Journal of Other Forum Analysis

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/stellar-blade-review-thread.852417/page-21?post=122429574#post-122429574

the Korean government just celebrated the release of stellar blade. are you Korean? i am a former president of the Asian American Journalists Association in DC, and we oversee issues of Asian representation in media and popular culture. where do you have the authority to call a Korean product "not an accomplishment in Korean cultural expression?"

edit: it is simply more honest and less problematic if you would simply call it a sexist portrayal of women without erasing the Koreanness of it. you don't have to focus on the Korean aspect at all to criticize this game, yet you insist on erasing it.

Nah, I'm an American-born Iranian dual-national but I grew up in the Bay Area and actually my best friend for 15 years is Korean. I'll tell you what I tell him on probably a weekly basis:

We have the stupidest fucking governments.

Korea has plenty of globally popular cultural products. They don't need to add this one to their all-stars team.

"No, but I have a Korean friend."

Literally "My wife said.."

[Taco Bell Tower]

Said Korean friend needs to make a Ree account to post that 

[Boredfrom]

We have the stupidest fucking governments

Iran is an malicious Theocracy that actively supports terrorist organizations. That is beyond “stupid silly government”.

[Steven Snell]

We need more final fantasy news before these dudes and 'dudettes' go nuts.

They should patch FF7 Rebirth so Tifa's beach clothes are even more revealing. That would be a fun Resetera thread.

[ComeAgain]

Can tell Morrigan is stunned anyone DARES talk back to her like this. Bunch of privileged, psychotic white women trying to tell the Korean guy what’s what about his own culture. Incredible stuff.

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

"Are you korean?" 2024 phrase of the year.

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Said Korean friend needs to make a Ree account to post that 

I better see a ban! Korean friend?! Stop with this shit!

[ComeAgain]

Game reviewed quite well and virtually no one gave a fuck about their invented controversy, people are playing it and for the most part loving it, seems to be selling well, they couldn’t get it banned like Cyberpunk/Hogwarts. So now they are just going to endlessly screech about it like this. If only there were people who were in charge that could do something about this….

[ComeAgain]

Oh shit

thanks for explaining your ignorance, profound arrogance in speaking against another culture you know nothing about. really broke out the "i have a korean friend" trope too.

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Oh shit

thanks for explaining your ignorance, profound arrogance in speaking against another culture you know nothing about. really broke out the "i have a korean friend" trope too.

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Snormy you could've parsed that down to maybe a paragraph. I don't want to read that whole thing. 

[Taco Bell Tower]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/stellar-blade-review-thread.852417/page-21?post=122431365#post-122431365
Snormy

I'm going to say somethings on a few points I've seen in the past few pages. Aka Snormy mansplains and threadwhines so you don't have to and hopefully we might move along a bit better.

Just because a person is used to base a character off doesn't mean the character needs to be 100% accurate to the person. Just link in drawn art, you can use your own creative liberty to make changes if the project allows it. This shouldn't be interpreted as knock on the person which the character is based on no matter how the character turns out. Besides, a person has a million things going on including cosmetics, lighting, health, age and all the other humanely things that is more or less irrelevant to a model.

When it comes to feelings of representation... Just... Be considerate and know that you don't have to understand it to accept it. Sometimes feeling represented is a weird thing, it might not be because of the model, the voice, the ideas or characterizations or what not. It could be any number of things or just the fact that it is an attempt that has some semblance of success and puts your people in the limelight of recognition for the moment that you may feel proud of, disregarding of the other issues. Additionally, we might consider other representations in our media current. Name another playable Korean protagonist woman that isn't an optional choice in a game that is so marketed in the past decade. Slim pickings certainly given that just representation of women alone as a criteria isn't as strong as it could be.

It really isn't anybody's place to judge what others feel represents them based on your own understanding. Least of all if we don't even have any skin in said game. Koreans are not monolithic. Women are not monolithic. Obviously you can still critique a character that others feel represents them and you can offer some critique related to that. If you think such representation is poor or harmful etc. If you think others are a better example that is also fine but it isn't our place to shut people down for finding representation in our hobby. Just like it isn't my wife's job to tell your wife what she should feel about Eve. We can exchange ideas while we stay in our lanes.

