God of War and White Supremacy[W:51]

Huey Freeman said:

Forr those that do not know, God of War is a new hack-and-slash game released by Sony this past Friday. The new God of War game presented a marvelous opportunity for people of color; The new game, which follows a brown-eyed, dark-haired Greek with his curiously blond hair, blue-eyed protagonist son, was set to branch out of the series' overplayed Greek fantasy roots, and explore the myths of other cultures. What's more, instead of a mindless button mashing male power fantasy, the new game promised to be a story rich examination of characters and themes, following the exploits of a single father and his son. So, with this bold new premise established, which set of myths did Sony choose to explore? The rich and varied worlds of Akan myth? Or perhaps the Carthaginian canon? Maybe the richness of Zulu, Bantu, or Igbo religions? Or even the relatable mythology of the Egyptians, criminally unexplored by video games?

Nope.

Sony decided their new game must tromp through dull and played out Norse mythology. Not only is the setting uninteresting and borderline creatively bankrupt, it's another in a long line of games that pander only to greasy teenaged white males. Setting the new God of War in African myth could have provided young folk of color an entry point into a franchise that until now was largely ruled by white religious symbols. Instead, Sony decided to bolster the cultural canon of white supremacists groups like the alt-right and Gamergate, who endorse Norse mythology as the "culture of the master race." I've even seen evidence that this game is considered "the official PS4 game of the alt-right."
(Please Google "white supremacy and norse mythology")

Those who claim the choice was a result of "creative liberty" or Sony "telling the story they wanted to tell" seem to be missing the bigger picture. In the age of Donald Trump, all mediums have a duty to provide quality representations of PoCs. If you fail to represent diversity in favor of some bleach-skinned bearded man fighting magical white people for the 100th time, then you're part of the problem in this country.

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Huey Freeman said:

Forr those that do not know, God of War is a new hack-and-slash game released by Sony this past Friday. The new God of War game presented a marvelous opportunity for people of color; The new game, which follows a brown-eyed, dark-haired Greek with his curiously blond hair, blue-eyed protagonist son, was set to branch out of the series' overplayed Greek fantasy roots, and explore the myths of other cultures. What's more, instead of a mindless button mashing male power fantasy, the new game promised to be a story rich examination of characters and themes, following the exploits of a single father and his son. So, with this bold new premise established, which set of myths did Sony choose to explore? The rich and varied worlds of Akan myth? Or perhaps the Carthaginian canon? Maybe the richness of Zulu, Bantu, or Igbo religions? Or even the relatable mythology of the Egyptians, criminally unexplored by video games?

Nope.

Sony decided their new game must tromp through dull and played out Norse mythology. Not only is the setting uninteresting and borderline creatively bankrupt, it's another in a long line of games that pander only to greasy teenaged white males. Setting the new God of War in African myth could have provided young folk of color an entry point into a franchise that until now was largely ruled by white religious symbols. Instead, Sony decided to bolster the cultural canon of white supremacists groups like the alt-right and Gamergate, who endorse Norse mythology as the "culture of the master race." I've even seen evidence that this game is considered "the official PS4 game of the alt-right."
(Please Google "white supremacy and norse mythology")

Those who claim the choice was a result of "creative liberty" or Sony "telling the story they wanted to tell" seem to be missing the bigger picture. In the age of Donald Trump, all mediums have a duty to provide quality representations of PoCs. If you fail to represent diversity in favor of some bleach-skinned bearded man fighting magical white people for the 100th time, then you're part of the problem in this country.

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cuban smokes said:

just what America needs; another computer game that glorifies war & with the approval of 'God' ...........

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Felis Leo said:

What video games do you play? The vast majority of video games involve competition or murder of something or someone. Well, there are some games that encourage cooperation. Cooperating to murder things. :mrgreen:

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Huey Freeman said:

Forr those that do not know, God of War is a new hack-and-slash game released by Sony this past Friday. The new God of War game presented a marvelous opportunity for people of color; The new game, which follows a brown-eyed, dark-haired Greek with his curiously blond hair, blue-eyed protagonist son, was set to branch out of the series' overplayed Greek fantasy roots, and explore the myths of other cultures. What's more, instead of a mindless button mashing male power fantasy, the new game promised to be a story rich examination of characters and themes, following the exploits of a single father and his son. So, with this bold new premise established, which set of myths did Sony choose to explore? The rich and varied worlds of Akan myth? Or perhaps the Carthaginian canon? Maybe the richness of Zulu, Bantu, or Igbo religions? Or even the relatable mythology of the Egyptians, criminally unexplored by video games?

