SEGAbits Forums
Off Topic => Everything Else => Topic started by: fluffymoochicken on October 05, 2010, 04:48:49 am
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http://www.dorkly.com/video/4053/ridicu ... -order-svu (http://www.dorkly.com/video/4053/ridiculous-portrayal-of-gamers-on-law-amp-order-svu)
I haven't watched an episode of Law & Order in over a decade, but I can see that their writing has slipped down to CSI sensationalism levels. :lol: It's rather pathetic.
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People who play video games are usually portrayed as homicidal maniacs in these shows. =P
Just finished watching the video though, and all I have to say is wow...just wow. :shock:
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I love me some SVU! The episode in which Stabler went undercover as a pedo was excellent. Also, Ice-T is hilarious.
I wouldn't get too excited over this. Everybody is over the top in this series. Druggies are hyper-druggies, pimps are mega-pimps, pedophiles are ultra-pedophiles, gamers are turbo-gamers. I swear Ive seen that exact same couple at Wal-Mart last week. Note they weren't playing something cool like a SEGA game, they were playing something that only messed up sweaty geeks would play. Looked like Fable if were developed by the dudes who made Gauntlet Legends.
[youtube:67ogxt7k]WJCwh0LctcE[/youtube:67ogxt7k]
[youtube:67ogxt7k]Mg-OLlYrjVs[/youtube:67ogxt7k]
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Druggies are hyper-druggies, pimps are mega-pimps, pedophiles are ultra-pedophiles, gamers are turbo-gamers.
So was this show intended to be a parody, or are they just terrible writers who are overcompensating with sensationalism for their own lack of talent? That's the real question. :P
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I wouldn't call the SVU writers terrible, the past few seasons had been the best yet. They create some pretty awesome episodes, especially when they do the pedophile on the run plots. Yeah, sometimes they go overboard with a characters personality, but it's far more entertaining to see some crazy person than some level headed dude who was like "Oh hey, I was just playing XBOX and raping."
SVU has depicted video games before and were cool about it. Stablers kids have played a Wii and XBOX on screen and they visited an arcade a few times.
Speaking of "gamers", I really hate that term. It's such a stupid descriptor for those who play video games. It assumes that not everybody can play video games, and those who can are given this dumb title. The term gamer should really only apply to those who dedicate their life to it and usually put more important things aside (i.e. the guys in King of Kong and those with 10,000,000 G score topping every leaderboard). Just as there are avid readers, intense cinephiles and TV addicts.
I don't consider myself a gamer, I just say that I play video games. I rarely complete a game, am often at the bottom of a leaderboard and was (between 2003 and 2009) not even playing current gen systems, I was just playing the occasional Dreamcast and XBOX game. If anything, I spend more time reading and writing about video games than I do playing them. Gaming enthusiast? SEGA fan? That might be a better term for me.
Interesting read:
http://kotaku.com/376480/the-church-of- ... eeds-to-go (http://kotaku.com/376480/the-church-of-gamers-why-the-term-gamer-needs-to-go)
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Speaking of "gamers", I really hate that term. It's such a stupid descriptor for those who play video games. It assumes that not everybody can play video games, and those who can are given this dumb title. The term gamer should really only apply to those who dedicate their life to it and usually put more important things aside (i.e. the guys in King of Kong and those with 10,000,000 G score topping every leaderboard). Just as there are avid readers, intense cinephiles and TV addicts.
I feel the exact same way. I hate the term "gamer". I prefer to say that I'm someone who enjoys video games.
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Yeah, sometimes they go overboard with a characters personality, but it's far more entertaining to see some crazy person than some level headed dude who was like "Oh hey, I was just playing XBOX and raping."
It'd only be good if the show were intended to be a parody or an intentional "camp classic" type of show. If it's for a show that lists itself as an actual crime/legal drama (http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_%26_Order:_Special_Victims_Unit), then it's indicative of terrible writing. They're relying on flat-out sensationalism to draw in ratings rather than any decent dramatic writing skill. That's how CSI got to be so popular, after all.
