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« on: August 30, 2013, 04:17:08 PM »
Thank you for your thoughtful response and your own self-disclosure, Metalwhisper. I also spend a lot of time with video games, as I'm working in video game retail while I study my degree. Apologies if I get rambly, I've been buried in academic writing of personality theory for the last two days.
With respect to avoiding triggers in published works, I actually think that is easier as a consumer. There are rating systems, reviews, trailers and word of mouth to draw on. I see the few surprise triggers as inevitable in life. You can't avoid all of them and sometimes something that is a trigger one day won't be on another. That's where the personal responsibility of healing and coping mechanisms comes into it. For example, when I'm low on energy, be it a stressful day or just lack of sleep, loud, primarily male, voices can trigger a flashback for me. That usually means a freeze reaction and then a rush of anger that my body has determined as the best response to remove me from the perceived danger. I've developed the coping response of then grounding myself by getting to a friendly voice, often a phone call to my mother or partner, which lets me ride through the last of the effects.
It frustrates me a little that so often this discussion turns to talk of censorship in the places it occurs. The majority of the discussion I see are requests for respect in the handling of these topics, not the complete erasure. I want to acknowledge that I don't think that is what you are doing here, it's just a general trend I see. It shifts the power away from survivors again, treating us as oppressors, silencing us by accusing us of trying to stifle others voices.
Like I said before, I don't think it's possible to never offend anyone. We're all different, it's part of the joy of living (people and their stories are kind of my passion). I don't know that it's necessarily even desirable. After all, we learn by challenging ourselves and our beliefs. For me, desired intent would be the intent to be respectful, to use problematic content for more than gratuitous shock and have the class to apologise and listen to criticism of this use.
It's feels strange to talk about a rape scene done right but there are so many ones done wrong that I like to give a example that reflects my idea of one. I can't remember the exact episode but I think it was in season one of The Closer, the lead character successfully fights off a rape attempt. The aspect that makes it work for me is not that she succeeded in stopping her assailant but there was none of the framing of her body in a way that dehumanised. She was always a person in those moments, no emphasis drawn to her breasts or loving tracing of her face. In contrast, I've never been able to watch Game of Thrones, with the way the wedding night was shot, casting the woman as an object to be consumed.
There absolutely is a difference between fictional violence and real life violence but I do think it can desensitise us, not to actual in the moment violence because I'm a humanist at heart, but within our ability to engage with empathy in our discussions of violence. I also think there is not a lot of personal responsibility to interactions with this medium. I live in Australia so we're just starting to deal with the R rated games but just look at the behaviour that occurred with regards to the Saints Row 4 saga. It was refused classification due to the direct reward link with drugs giving you super powers, something that is expressly stated in the classification guidelines as something that can not be classified under an R rating. I had work colleagues throwing temper tantrums about being denied their game without researching why, just written off as the old fuddie duddies and pearl clutching mothers. I can't count the number of parents who have bought GTA 4 for their 7 yr old kids because 'they just play them at their friends house anyway' or how many are fine with drugs, violence and swearing but balk at prostitutes.
Apologies, went on a slight work rant there. The example I wandered from was that during the R rating petition process there were people leaving death threats on the door of the major Attorney-General blocking it's path. Traditionally, we learnt our morals and codes through story telling and I don't believe we've evolved to the point where our subconscious knows when something isn't a lesson. The casual treatment of violence creates a disconnect with the reality of that violence.
I play and enjoy most games, though I tend to avoid GTA (no real interest in playing a gang member) or the COD/Battlefields (all respect to Americans but I find them a little too much military propaganda and toxic community for my tastes). This doesn't mean I don't think these games should exist but it'd be nice to see a bit more diversity in choices.
I'm really grateful that everyone here has been very respectful and welcoming. I spend a lot if my time reading gaming discussions, particularly around gender (as I still have people asking to speak to a man when the come into the store or automatically assume I'm not senior staff) and it can be a terrifyingly toxic space. I enjoy discussing ideas as I like to constantly challenge my own (self-reflection and integrity of self are kind of a big deal in my chosen career path, plus I figure I have to live with myself at the end of the day) and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you all as well. No one has all the answers after all.
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