I'm a slayer, ask me how.

Okay, so these are not exactly things I *love* about pop culture...or maybe they are. Anyone who has seen a movie with me or discussed television with me knows I LOVE to pick things apart and examine their layers of meaning. That's pretty much what American Studies majors excel at :)

Today I found this article, courtesy of the ECA newsletter (if you are gamer of any kind, you should sign up for this, it's a great collection of links from around the web, covering everything from industry). The refreshing thing was that this article is written by a MAN.

Opinion: Video Games and the Male Gaze

He is, of course, just focusing on the video game industry, but I would say this article also applies to movies and television (unless Joss is directing). It's just amazing how these developers don't THINK! I've only had a chance to skim it, but I did find the bit about the new Tomb Raider trailer and the attempted rape sequence that the developer is now falling all over itself to downplay (because the morons thought it as something worth discussing at E3...WTF? This sequence should have gone the way of the Assassinations III scalping mini-game -- NO ONE would enjoy playing that activity, get rid of it in the game NOW!)

Sexual harassment in the world of video gaming -- nothing I didn't already know but kudos for BBC for bothering to cover it. I've probably blogged about this before, but this is what initially turned me off of Xbox Live and multiplayer of anytime. Too many assholes with microphones.

lostacanthus e-mailed this article to me about the new Mass Effect 3 DLC with the extended ending. I still haven't bothered to watch mine. It would have been fine if I could have just turned on my game and it played the new extra stuff, but apparently you have to play through the last level and now...well, I'm sorta over ME3. This might be another one of those things were the crazy fandom people have ruined it for me. I got sucked up into the hype hurricane, I loved ME2...and ME3 was good but...it's sorta like Dollhouse, in the sense that, yes anything Bioware makes it high quality but my standards are so high for Bioware that it was a disappointment.

Anyway, apparently they added the option to just reject Bioware's reality and substitute your own the choices at the end of the game. Which, to me, means you essentially are not playing the game. And I guess that's how Bioware felt too. so LOL. I give them points for that.

It's late so I'm too tired to get in depth about this stuff. I need to get to bed! Hope everyone had a happy 4th - even if it's not a holiday where you live!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE WANTS IT NOW, PRECIOUS!!!