Would let Sheeva get it in only if she had her mk3/umk3/trilogy groans and moans.

So.


I just imagined doing the nasty with Sheeva while she makess those groans and moans.

Never going to get that out of my head now.

It's been scorched into the synapses of my brain.

I never would have guessed that feminism and equality would be an issue in the MK universe. I thought it was just a game and everyone was just here to have fun. Guess I was wrong.

If you always take the, "it's just a game" or the "it's just a movie" stance then we can never critique or examine ANYTHING within our culture. Entertainment like games, movies, television, novels and music all occur within a larger culture within which they are embedded. None of it comes from some magical place called Funland that exists in a vacuum outside of the cultures within which we live. Yes, even fantasies like MK, Lord of the Rings etc. We're all products of the cultures we live in, and fictional entertainment, since it's something we produce, is a product of that, too.

I get that people just want escapism and not have to think critically about the entertainment they consume but that is a recipe for never critically examining elements of our culture, which is necessary for growth and change.

It's sad that people automatically see critical thought as being a wet blanket. Says a lot about how mindless most people are.

In a game where we rip heads off, pull out beating hearts and other fun goody ways to brutally mutilate fictional characters, I guess lies a hidden seriousness of equality for women.

These games can't be games. They need to represent.



-_-

God forbid we ever critically examine the entertainment we consume.

Looks really doesn't matter in my opinion.

God forbid we just play for fun

And god forbid we refuse to recognize your Special Snowflake rank, Ferra/Torr.

No. The simplist reason is usually the right one and the simple reason why people do not care is that they are intelligent and sophisticated enough to know that a video game is precislely that. A video game. They are intelligent and sophisticated enough to know that a video game does not represent anything other then entertainment. It says nothing about how mindless most people are.

You're wrong. It's never "just a video game" or "just a movie". These things are written by PEOPLE, and PEOPLE are ultimately shaped by the cultures they inhabit. As a social sciences major I can tell you that is a FACT whether you like it or not. Nothing happens in a vaccum, it is ALL filtered through culture. I don't believe I am a "Special Snowflake" like the smart ass above said. In fact, I believe the OPPOSITE. You are the ones who seem to think everyone is a special snowflake, existing in a vacuum, not shaped by the culture they inhabit.

Lol@"intelligent and sophisticated enough"

Well, I am EDUCATED enough in the social sciences to know books are never "just books", video games are never "just games" etc.


This is why people hate on the social sciences so much. We piss people off by applying critical thinking to the culture we live in, and they don't like that. Ignorance is bliss I guess. People would rather not think critically about our culture, including it's entertainment.

Nothing is beyond analysis, I agree, but Mortal Kombat itself has goofiness and camp in it's DNA. It's not meant to be taken seriously by design. It's not trying to say anything about anything.

Imagine analyzing Spongebob with a fine toothed comb. That sounds ridiculous, because it is. It's a fools errand. That's not to say no one ever should do it, but at least if you do, recognize that it's fruitless and you're wasting your time and no one is going to take it seriously.

Actually sociology tells us that EVERYTHING in our culture says something about us as people, even if it is not meant to. Even the goofiest, most seemingly fantasy-based parts of our entertainment are still a product of our culture. It is inescapable.

Certain things may be more indicative of our overall culture than others but NONE of it is completely disconnected from our culture.

No. Social Sciences is hated because its a joke. It's barely a science. Both sociology and psychology are mocked in the scientific community. Not because they piss people off

True story...

Being a big fan of MK my whole life, I did a speech report on violence in video games in college, and how the media tries to scapegoat video games as the cause of real life youth violence... (I'm sure as MK fans and video game fans, we've all heard more than our fair share of discussion on this topic.)

Long story short, I tried to illustrate the levels of ridiculousness in MK Violence by showing some of it, then attempting to emulate them by ripping my buddy's spine out with my bare hands... with comedic amounts of failure. (It was a speech with showmanship).

Deadly Alliance was the newest MK game at the time, and while I played it for the class a bit to illustrate some points, I also kind of kept it running on muted demo behind me throughout the majority of the speech.

... Therein lies the setup for what follows...

During the Q&A portion of the speech at my end... one girl in class. Pointed out Kitana's Kata, which you may or may not remember was part of Deadly Alliance's Idle Demo. And she climbed all over me for addressing the presence of violence in video games in great detail, while not addressing their sexism. She wanted to know what I had to say about Kitana's skimpy costume, legs and bosoms, and whatnot.

I was admittedly largely unprepared for this as it wasn't the point of my speech at all. I felt kind of unfairly attacked. She was kind of making me the enemy just because I was defending a game featuring a girl in a bikini... when that wasn't the least bit what I was discussing, defending... or really giving a second thought to.