Nope.

Sony decided their new game must tromp through dull and played out Norse mythology. Not only is the setting uninteresting and borderline creatively bankrupt, it's another in a long line of games that pander only to greasy teenaged white males. Setting the new God of War in African myth could have provided young folk of color an entry point into a franchise that until now was largely ruled by white religious symbols. Instead, Sony decided to bolster the cultural canon of white supremacists groups like the alt-right and Gamergate, who endorse Norse mythology as the "culture of the master race." I've even seen evidence that this game is considered "the official PS4 game of the alt-right."
(Please Google "white supremacy and norse mythology")

Those who claim the choice was a result of "creative liberty" or Sony "telling the story they wanted to tell" seem to be missing the bigger picture. In the age of Donald Trump, all mediums have a duty to provide quality representations of PoCs. If you fail to represent diversity in favor of some bleach-skinned bearded man fighting magical white people for the 100th time, then you're part of the problem in this country.

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ajn678 said:

This is a **** thread. God of War has nothing to do with portraying white supremacy.

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ecofarm said:

Strawman.

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Grand Mal said:

Ya know what's another problem? Allowing white supremacist groups to hijack whole cultures. You seem to be saying that any expression of Nordic culture must be discouraged because white racists have claimed it for themselves. That's already happened with certain aspects of Celtic/Highland Scots culture. The Celtic cross, with the circle around the central point, has become a white nationalist emblem and even the burning cross was a call for the Highland clan to come together because of a threat from outside. Now you want Norse culture to be verbotten because of what it might represent to some people.
What's next? What will you give to them next?

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ajn678 said:

Are you ever able to create a semblance of a reasonable conversation?

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cuban smokes said:

just what America needs; another computer game that glorifies war & with the approval of 'God' ...........

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ecofarm said:

No one is or has claimed the game portrays white supremacy. You slayed a non-existent position. You don't get XP for that, you stay the same level.

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ecofarm said:

The argument for it being "gone" (actually, plus something else) is that it's trite. That's true. We've been flooded with Vikings crap for awhile.

That has nothing to do with the argument that some game settings attract certain crowds. You see that, right?

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ajn678 said:

Read the title of the thread bud.

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Grand Mal said:

The OP doesn't say the game protrays white supremacy. You have to read more than the thread title to understand what's being discussed.

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Grand Mal said:

I haven't played a video game since my son outgrew 'Warcraft' 15 or so years ago, so I don't care about it being trite. Yeah, Vikings seem to be enjoying a period of vogue right now and yeah, white supremacists like to identify with them. Canadian hammerskins say they're the 'Vinland' chapter, I guess because 'Canada' is a corruption of a Native word. They used to anyway, years ago when I was researching them and their sort. But I'm not willing to hand over whole cultures to the scumbags.
Probably it's academic anyway. I agree with the poster who said the OP was a POE. Pretty sure I've let myself be trolled into replying.

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cuban smokes said:

I don't; maybe that's why I don't participate in gang activity, shootings, killings, etc.

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ecofarm said:

No one's handing a culture over. Someone's saying when promised "new exploration of different myths" it should not turn out to be more Norse, which it already was. The company didn't bother. And the game is swamped with WNs. So it kinda sucks.

It's not a manifesto on the obliteration of Viking history and portrayal. Just a game that didn't do what it said it would, and someone believes that sucks for at least two reasons.

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Ikari said:

Maybe Viking mythology sells better than any of the other stuff the vast majority of the people never heard of. The brand just may have a better sell point. And why would a company do something less profitable?

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There could be other reasons that they went this route. And if people want to get all butt hurt about it....make a good damned video game then that shows off what they want to show off.

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ecofarm said:

None of the top games are Viking. Setting doesn't sell anyway, except to a noted few. It's about the game.



They promised. They didn't deliver. They were lazy, ditched their announced plans and cheaply slapped together more of the same. Disappointment is reasonable.

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