Blasphemy! Part Deux.
Some things are so bad they almost defy mockery. Denzil Alsene’s entry a few places down had Destructoid including Leon in their ‘worst haircuts list’. Now it’s Ada’s turn to be included in the annals of gaming journalism.
From the douche-nozzles of Play-Mag:
“Top 10 bitches in games” by Gavin Mackenzie: http://www.play-mag.co.uk/features/top-10-bitches-in-games/
The rationale for this piece (of crap)? Women can be mean sometimes. Yeah. That’s about it. Mackenzie writes:
“Women are lovely, we can all agree on that. The pretend ones in games are usually lovely too, but sometimes women in games, as in real-life, can turn bad. And you just don’t want to be anywhere near those ones, even if they are really, really smokin’. So here are 10 gaming bitches…”
Ada is at number nine (though I’m not sure whether the women are actually ranked in this article or just listed)
“Ada Wong: Cold and aloof, Ada seems to think she has the right to be a bitch just because she ‘died’ that time. It’s not like it was Leon’s fault - she’d have been shot sooner if he hadn’t have taken a bullet for her.”
So let me get this straight? Ada is a bitch because... she’s aloof? He doesn’t give any reasoning or examples. Just ‘cold and aloof’. All he seems to be saying is that she doesn’t behave in the way he expects her to. He illustrates no context for her behaviour, no understanding for her character, her history or the world she inhabits. And there’s no indication of what he expects from a character with her history and job. Instead it’s ‘stop doing stuff I don’t like! You couldn’t possibly have a reason for your behaviour. You’re supposed to be sexy and nice for me to enjoy! How dare you turn me off with your personality and depth of character? Get rid of them and be lovely! Now!’
It’s almost objectifying, if you can say such a thing about a fictional character. Which you probably can’t, but I digress.
My main problem isn’t the word ‘bitch’ itself. If I got the impression that he meant ‘bitch’ as in the spirit of that Meredith Brooks' song 'Bitch' where it means a woman who is who she is even if it means going against the grain of how women are expected to behave in society, then okay. But I don’t get the impression that he’s thought much about the word beyond ‘lulz, thus’ll git muh articul lotz of hitz!!111!’
He writes that he feels Ada became a bitch after her death in RE2. Hmm. But RE2 Ada was no angel either. Has he ever played these games? Oh, why am I asking? The answer is probably no.
Also, what does he mean by ‘right to be a bitch’? You can get... permission slips or something? Like parking permits? And where can I get one of those? :p
As for the rest of his list, the only other character I know anything about is Sophia Lamb from Bioshock 2 and she was the main villain so I’m not sure what Mackenzie expected from her. Cookies and ice-cream? Seriously now. Villains and antagonists can be mean sometimes? Get out of here!
Mackenzie’s entire write up is just a list of names with something like ‘[insert name here] is a bitch because she says bitch things and does bitch things and because I say so. Bitch!’ written underneath.
What also amuses me is that he defends his use of the word ‘bitch’ by arguing that there is a similar article that insults male characters called ‘Ten biggest dicks in gaming’ at Nowgamer (I assume he’s not on it though. Shame.)
First I’d argue that the word ‘bitch’ has had greater ramifications for the lives of women than the word ‘dick’ has for men. So no, they are not equivalent. That’s like saying the word ‘whitey’ in reference to white people has had the same historical and social impact as the n-word has for black people. Second, writing nonsensical and vaguely insulting lists about women and then doing the same for men doesn’t make him less of an asshole. It just makes him an equal opportunities asshole.
Or maybe I’m taking this too seriously. Perhaps Mackenzie’s article is pure genius. Maybe he’s utilising some sort of over the top irony: the irony that compared to the characters in that article in terms of irrationality, lack of logic and vindictiveness he’s actually the biggest bitch of them all.
From the douche-nozzles of Play-Mag:
“Top 10 bitches in games” by Gavin Mackenzie: http://www.play-mag.co.uk/features/top-10-bitches-in-games/
The rationale for this piece (of crap)? Women can be mean sometimes. Yeah. That’s about it. Mackenzie writes:
“Women are lovely, we can all agree on that. The pretend ones in games are usually lovely too, but sometimes women in games, as in real-life, can turn bad. And you just don’t want to be anywhere near those ones, even if they are really, really smokin’. So here are 10 gaming bitches…”
Ada is at number nine (though I’m not sure whether the women are actually ranked in this article or just listed)
“Ada Wong: Cold and aloof, Ada seems to think she has the right to be a bitch just because she ‘died’ that time. It’s not like it was Leon’s fault - she’d have been shot sooner if he hadn’t have taken a bullet for her.”
So let me get this straight? Ada is a bitch because... she’s aloof? He doesn’t give any reasoning or examples. Just ‘cold and aloof’. All he seems to be saying is that she doesn’t behave in the way he expects her to. He illustrates no context for her behaviour, no understanding for her character, her history or the world she inhabits. And there’s no indication of what he expects from a character with her history and job. Instead it’s ‘stop doing stuff I don’t like! You couldn’t possibly have a reason for your behaviour. You’re supposed to be sexy and nice for me to enjoy! How dare you turn me off with your personality and depth of character? Get rid of them and be lovely! Now!’
It’s almost objectifying, if you can say such a thing about a fictional character. Which you probably can’t, but I digress.
My main problem isn’t the word ‘bitch’ itself. If I got the impression that he meant ‘bitch’ as in the spirit of that Meredith Brooks' song 'Bitch' where it means a woman who is who she is even if it means going against the grain of how women are expected to behave in society, then okay. But I don’t get the impression that he’s thought much about the word beyond ‘lulz, thus’ll git muh articul lotz of hitz!!111!’
He writes that he feels Ada became a bitch after her death in RE2. Hmm. But RE2 Ada was no angel either. Has he ever played these games? Oh, why am I asking? The answer is probably no.
Also, what does he mean by ‘right to be a bitch’? You can get... permission slips or something? Like parking permits? And where can I get one of those? :p
As for the rest of his list, the only other character I know anything about is Sophia Lamb from Bioshock 2 and she was the main villain so I’m not sure what Mackenzie expected from her. Cookies and ice-cream? Seriously now. Villains and antagonists can be mean sometimes? Get out of here!
Mackenzie’s entire write up is just a list of names with something like ‘[insert name here] is a bitch because she says bitch things and does bitch things and because I say so. Bitch!’ written underneath.
What also amuses me is that he defends his use of the word ‘bitch’ by arguing that there is a similar article that insults male characters called ‘Ten biggest dicks in gaming’ at Nowgamer (I assume he’s not on it though. Shame.)
First I’d argue that the word ‘bitch’ has had greater ramifications for the lives of women than the word ‘dick’ has for men. So no, they are not equivalent. That’s like saying the word ‘whitey’ in reference to white people has had the same historical and social impact as the n-word has for black people. Second, writing nonsensical and vaguely insulting lists about women and then doing the same for men doesn’t make him less of an asshole. It just makes him an equal opportunities asshole.
Or maybe I’m taking this too seriously. Perhaps Mackenzie’s article is pure genius. Maybe he’s utilising some sort of over the top irony: the irony that compared to the characters in that article in terms of irrationality, lack of logic and vindictiveness he’s actually the biggest bitch of them all.