not just Leah Alcorn's suicide constitutes the end of transgender issues. There are many more dynamic issues that can be addressed such as how race comes in play. Sadly another transgender teen committed suicide too shortly after. However, his suicide was not as widespread as Leah's. A common death of suicide of transgender folks appear to be a person of color. Many instances have been overlooked in the past and present and hopefully the attention the trans community is receiving will not just end at Leah's death.

Reed Chapter 7

Video games are a huge part of my life, and some days they make me happy, and some days I just have to slam my head against the nearest brick wall out of disappointment.

But Reed brings up a lot of things in this chapter that is important to discuss. First of all, video games have always been under fire for being violent in correlation with murders from serial killers. A great advocate in preventing violent video games from entering its premises is Australia, the pinnacle of video game censorship. However, the facts and research has shown that video games do not directly cause murder. The player themselves are conscious and aware of what they are playing and have their own sense of ethics to not commit crimes based off what they are playing. However like Reed said, the prevalence of violent induced video games does desensitize otherwise graphic material for the audience, which ultimately can leave one unphased by heinous crimes.

The military part of the chapter brings a lot of attention to the military's role in the video game industry. While the concern for video games replicating the battlefield to almost perfection, there are benefits for soldiers suffering from PTSD. A concern I personally have is the almost propaganda feel to a lot military video games. But not all. Take for example a game I played: Spec Ops: The Line. This video game incorporates the typical FPS game, but takes the formula and turns it into a statement. The statement being that war is not fun, it is not happy, and you really shouldn't glamorize it. There were hard decisions to make during the game and it questions the player's ethics when they choose something. Another major concern is the rampant Anti-Muslim sentiments the military games tend to emit. As in the place setting of war games targets Middle Eastern countries for their setting as you play American or European soldiers fighting their way towards peace. Also a new popular setting is North Korea.

Now the issue of sexism in video games is pretty serious. But look at this beauty.

This is a new design for an upcoming Final Fantasy game. Finally after the decades of sexualizing women in video games, we have our man in skimpy armor. The reaction to this character design was priceless to many gaming women. The offended people were complaining and raging about things women have been for years about designs for women. Sometimes one has to get a taste of their own medicine to understand struggles. But despite that, we still believe that sex sells, when it truly doesn't anymore. People complaining about political correctness and social justice doesn't realize the privilege they hold when an entire industry caters towards their demographic, under the assumption they are the majority who plays video games.

But what can we do to change things? Support and buy video games that represent the minority. Such as Remember Me (biracial woman of color as main character), Mirror's Edge (non sexualized Eastern Asian woman), Gone Home (addresses a lesbian character), or Never Alone (Native Inuit game filled with culture). 

ALSO, on a brief note: Hotline Miami. This ultra-violent top-down pixel shooter game rose to fame with its overall amazing gameplay. (I love that game so much) Gamers demanded for a sequel and the creators gave them one. However, when they released the trailer, a certain scene implies attempted rape. It did not happen, but the imagery was upsetting to see for some viewers. A women wrote to the writers, stating concerns for the scene and how it was triggering to watch for some viewers. GUESS WHAT. The creators listened. These two men listened to the woman and stated they did not want to upset their fans, and so they told they would change it. 

Many male gamers were angered at the decision and were against taking the scene out. The controversy died out after a while. And just last month I bought Hotline Miami 2. I booted up the game, and the first thing I see is a option for me:

WOW. It is that easy. But of course people still hate the idea of options so... while kudos to Dannaton Games, the gaming community has a long way to go.

Week #8 - The Egyptian Revolution

I actually can remember clearly watching the broadcasts of the revolution in 2011. I was sitting in a portable outside of my high school, during AP Government and Politics. Our teacher sat us down and decided this was a major even in history and we had to witness it. It was quite the spectacle. However, just like Castells says, while America kept up with the revolution, once Mubarak was removed from his position, we felt the revolution was over with. So eventually the media stopped reporting on it. It's more complicated than that, however. A revolution does not just end with the overthrowing of politics, the after effects of the event will change how the country functions. If I remember correctly, some reporters revisited Egypt some years later, and the situation had not gotten any better. Not to say that it has become worse, just that they reached a stalemate.

Technology played a major role in these revolutions. I believe it always had. Before the internet, the civil rights movement in the 60's had been shown nationwide. With TV and the radio, the movement reached far into nation, encouraging people of different creeds to walk with them and fight for equal rights. As said in Castells' article, the encouragement of Asmaa Mafhouz's vlog on her Facebook, she sparked the revolution, and it attracted many people of different backgrounds.

However, there is the notion of women in these movements. Castell looks into the issue of the treatment of women during these revolution. It ranged from physical assaults to sexual assaults. As the case with the "blue bra girl", a tragic assault that resulted in the anger of women. Even when they managed to get men to protest with them, the men were said to be uncomfortable with the women and sometimes looked the other way while they were being mistreated. Long in history women had been a large part of protests and revolution. But it is easy too erase them from the books, as they are very whitewashed versions of history. Is it because women are expected to be docile in a primarily patriarch society? Perhaps it is threatening to men to see women as anything but gentle and motherly humans.

Censorship was also touched on in Castell's article. It goes to show how important technology has become in our society. As mentioned, even with the revolution going on, the government had decided to lift the censorship and restore it to its original form. This being done out of pressure from the United States, economic failures, and the uselessness of stopping a movement that is already far from censorship.