Overshadowed by Controversy: Difference between revisions

** Unsurprisingly, ''[[Grand Theft Auto V]]'' courted controversy, this time over its portrayal of women and a torture sequence carried out by [[Ax Crazy|Trevor Philips]] to an Azerbaijani individual who is believed to have links with terrorists. Politicans, advocacy groups and even video game journalists deemed the mission in poor taste. Asked about performing the torture sequence, Trevor's actor Steven Ogg said that he treated it like "just another day at the office", and was focused more on not making mistakes during filming than the scene's ethics. The sequence along with a few others was censored in the Japanese release due to the country having more stringent guidelines; ironically enough the German release was uncut considering the country's history of censoring and banning media deemed unsuitable to the youth. As for the portrayal of women, certain commentators remarked how females were unfairly treated ingame, one of them being GameSpot journalist Carolyn Petit. Adding to the complication was that the game was released at the time when the Gamergate controversy was taking place; the less said about the latter, the better. Not to mention that ''GTA V'' was also released just as when the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting was still fresh off people's minds, with a number of politicians calling for the game to be cancelled or banned pre-emptively. In 2021 the game attracted controversy once again, but not because of whatever sociopolitical backlash the series historically got over the past few decades, but due to franchise fatigue from fans who are understandably [https://kotaku.com/gta-fans-are-starving-and-rockstar-keeps-giving-them-n-1847652818 sick and tired] of ''GTA V'' being continually re-released and anxious over the next major instalment. The trailer for the so-called "Enhanced and Expanded" edition for the [[PlayStation 5]] and [[Xbox Series]] consoles was panned for offering practically nothing in the way of actual improvements to the game's graphics or gameplay, instead using vague marketing buzzwords rather than a thorough comparison of what was changed.

** On top of the series being the butt of numerous controversies and lawsuits, it was reported that series co-writer Dan Houser cited changing sociopolitical attitudes as the reason why he left the company, as he felt increasingly uneasy with satirising modern American society without attracting controversy or offending anyone.

* In a similar vein to ''Postal'', ''[[Hatred]]'' became so reviled by even video game journalists and some gamers that it was initially rejected from [[Steam]] due to its gratuitous and no-holds-barred brand of sociopathic violence, only for Gabe Newell to apologise and have it re-listed. [[Epic Games]] reportedly sought to disassociate themselves from the issue by requesting to have the Unreal Engine logo removed from marketing material. (While the ''[[Unreal (series)|Unreal]]'' series is known for its graphic violence, it is rooted more in science-fiction fantasies rather than real-world apathy towards people.)

* ''[[Night Trap]]'' was one of the video games that contributed to the creation of the ESRB ratings in the United States. An infamous bathroom scene<ref>which the game does call you out for when you fail to spare the girl</ref> in particular was what led to intense Senate hearings with proponents of the ban saying it glorified violence toward women, while many of them admitted [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch|they hadn't played the game]]. In reality the supposedly-offensive scenes were rather mild in comparison to R-rated films, and was done more as a campy tribute to B-movie horror titles. The ''25th Anniversary'' re-release was given a milder T rating as a result.<ref>[https://www.esrb.org/ratings/35660/Night+Trap+-+25th+Anniversary+Edition/ Night Trap - 25th Anniversary Edition - ESRB]</ref>

* A lot more has been said about [[Electronic Arts]]' questionable if not abhorrent business practices than for the merits of the games they publish. From acquiring independent studios and eventually liquidating them if they underperform, to the recent backlash towards microtransactions and [[Loot Boxes]], EA has earned a lot of scorn and ridicule amongst the gaming community, to the point that they have earned the [[Medal of Dishonor|dubious honour]] of being the "worst company in America" for two straight years. And yet their games still sell somehow, partly due to more impressionable gamers or to those who are just too uninformed or complacent to care.

* The 2007 video game ''[[Resistance (series)|Resistance: Fall of Man]]'' got embroiled in a controversy involving Sony, Insomiac Games and the Church of England, the latter accusing Sony of desecration and copyright infringement over its use of the Manchester Cathedral in a level from the game where the protagonist has to fend off waves of Leapers in a shoot-out taking place inside the cathedral. The Very Reverend Rogers Govender and other church officials were dismayed beyond belief to see the cathedral being reduced to a shooting gallery, and called for Sony to make a statement of apology, complete withdrawal of the game or modify the level in question to avoid any visual similarities to the cathedral, and financial support to groups who are trying to reduce gun crime in the city, which was also a point of discussion in the ensuing controversy. Sony however maintained that Insomniac's portrayal wasn't firmly rooted in reality and has no connection "between contemporary issues of 21st century Manchester and a work of science fiction in which a fictitious 1950s Britain is under attack by aliens." Sony did issue a formal apology over its use of the Cathedral and has since pledged not to use it in subsequent titles, though church officials felt it wasn't enough and drafted a set of guidelines to be followed by media companies on what (not) to do with fictional portrayals of places of worship. Though perhaps ironically enough, the whole desecration row both benefited Sony, Insomiac and the church itself, as ''Resistance'' was financially successful as a result of the controversy, and the Cathedral experienced a surge in tourism from both teenagers who wanted to know what the fuss was about and tourists in general who saw photos of the church.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[Any Bonds Today?]]'' was a 1942 [[Propaganda Piece|propaganda film]] commissioned by the United States Department of the Treasury to Warner Bros.; it would later be known more for its [[Values Dissonance]] in the form of Bugs Bunny donning a blackface than the film encouraging Americans at the time to buy war bonds and contribute to the Allied military effort.

* Media coverage of the 2019 Spanish animated feature ''[[Elcano & Magallanes: First Trip Around the World]]'' was skewed more towards the outrage it generated when Filipinos took umbrage over its [[Cross-Cultural Kerfluffle|depiction]] of [[Lapu-Lapu]] and the Battle of Mactan in a decidedly villainous light. [[Misplaced Nationalism]] ensued when Filipinos, whose elementary school textbook knowledge of their country's history is [[The Theme Park Version|a little distorted]] to say the least, took to social media and bashed the living daylights out of the film, the catch being that most of the outrage came from those who [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch|hadn't even watched the whole film yet]], and were motivated more by [[Serious Business|blind patriotism]] and the [[GIFT|typical keyboard-warrior mentality]] than sincere and level-headed perception of history.