You can try to spin this as high brow humor if you want, but I feel that these shows are written for the kinds of people who actually believe everything they hear on Fox News Channel. :P
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The way I see it, gamers do exist, but they exist in the same way that cyclists and readers exist. Now I can ride a bike and read a book, but I don't devote my life to it nor does it define who I am. However, there are people who amass a collection of hundreds of books, read every chance they get and when it comes down to it they are a reader as it defines who they are. Same with cyclists, they know bikes inside and out, build custom ones, use them to travel places that could easily be driven to and generally devote all their time to bikes.
My problem with "gamer" is that the general public seems to think that if you own a video game system, you are a gamer. The entire concept of "gamer" defining somebody who devotes their life to video games with the intention to complete every one and get the highest score is tossed right out the window when "gamer" = "anybody who plays video games". Why not just say "i'm playing a video game" in the same way that you're "watching a movie" or "reading a book"? It's just another sedentary activity. Now if we're talking about Move, Kinect and Wii motion control games, you might as well be playing a game of football in the backyard. It's just another physical activity. The fact that it's done using a television and equipment doesn't move it into this "gamer" realm.
In my opinion, let those who want to embrace the term do so, but don't group every person who enjoys video games into one massive group.
Per a comment on Kotaku, here is somebody who embraces the term:
Ok i don't think i want the term gamer to go. For me being a gamer is my life! I work part time just so i can game more and if i'm at work i'm on kotaku all the time. I like being a gamer. What else would you call someone that devotes his life to games? And don't give me any of that sad nerd or sociopath bullshit because i have a very good reason to devote most of my life to me and not to some mindless job.
Now I disagree with the above, I think that actually does read like the life of a sad nerd. He clearly believes that he lives and works FOR the ability to play games. I go to work to support me and my girlfriend (she works too, but we both work to support each other) as well as to further my professional career. Video games are simply a benefit that comes with making a living. I'll boot up a console 4-5 times a week, but I don't think to myself "today I work to earn money for games, everything I do from 9-5 is done to support my love for video games and in turn supports me as a gamer." Hell, if anything I'm a designer. Went to school for it, get paid for it and spend a good deal of my time putting it into practice.
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I do not like the term "Gamer" either. The term makes people sound like addicts or gross nerds, and the general public pretty much always sees it this way too. The best evidence is of stuff like this and many things on television having them seem so strange or making them appear as if they are HITTINGBUTTONSSOFASTEPICGAMEHOLYSHIT that it is easy to get the wrong idea.
I generally just hate calling people by what they appear to be. It seems mean and unnecessary. PROOF: Sharky and Fluffy do it, they are mean. Shadi and Max Cady do not do it, they are nice.
Oh yeah, and Law & Order! I am not really a fan of the series and am seriously really sick of crime drama shows, but I do have to admit the show is really well cast and their personalities are a little over the top, but not so much that it is entirely obvious to everyone. Reminds me of Yakuza, sort of kind of maybe.
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SVU is fun for pedo beat downs (as I've previously mentioned), plus Stabler, Fin and Munch are all great characters. Criminal Intent was great with Vincent D'Onofrio, who is returning for a tenth and final season. The regular series (now replaced with the LA spin-off) was getting tired in the final seasons.
Know what Law & Order needs? A video game! I could bash the buttons with fellow gamers!
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I don't hate the term gamer, it depends how its used. To describe those that are playing games, I don't mind. To say those people are a subclass or something. NO.
Its sort of how writers called audiences that watch movies, as 'movie goers'
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Or how people who watch television are called "viewers".
OMG HOW DARE YOU GENERALIZE ME AS A VIEWER YOU GODDAMN NETWORK BASTARDS
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I'm surprised so many people have an issue with the term Gamer, I don't see it as inherintly bad at all.
