Gamertell

So, much has been said about the upcoming PS3 title Fat Princess. I know I’m late to the party but I did want to give my two cents on the way the game has been received, albeit briefly. Is it sexist or biased against larger women? Does it poke fun at a serious societal problem? Or is it, as so many are eager to point out, “just a game?”

I think it’s been well established that the “just a game” argument is pretty much useless. If we want to take game criticism seriously and we want games to be recognized by the wider world as something more than a childish, immature hobby, we’d better get rid of it, and fast.

I’m a big proponent of the idea that there are “high” and “low” forms of entertainment and that there’s room for both in any media - film, TV, literature, videogames, painting, what have you. And each and every work, from the highest of the highbrow, to the lowest of the lowbrow, is worthy in it’s ability to say something (however implicitly) about its maker and the culture in which it was produced.

With that said, I think Fat Princess was made without the intention to do any harm - from what I’ve read, I don’t think the developers at Sony are attempting to demean women or larger people at all. The cake-eating feature is a gameplay mechanic, one that a great deal of people probably find hilarious. Sony’s Deborah Mars, senior producer of the game, had this to say (to MSNBC.com) on the subject, and it sounded more or less sincere: “We did not, in any way, shape or form, intend to mislead or offend or distract people with the title of the game”

Of course, some have taken offense to the very fact that this is a game about a fat, overeating woman: Computer Active has the scoop on Melissa McEwan, who founded the Shakespeare’s Sister site, and her sarcastic letter to Sony over the game’s content. And there was a lot of very angry backlash that went far over the line, as evidenced by this excerpt from an MSNBC post:

““Get the f*** over it, you whiny insecure little feminists,” wrote one commenter on Kotaku. “Who didn’t see this coming?” wrote another on PS3 Fanboy. “I’ll go one further, this is a must-buy only if it is released with this title. If they bow down to these foul-mouthed fatties, I will not buy.”...Wow. That’s a lot of anger toward fat women. And feminists. And that pent-up anger, that sense that it’s OK to make fat women the butt of jokes, is what McEwan says she was reacting to.”

I think that’s a fair assessment, honestly. The developers may not intend any offense, but clearly, we do live in a culture that is, in fact, hostile towards those who don’t conform to traditional notions of femininity (including body size).

So where does that leave us? I think if nothing else, it does go to show that we still have a ways to go (as a society, and as an industry that may or may not attract some of these commentators) before any of these issues are resolved. Do we live in a post-feminist society where all is equal between the sexes? Nope. Do we live in a culture where people are too easily offended by an object that really has no inherently offensive qualities? Absolutely. We would all do well to both lighten up and be more aware/cognizant/mature regarding our differences in opinion.

Read [Computer Active] Also Read [MSNBC] Also Read [ Kotaku]