How many dudes didn't even register it as an issue? That speaks to a larger cultural indifference and ignorance concerning the issues women face daily. Remember, you were the one not picking up on it. If those lines weren't there, the game wouldn't be missing anything. Acknowledging and calling out a rape culture that uses the victimization of women as an unnecessary device in lots of media and removing those devices isn't "pretending" rape isn't a problem. That said, I totally understand that it could make people uncomfortable, and the overruse of rape threats and sexist slurs most definitely adds to your average gamer's insulting repertoire.Ĭondemn the writers for being lazy assholes, sure. Prison rape is turned into a joke, men are considered 'lucky' to have been raped (by a woman) in movies, male rape is underreported in the same way female rape is, and men are stigmatized by looking for help as 'weak' and 'feminine'.ĭon't have much else to say really, when playing the game I didn't have that much of an issue with the guys shouting about rape because I felt it was what a patriarchal thug would actually say, and I felt a bit cathartic beating them up as a result. I am not suggesting it isn't real! Just that as an outsider of the oppressed group I know my perspective is not the best.Īctually I'd argue that while rape culture is part of the patriarchy, it oppresses men too. Rape culture is largely invisible (to me) until I look for it, because it doesn't exist to oppress me. I am just trying to figure out if the developers did something wrong or not. This last paragraph is not an endorsement, I am not trying to justify the contents of the game to anyone. Was that wrong? I don't think it was, really, because rape is a terrible problem in our prison system, and I'm leaning towards believing it was appropriate in this context to include the threat towards Bruce, and having done that (establishing that violent prisoners can be rapists), it would not make sense /not/ to threaten Catwoman the same way, would it? I can only assume by the tone and the words he meant by raping Bruce (obviously not realizing he is more than just a rich white guy). I was paying more attention this time when I started a new game (wife was asleep in bed, and I needed to run the GOTY edition that I had upgraded to for 5 minutes to be allowed to review it), and in the opening sequence where you play as Bruce Wayne I noticed this time he is also threatened by a random inmate that claims he is going to "Make you my bitch". I'm sure there already exist games that do a (much) better job talking about the issue of rape and informing players about rape culture, but should I condemn Batman: Arkham City just for bringing the subject up? Games are a part of culture, a larger culture outside of games that denies rape victims a voice, in part I think by pretending rape isn't a real problem by refusing to acknowledge it in mass media.
I am not suggesting it isn't real! Just that as an outsider of the oppressed group I know my perspective is not the best.ĭisclaimer over, is it possible my reaction to the threat of rape of my avatar (since this is interactive media, not a TV show) was really my own personal discomfort at the idea of being raped? I am not sure any more. Thinking about it further though, why did I react like that? As a cis male I do not normally have to consider the ever-present threat of rape that women do. Note that there is no actual rape portrayed in the game, just the threat. I did feel uncomfortable when the thugs began saying things like "I'm gonna make you mine, Catwoman", and my initial reaction was to agree with my wife, that it was totally unnecessary and a bad decision for the game to include that bit of voice work. My wife, on hearing the taunts Catwoman receives implying an impeding rape, thought I should shut the game down right then and there. I have a hang up about this game, though, and I would like to explore it a little more in depth than I have in the review. It is an older game at this point, the follow up having been out for a few months now. Ok, I just finished writing a review on Steam here for the game Batman: Arkham City.