People ask me 'are you a gamer?' usually because they want to know if I play video games. Well, yes i do. It doesn't automatically imply that you do nothing but play video games.
I just found from my experience if you describe someone as a gamer, it just means that they actually play games more complicated than 'Wii Sports' or something.
In any event, Ice T's voice and way of speaking always makes me laugh.
"Yo' got the right to remain silent, awwww yeah bay-bee"
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I see gamer as someone who plays games.
No one makes fun of each other at school for being a gamer. :/
I'm also surprised at the amount of people not liking the term gamer.
Edit: Can't believe the amount of people flipping over this video.
I watch SVU. And I play video games too. I am not offended at the single lightest after watching this. Actually, I laughed.
Don't take the show seriously.
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I laughed too, because it has laughably bad writing.
It's not so much offensive as much as it is a demonstration of why these shows suck and how video gaming continues to be misunderstood in our culture.
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Law and Order does not suck.
And who cares? Video Gamers being 40 year old fat hairy beasts has always been funny.
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We find it funny because we're gamers; we understand that that is a ridiculous exaggeration of negative stereotypes that are not actually typical or even true.
You have to understand that the majority of people who watch these shows are not gamers. For most of them, their perception of what gamers are like comes from the media that they consume. When they see how gamers are portrayed in a show like this, they don't question it.
In summary: It's a sensationalized reinforcement of negative stereotypes written for trash entertainment by and for people who do not understand gaming or its culture. :P
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Cut the L&O bashing. The topic doesn't go anywhere with you calling the show trash since it will only lead it into a stupid back and forth topic, which is in itself trash.
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Hey, I was just describing the show for what it actually is. You shouldn't let yourself get bent out of shape over it. There are lots of people who take pride in enjoying trashy entertainment. :P
I mean, this episode was apparently about a little girl who got raped. Do you know how many episodes of this show are about crimes involving underaged girls? I don't know myself, but I bet it's a significant percentage of them. That's the sensational tabloid-caliber crap that brings in ratings, after all. It sells well to the kind of paranoid people who believe that there's a pedophile murder rapist lurking around every corner of every street in America. If Fox News said it, then it must be true!
[youtube:2scuok66]NxPJW4G6W3U[/youtube:2scuok66]
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I actually like the show, even the cheesy parts.
YO , Ice T has a gay son in this, you should be happy Fluffy. Though he isn't a stereotypical gay man like you >: (
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The show is called special victims unit. It deals with rape cases. Young girls account for the majority of rape cases. Considering where this thread is headed, I'm going to say stick to discussing the portrayal of video game players in the media. And for the sake of this not being a one note thread, try finding a show besides law & order svu as an example. I'll throw you a bone: x-files did one, so did south park and the simpsons.
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I'll throw you a bone: x-files did one, so did south park and the simpsons.
King of the Hill, while we're at it
[youtube:j7kc0ktt]vha4Q58dxtU[/youtube:j7kc0ktt]
"this bobtail handles nicely"
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Young girls account for the majority of rape cases.
Incorrect. The majority of rape cases involve people who are over the age of 18, and the smallest percentage (around 15%) involve adolescent to pre-adolescent aged children. Pedophiliac rape is much less common than you may think.
So, do you believe every perception that your mass media feeds you? :P
Considering where this thread is headed, I'm going to say stick to discussing the portrayal of video game players in the media.
"How dare you express an opinion that differs from my own! You better stop thinking for yourself before I put this thread on lockdown!"
:lol:
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Locking the topic.
I told you to stick to discussing the portrayal of video game players in the media, you didn't listen. If you really want to create a thread dedicated to rape statistics, be my guest. Though I'm not sure how Sharky and George will feel about that sort of topic.
A more apt thread would be one in the general games forum discussing the portrayal of video game players in the media. If you'd like to create a thread discussing that, feel free to.