[ SECRET POST #2872 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2872 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 019 secrets from Secret Submission Post #410.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I agree that you don't need to use rape threats to show people are oppressed, but that doesn't mean rape can't/shouldn't be used in a story, or that it's unrealistic. I am absolutely willing to criticize rape scenes - when they are portrayed as violently sexy, overly graphic without a purpose, or there are no female characters who don't exist without threat of rape. But in the case of Origins, none of this even applies. There isn't even a "rape scene" to speak of. The oppression in question is against a fictional race (elves) after all, and no female character aside from this incident is threatened with rape. As the series expands, threat of rape, when it occasionally is alluded to (it's never shown), seems to apply equally to the male characters.

I just don't think Dragon Age applies to this trope. I think there are video games with problematic rape/threat of rape scenes, but I do think it's unfair to take one scene out of context and act as though it implies something more than it is. Trends in video games are important to point out but I don't see the point in falsely accusing non-sexist media in order to make an argument.

[(Anonymous)]

It's just so fucking played out, though. Want to threaten women in fiction? Hey, rape's always good. Insensitive in real world terms and unimaginative in fictional universes.

[(Anonymous)]

NAYRT

Except the city elves are an apartheid group in a pretty well-off city, and most of them have jobs as servants, if at all. The man in question is the son of a lord of the city, and a right bastard. He has ALL the power over the elves, and could bring them down with a wave of his hand if he so pleased.

History shows that, time and again, with that power dynamic rapes happen. So it's not unimaginative, it's realistic.

[(Anonymous)]

But, but, but I really wanna introduce rape cuz it's edgy and cool and whatnot and REASONS why rape should be included because it's edgy and cool and whatnot and FUCK THE HELL OFF. Rape is not entertainment for a fucking GAME. A GAME that fucking teenage boys are beating off to. Jesus fucking Christ. Games aren't HISTORY they're fucking GAMES. These are fucking games that basement dwelling losers will use to justify making death threats to Anita and Zoe and anyone who dares to criticize their creepy loser culture. They're not history, they're escapism. Fuck off.

[(Anonymous)]

Obvious troll is obvious.

[(Anonymous)]

nayrt

They're kind of right though, if a bit extreme in the wording.

[(Anonymous)]

da

No, no. They definitely are not even remotely right.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, bad things should never be included in media ever. No murder, no torture, no people get beat up, no muggings, no rape. Games are supposed to be fun. That's why we should only play Mario. Oh wait, that has killing of koopas, thus animal abuse. Let me think... Farmville perhaps? Because we all know "escapism" is only relevant to happy sunshine daisy land.

[(Anonymous)]

Every single tragic backstory trope has been played out. It's not like every origin had a rape threat.

[(Anonymous)]

But it's a thing that actually happens and has happened throughout centuries of history. Are people just supposed to act like it doesn't exist and that it's never used as a threat against women? Because I find that a hell of a lot MORE offensive.

[ketita]

You know what else doesn't exist? Elves and magic.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't really see this point. One can't or shouldn't deal with mature real-life issues simply because there's magic? I'm actually interested in mature fantasy. I want fantasy that includes real issues, I'm in the market for that genre. I'm not interested in sexist treatment of female characters or rape done to be sexy or edgy, but since neither of those arguments applies to Dragon Age I'm not sure what we're discussing.

[ketita]

Well, here's where not everybody agrees: some people don't necessarily want to deal with rape in their games, because it's enough to deal with it in real life. From that perspective, I think that asking why sexual assault has to be common is a legitimate question. There are plenty of other real-life issues that aren't as commonly dealt with in video games, even though they're present in real life.
I will take your word that concerning Dragon Age, she took things a bit out of context. But are you really saying that there is no merit to any of what she says, sexism is dead, videogames are all A+ and address rape and assault in tasteful, thoughtful ways?

[(Anonymous)]

"I will take your word that concerning Dragon Age, she took things a bit out of context. But are you really saying that there is no merit to any of what she says, sexism is dead, videogames are all A+ and address rape and assault in tasteful, thoughtful ways? "

woah woah woah when did I ever say that? I've been saying just the opposite! Where did you get that? Sexism IS a problem in video games, and rape depictions are offensive more often than not.

But Dragon Age is not sexist, and it is not inherently sexist to include rape in a plot. Let's talk about sexism in media, but there are plenty of examples to choose from that don't throw decidedly pro-feminist media under the bus, and detract from an argument that assumes any plot that might deal with, however respectfully, with rape must be sexist. (And yes, I will happily assert that the Dragon Age series is one of the most pro-feminist M rated RPGs out there.)

[(Anonymous)]

Please tell me why a game that deals with issues such as classism, racism, genocide and torture should not be allowed to also touch on rape.

[(Anonymous)]

But it's NOT "played out" in Dragon Age. I'd agree if all the women, or a lot of the women, were threatened with rape. But 99.9% of them are NOT. The rape mention only happens in one possible origin story. Sure, I agree it's done to build angst for the main character as much as world building and drama building - but every single origin story is about building angst for the main character and 7/8 of them don't deal with rape, not to mention rape isn't used for plot at any other point in the game so most players are unlikely to ever encounter it.

I get the point that it can be exhausting to see it time and time again, but the suggestion seems to be that rape should never ever be used in fiction, which I think is untrue. I think it's worth bringing up games that overuse rape as a threat against women, especially taking into account how the female characters are treated overall. But I think it's useless to dismiss a game completely because it had one scene that dealt with rape, that doesn't represent the game's treatment of women even remotely.