Luckily for me, the class largely turned on her at that point... and called her out for taking shots at me unfairly on a topic which wasn't something in my control and not what I was aiming to discuss. This more or less stifled her comments and took me off the hot seat. I honestly don't remember much about that speech, as it was a decade ago... but that moment still stays with me.

What is my point in telling this story? I have no idea.

On the one hand... I don't think it was extremely fair of her to attack me. I certainly didn't appreciate it at the time, and the class (boys and girls) seemed to be with me in that regard and helped bail me out, largely taking the heat off me, and helping me avoid the issue. I feel that often topics relating to sexism and feminism have this problem. Often fights are picked where it isn't very appropriate or needed. As I touched on earlier in this thread... can't we just say Kitana's face in MK9 was fugly without needing to examine the meaning behind why we're saying Kitana's face is fugly?

Does EVERYTHING always need to be a THING? I don't think so...

On the other hand... did she have a point? Does Kitana need to be in a bikini? Is that sexist? Maybe. It's been discussed before... but it wasn't the point of my discussion at the time. And in hindsight, it does seem a bit regretful that the class stifled her, because I don't necessarily think these are topics that should be stifled... should they be brought up to the appropriate people in the appropriate venues.

I do not however, think I'm that person. I was just a dude trying to defend violent video games in a small scale speech to my college class. I'm sure most of us can appreciate that, being modern video game and MK fans. But I got made the bad guy briefly, for defending a game where a girl fights in a Bikini.

So I dunno.

I think there's a lot of good talk to be made when discussing issues of modern feminism. As I understand it, by definition, I am a feminist, because I do believe in equality. Though I don't deliberately label myself as one. But at the same time... in these modern internet times... I feel often times people are far too prone to picking fights in the wrong places, with the wrong people.

It's an age old saying: Pick your battles

I don't think that was a battle she necessarily needed to pick in class that day. I don't think this is a battle that necessarily needed to be picked on this forum.

I DO think it's kind of silly and fruitless to attack such an over-the-top and crazy video game for deep seeded issues of violence OR sex. Just let the damn video game be a damn video game, imo.

Dude, dont even try.

It's no use arguing with someone who thinks everyone should care about his feelings, calls people children because they aren't angry at a fake leak.

Special snowflakes need to go back to tumblr so they can advocate for the extinction of straight white males.

The people who mock them do so out of igorance. Humans are social animals, we live in a fucking SOCIETY and numerous experiments and studies have proven that external social forces(like culture) do exist and shape who people are. If social forces are real, and it is an established fact by way of research that they are, then the study of how social forces work and shape people as individuals and our society overall is a scientifically valid area of inquiry.

Science isn't limited to investigating and understanding the physical world, physical phenomenon. Science can be and is also used for studying human society. That's all the social sciences are, is the study of human society and interaction. If we can study the behavior of animals using science, and few people mock that as not real science, then we can study the behavior of human beings using science.

It seems to me that people cannot comprehend the idea of using science to study non-physical phenomenon, perhaps because they lack the intelligence needed to truly grasp abstract thinking.

I didn't mean it was disconnected, I mean the people that it attracts don't give a shit for the most part. You could write a college thesis on what MK says about society, but who is your audience? No one is looking to Mortal Kombat to be a bastion of political correctness, intelligence, or equality. You can apply social sciences to anything because it's too fluid. Just because something CAN be applied to something doesn't mean it's should or it would be effective.

Nice strawman. I am a straight, white male you mouth breathing idiot.

In other words, we have another social justice warrior here.

No.

It is just a video game because that is what people want to treat the video game as. Video games that were created to played and consumed as entertainment. If you want to critcally think about it go ahead but do not pass it out as fact. Critique is not fact, It is someone's opinion based on fact. Which is why critiquing entertainment is fundementally flawed. One person's critique is not necessarily going to be held in the same esteem as another person and if you want first hand proof of that is go and read reviews of any entertainment. Never do the all the reviews have the same score or things to say.

Stop patronising people.

Why am I a mouth breathing idiot for not knowing what you look like behind an internet alias?

Proud to be so.

It beats being an unthinking dolt who doesn't care to think critically about society and strive for improving it in whatever way we can so that it is more inclusive and less unequal and discriminatory.

I welcome and savor the hatred of the type of idiot who uses the phrase "Social Justice Warrior" as a put down or criticism.

You're probably an MRA, too.

Aw man... I worked really hard on my last post, and it's gonna get buried in flame war... *Frowny Face*