Save the Princess

I watched Damsel in Distress parts 1 and 2. They were done well and the narrator used very good clear language to describe the problem. She did make me realize subtle things I hadn't thought much of before. The idea of the Princess being an object like a ball, and mario and bowser are playing a game of controlling the ball like other sports, is not that appealing but I see how it makes sense. Watching this made me consider and become a little concerned about the state of video games now. I haven't played that many video games since the 90's and they weren't as bad back then. Seeing all the clips of the violent and strange games that are out now and the fact a lot more kids play these games for more time is maybe not great. The games where the character has to kill the female to advance really there's too many of those. I do worry that all the desensitizing of people today will come back to haunt us if our society's situation becomes more dire.

I think she is right to make the point that video game writers aren't nefarious conspirators trying to make things bad for women. I bet that the guy who made mario and donkey kong had no idea how world famous they would become and just went for a simple storytelling device. I think a lot of video game writers and creators today are probably guys who grew up playing video games a lot, and some are a little immature and write stuff that is simple and effective.

 I think the problem with video games is the same problem with other tv and media, is that people who create and distribute a product don't always perceive its' cultural implications, even if they do care. A lot of stuff goes out to millions of people and it's hard to justify that some of it won't find it's way to children and influence them. If something exists in a culture and people don't get rid of it, that's like saying it's culturally acceptable and kids grow up thinking that. So I think there is a lot of violence and insensitivity that exists in the media because the people creating it have become so desensitized that they forget, or don't care, that people who are still sensitive especially younger people can be influenced by it.