Hey, he knocked a point off his GTA5 review because it was "politically muddled and profoundly mysogynistic" so if anyone is making his gender identity a topic of concern, it would be only himself.
Grand Theft Auto V Review - GameSpot.com
I can't figure out what he means by politically muddled except that he expects the franchise to only knock one point of view or side, and since they knocked his own several times, thus the message must be "muddled".
Even though there is no message, its all satire and parody.
review_sl said:
Perhaps most troubling is a mission in which you're instructed to torture a man. Trevor states that torture doesn't work, and the person ordering the torture is an arrogant and corrupt government official, suggesting that the scene is meant to be a critical commentary on the United States' use of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation" methods. But the fact that Trevor (and you, if you want to progress through the story) tortures the man regardless, and that he does end up spilling more information as a result, sends a very different message. These moments of hypocrisy and inconsistency diminish the otherwise strong characters; it feels like they are leaping into situations not because it's what they would actually want to do, but because the mission design demands that they must.
Maybe she should have replayed the scene to understand it better before she started writing the review. The torture victim says the truth the entire time. The FIB asks him for the location of an unnamed big shot terrorist. He says he just installs AV equipment. He doesn't even know what the fuck the FIB are talking about until they, mid-torture, blurt out the name of the guy they are looking for, and the victim realizes he actually has installed AV equipment at that guy's place, and immediately tell them the address. From that point on he gradually starts remembering details about this random guy he did one job for, while being tortured until he passes out. The torture is completely and utterly pointless, and only serves to make it harder to get information out of the victim. Trevor then points this out in the dialogue after the torture, carefully explaining how torture's only real purpose is to satisfy the torturer's need for violence/revenge/whatever.
If she actually took the time to listen to the dialogue, she'd see it's probably the most clear cut anti-torture sequence we've seen in a video game to date.
Okay, maybe, but she's not the first reviewer I've seen that expressed concern about misogynistic scenes or tones, so you're only making that jump because of the information bias that is created by you knowing she's a tranny. If it was a legit woman I doubt you'd think, "Hmm, gender identity issues are probably fueling this." So, point being, it's a big reach to say she made it a topic of concern.
No, this reviewer goes off the deep end.
review_sl said:
There's so much more to say about GTA V. In series tradition, it has an eclectic assortment of radio stations featuring great songs from numerous genres and eras. In a break with series tradition, it also has an excellent ambient score of its own that lends missions more cinematic flavor. On a less positive note, it's deeply frustrating that, while its central and supporting male characters are flawed and complex characters, with a few extremely minor exceptions (such as the aforementioned optional getaway driver), GTA V has little room for women except to portray them as strippers, prostitutes, long-suffering wives, humorless girlfriends and goofy, new-age feminists we're meant to laugh at.
This is such a hilariously one-sided view that I'm amazed she was able to type it. There are exactly 3 "flawed and complex" characters in the game, the three protagonists (if that). Having three male protagonists in a crime buddy storyline does not make the game misogynistic.
Every other character in the game has absolutely zero depth, male or female. They are all extremes. They are all meant to be laughed at (or in a few cases - felt sorry for). Outside of the main characters, there is zero difference in how the game treats males and females. And I really don't think anyone wants every game to have a token female protagonist just to avoid being called misogynistic.
review_sl said:
Characters constantly spout lines that glorify male sexuality while demeaning women, and the billboards and radio stations of the world reinforce this misogyny, with ads that equate manhood with sleek sports cars while encouraging women to purchase a fragrance that will make them "smell like a bitch." Yes, these are exaggerations of misogynistic undercurrents in our own society, but not satirical ones. With nothing in the narrative to underscore how insane and wrong this is, all the game does is reinforce and celebrate sexism. The beauty of cruising in the sun-kissed Los Santos hills while listening to "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood turns sour really quick when a voice comes on the radio that talks about using a woman as a urinal.
What, those aren't satirical exaggerations? Then what are they? The game literally makes fun of every major stereotype I can think of, should it have skipped making fun of these aspects of society just to avoid being misogynistic? Fuck that.
It is obvious that the reviewer has an increased sensitivity to sexism and/or gender-based stereotypes. It's fairly likely that this stems from her own gender issues. So yes, by channeling that sensitivity into the review she DOES make her gender identity a topic of concern, whether it's intentionally or not.
