Earlier today, I was reading some reviews of Hogwart's Legacy and checking out a few articles sharing reviewers' opinions on the controversy surrounding the game. One article stated that reviewers' refusal to boycott the game was a "failure of media," while another concluded their review with a link to an article about J. K. Rowling's comments and a list of pro-trans charities to which they said viewers could donate.
Some of the same gaming outlets that had no qualms reviewing games from Activision at the height of its scandals are now using boycotts of Hogwart's Legacy as some sort of moral litmus test—even though J. K. Rowling only gets royalties from the game, unlike Activision, EA, and other abusive corporations that get to pocket the full revenue from their games. A question cries out for an answer here: between J. K. Rowling's tweets and a multi-billion-dollar corporation with a deeply sexist, exploitative culture that enables harassment and mistreatment of employees, which is (or was, as Activision's CEO has been replaced) more damaging? And if both are/were somehow equally damaging, shouldn't the same reviewers have also boycotted Activision?
The upcoming entry in the Call of Duty franchise is expected to be set during the Iraq War, popularly (and resoundingly falsely) known as "Operation Iraqi Freedom." While there has been some pushback against this due to the glorification of an illegal, brutal war of aggression, most gaming outlets are covering it with no objection—and certainly without nearly as much objection as they have expressed toward Hogwart's Legacy, even though the problematic aspects of the former are within the game itself and not in the published opinions of an affiliated author.
I have long been of the opinion that much of Western liberalism is mired in inconsistency, selective outrage, self-absorption, and style over substance. The inconsistency and self-righteous moral judgments that some have displayed in this controversy, along with a lot of the criticism surrounding the World Cup in Qatar, have only solidified my impression. A lot of liberals tout multiculturalism and understanding of other cultures as noble values that they strive to possess. It seems to me that perhaps it's time they put that into practice instead of preaching it from an oblivious and self-absorbed soapbox. Condemning people for enjoying a game may generate reactions and score political points, but it certainly doesn't replace introspection and genuine moral values.
Some of the same gaming outlets that had no qualms reviewing games from Activision at the height of its scandals are now using boycotts of Hogwart's Legacy as some sort of moral litmus test—even though J. K. Rowling only gets royalties from the game, unlike Activision, EA, and other abusive corporations that get to pocket the full revenue from their games. A question cries out for an answer here: between J. K. Rowling's tweets and a multi-billion-dollar corporation with a deeply sexist, exploitative culture that enables harassment and mistreatment of employees, which is (or was, as Activision's CEO has been replaced) more damaging? And if both are/were somehow equally damaging, shouldn't the same reviewers have also boycotted Activision?
The upcoming entry in the Call of Duty franchise is expected to be set during the Iraq War, popularly (and resoundingly falsely) known as "Operation Iraqi Freedom." While there has been some pushback against this due to the glorification of an illegal, brutal war of aggression, most gaming outlets are covering it with no objection—and certainly without nearly as much objection as they have expressed toward Hogwart's Legacy, even though the problematic aspects of the former are within the game itself and not in the published opinions of an affiliated author.
I have long been of the opinion that much of Western liberalism is mired in inconsistency, selective outrage, self-absorption, and style over substance. The inconsistency and self-righteous moral judgments that some have displayed in this controversy, along with a lot of the criticism surrounding the World Cup in Qatar, have only solidified my impression. A lot of liberals tout multiculturalism and understanding of other cultures as noble values that they strive to possess. It seems to me that perhaps it's time they put that into practice instead of preaching it from an oblivious and self-absorbed soapbox. Condemning people for enjoying a game may generate reactions and score political points, but it certainly doesn't replace introspection and genuine moral values.