Finally. Yes. Comparing Japan/ese and Korea/n can be insensitive. Many other such insensitive comparisons exist in our world. These are not to be dismissed nor should they be used to shut down conversations. It is all too common to engage into a topic we are not equipped to get into with the nuance it deserves. It is ok to acknowledge these and admit to blunders of insensitivity as an honest mistake. Comparisons are used to illustrate a point, we can try to find other examples or try to focus on the example without import or emphasis to their origins. Either way we're not getting into what is and isn't sensitive because this is largely personal and a derail. Again, focus on your points and not the side issues that crop up. You should acknowledge these and move on from them and not double down and be a dickhead. You can be 100% right in the results from your comparison and still be the biggest asshole in the room.

And yes. Try to remember that taking the opportunity to criticise a thing to simultaneously exercise some racism/bigotry is not uncommon. It is a bit of a systemic issue as well as some points can sometimes be dog whistling and mixed into the general discourse. Often times we get caught up in the discourse and can easily miss some bigger pictures, especially because they are often not relevant to us (we are not on the receiving end of it). If you want an example from the past we can look the example that is Genshin Impact. During its pre-release the world was very much all about how it is a knock-off China product of BoTW. You can find media pieces from the time that says just as much in various different words. Talking shit about products from China is a long running systemic dog whistling. It isn't not that there are no shit products or rip-off scams from China. It is that the immediate conclusion and association, the stereotyping etc that comes with it. Countries reverse engineer and take inspiration from successful things. China has also been a country of major global production, many items of excellent quality were produced to requirements in China. All countries have scammers and people trying to make a quick buck. There are many other things such as history or cultural issues or whatever else. The point is that everything the staff post says about difficulties in engaging on the topic of sexism is also true for things such as this. I'm not expecting everyone to see the issue right away and know how to navigate around it. I'm asking that when these issues happen, we acknowledge them and approach them with understanding and the sensibility it deserves. There are no easy solutions to these. It is takes diligence, patience, acknowledgement and engagement in good faith from all.

[Boredfrom]

The fun part is that Gene Park is doing the “I still can enjoy problematic content” that the famously said you could do during the Anita’s years of terror.

[Taco Bell Tower]

Snormy you could've parsed that down to maybe a paragraph. I don't want to read that whole thing. 

You're going to now 

[ComeAgain]

Because it was supposed to be the chosen one, pushing back against games industry's "woke censorship" and finally give men a character to ogle without stupid old Sony censoring them.

That's all they wanted. They didn't care about the gameplay or the lack of story. Just a mainstream game that lets them whack off.

So if you “won”, the fuck are you still screeching about!?

[Boredfrom]

I did not have much time to flesh out my thoughts with that post, and I apologize. I'm glad you pointed out that Lily looks like she is from Final Fantasy. It makes the rest of this post easier to write than if had I tried to write it out before.

When I saw the character designs (the faces, to be specific) for Stellar Blade, my thought was that they look different from characters in games of a similar graphic style that are made here (in China). If I had to specify a reason, it is that some combination of features make them look sharper in terms of facial features, while characters here tend to have smoother features. But I am not making the comparison from a Korean point of view, so I thought it would be nice to compare and contrast our different points of focus.

Raftina is totally a Chinese nationalist. And not saying just because he lives at China but because his awful international politics opinions (browsing r/sino too much).

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Snormy you could've parsed that down to maybe a paragraph. I don't want to read that whole thing. 

You're going to now 

Should've had Princess Bubblegum write it. Not a trans voice = You don't matter.

[Boredfrom]

Often times we get caught up in the discourse and can easily miss some bigger pictures, especially because they are often not relevant to us (we are not on the receiving end of it). If you want an example from the past we can look the example that is Genshin Impact. During its pre-release the world was very much all about how it is a knock-off China product of BoTW. You can find media pieces from the time that says just as much in various different words. Talking shit about products from China is a long running systemic dog whistling. It isn't not that there are no shit products or rip-off scams from China. It is that the immediate conclusion and association, the stereotyping etc that comes with it. Countries reverse engineer and take inspiration from successful things. China has also been a country of major global production, many items of excellent quality were produced to requirements in China.

I’m sorry, but China got that reputation for a reason. Yes, there is quality stuff from China but for every Genshin Impact or, even, Azur Lane there is 30 mobile games with stolen assets in the App Store.

[benji]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/stellar-blade-review-thread.852417/page-21?post=122431365#post-122431365
Snormy

It really isn't anybody's place to judge what others feel represents them based on your own understanding. Least of all if we don't even have any skin in said game. Koreans are not monolithic. Women are not monolithic. Obviously you can still critique a character that others feel represents them and you can offer some critique related to that. If you think such representation is poor or harmful etc. If you think others are a better example that is also fine but it isn't our place to shut people down for finding representation in our hobby. Just like it isn't my wife's job to tell your wife what she should feel about Eve. We can exchange ideas while we stay in our lanes.

CHUD ALERT

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Stellar Blade is for CHUDS. 

 Now where is my gamefly rental?

[Boredfrom]

Princess Bubblegum: “I’m playing Stellar Blade for the gameplay.”

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Princess Bubblegum: “I’m playing Stellar Blade for the gameplay.”

gameplay (lesbian)

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/protests-at-columbia-university-continue-as-groups-on-both-sides-of-the-aisle-call-for-action-to-be-taken-university-shifts-to-hybrid-classes.851787/page-26?post=122431590#post-122431590

I don't know how these frat boy dipshits not realize they're on the wrong side of history. Will any of these dipshits in American flag trunks and polos see the juxtaposition and have a "come to Jesus" moment? All of these guys must have seen a variation of the B&W pictures on the right in their lifetime. It's like all that rot and toxicity never left.

[benji]

Random, but as a U.K resident I always find the first amendment a bit confusing. What is its relationship to individual laws? In a situation where someone commits an act seen as hate speech, who decides if it's covered by free speech? Is it the state? A judge?

There is no "hate speech" in the United States. What's confusing about this?

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/protests-at-columbia-university-continue-as-groups-on-both-sides-of-the-aisle-call-for-action-to-be-taken-university-shifts-to-hybrid-classes.851787/page-26?post=122431590#post-122431590

I don't know how these frat boy dipshits not realize they're on the wrong side of history. Will any of these dipshits in American flag trunks and polos see the juxtaposition and have a "come to Jesus" moment? All of these guys must have seen a variation of the B&W pictures on the right in their lifetime. It's like all that rot and toxicity never left.

Yeah.

This week has been a really disheartening experience ngl.

 Bunch of white kids on daddy's dime getting kicked off a lawn is disheartening? Shiiiiit, I guess little Aisha's experiences in Gaza can't compare to such atrocities.

[benji]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/protests-at-columbia-university-continue-as-groups-on-both-sides-of-the-aisle-call-for-action-to-be-taken-university-shifts-to-hybrid-classes.851787/post-122430048

Glad to see a president try and deescalate

by gaslighting a peaceful protest movement opposing genocide and apartheid to justify violent state suppression?

You and I must have very different concepts of what respectable de-escalation looks like

We need a group like the Black Panthers again. The police in this country clearly only fear people with guns. The only reason the far right and the police are so eager to assault these people is because they have no fear of them fighting back. Not like how you or I are scared to honk at someone because they might be a fascist nut who will draw on us for saying hello. I'm not advocating for gunning them down, just practicing our right to the 2nd amendment!

Maybe so, we'll see, been quite a lot of trollish and defense forcing showing up from new posters once Biden took an active role in promoting state violence against protestors.

As to the argument about militarizing, maybe, I'm not really gonna claim I know or that I even have the right to really say.

I do though think that the manner in which these students are doing these protests have been pretty on point. As I do think there is something to say for first trying to demonstrate peacefully and letting the opposition show the world who they really are. Of course the problem we see is that even though they definitely exposed the rot, political leaders and most media institutions have shown a determined effort to defame and DARVO everything….which is often the first wave, but if persistent it becomes harder to suppress over time

That just feels like it would result in a lot of people dead and losing pretty much all public support

It never happens when the right have their neo nazi rallies while open carrying in Texas. Or when they took over a federal building in Portland while armed. They always get to just keep on keeping on. Why do they get to do this shit and we don't?

We know the answer and it's fucking bullshit. I'm tired of seeing these kids getting beat to shit because they know they can take advantage of left leaning people.

The first one is totally legal.  

They always get to just keep on keeping on:

26 militants were all indicted and arrested for federal felony conspiracy offenses and some other individual charges. A 27th militant was indicted and arrested for theft of federal property, but not for conspiracy.

I think a truth I've come across far too many times in my life is that for a not insignificant number of them, they consider the angry mobs on the right side of those photos to be the ones on the right side of history

Yeah.

This week has been a really disheartening experience ngl.

I'm so tired.

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Biden Bros just can't win.. 

That's it. I'm no longer RIDIN' WITH BIDEN... 

Time to get my politics from Hasan and r/sino.

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

"We need a group like the Black Panthers again."

Bro there are still armed black groups around they just don't care about your shit. 

[Boredfrom]

Do they think that the Israel/Palestine conflict is going to get resolved for real this time?

[Boredfrom]

Maybe so, we'll see, been quite a lot of trollish and defense forcing showing up from new posters once Biden took an active role in promoting state violence against protestors.

Nola transformation is complete: