Potrayal of Gamers in Media

[RPG Post]

Why is it gamers and geeks are always portrayed as… freaks in mainstream media? I have been watching Bones, streaming on Netflix. I don't mind being a season or two or five out of date if I can watch a whole season at my own leisure, with no commercials. But that's not the point. In Season 4, there is an episode entitled The Princess and The Pear. It has a gaming convention at which, or during which, a murder takes place. And a character comments about the male geeks smelling.

I've been to a ton of conventions. I meet a lot of nice people of all different ethnicities and appearances and hygiene levels. Some are built, some are not so in shape. Gamers are all different, united by a love of games, not by a refusal to shower or a lack of people skills. Maybe some of them do live in their mother's basement, but I gamed in my parents' basement for years … I am pretty sure that's not an indicator of social awkwardness or earning potential.

[end_news_blurb]

It's funny in a way, television and movies premiere or are previewed at gaming conventions with fanfare and respect. But gaming conventions appear in cinema and television shows without the same reverence. I realize part of it is the interest factor. Normal is boring. Showing the gamers who don't dress up and don't have OCD isn't fun or identifying. If everyone looked like an accountant how would anyone know it was a gaming convention?

Bones, by the way, is a forensics show produced by a forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs. The characters in it skew toward intelligent and at one point a character remarks that you cannot zoom in endlessly on a photo; if the information is not there, you can't make it appear. This always bothered me about CSI and Law and Order. Among other things. That alone is enough to keep me watching it. For the Geek connection (if the brainy people aren't enough) the co-lead is David Boreanz, Angel from the Whedonverse.

Only now, on the video depth thing, I find out that I will be raging against reality (a frequent occurrence). Adobe has announced a new development, plenoptic photography which allows you to pull any part of the picture into focus, after the fact. It still doesn't create infinite pixel depth but it's a start toward Blade Runner. Between that and VISAR (NASA technology that allows a computer to take stills from a video, combine them and bring into focus things that were blurred), it seems like we are getting closer to the fantasy every day.

Ignoring the brave new world of digital imaging for a moment, can anyone think of positive portrayals of gamers in the media? Maybe the new Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movie, Paul, will get it right.

[Titan]

Waaaay back when, in E.T. the boys are playing D&D, and it's not portrayed as anything but a game they are playing. Maybe not positive, but neutral.

[jameson (ST)]

The hardcore nerdy fans end up helping the "crew" save the day by way of their highly detailed knowledge of the ship's design including the Omega 13 device.

[VileBill]

Why are hunters and gun enthusiasts always portrayed as red-neck semi-humanoids? Why are Christians always portrayed as judgemental dipshits? Why are Republicans portrayed as heartless money-hungry monsters?

Because stereotypes are easy to write.

Don't take it so personally.

[Dawn OOC]

I'm not taking it personally; this is just to generate an interesting topic of discussion.

What comes to my mind for 'positive' protrayal is Dorkness Rising. It's about a DM trying to write an adventure for D&D but his gaming group won't cooperate. They show a range of gamer types both good and bad. But that's made by gamers and is fairly silly and low-budget, so maybe it doesn't count.

[platonicideal]

Absolutely just for discussion. Looking at the mess of stereotypes in the media would be a book or two.

One of the Blog entries will be a review of Dorkness Rising. It seemed to capture gaming with the humor coming from the characters and situations rather than at their expense.

[Matt]

By the way, platonicideal is my friend that is writing out blogs.

[Justin OOC]

Look at the movie Gamer, if you want to see the horrible gamer sterotyping side of Hollywood...

[KJ4]

I remember coming across a terrible episode of Law & Order SVU that portrayed gamers as neglectful parents. I think it was a little over the top...I know some gamers who have kids, but I never see them act like THAT.

[VileBill]

Fine. Discussion then.

Gaming is an activity for a small groups of folks. Usually folks of very like minds. Focusing on the imaginary and the unreal is very often a coping mechanism for those folks who find the real unpalatable. It is not uncommone for that to be accompanied by poor social skills.

Is it across the board? Nope. I've been to conventions and met a great number of great people. But I'll also admit that I've met more gamers that stink than the normal cross section of folks walking about the mall. I've met more gamers with fucked up social skills oustide of their hobby than the folks I deal with in the everyday world.

It's a stereotype because there is some truth to it.

[El'Jinn Uu]

Originally Posted By: VileBill

Why are hunters and gun enthusiasts always portrayed as red-neck semi-humanoids? Why are Christians always portrayed as judgemental dipshits? Why are Republicans portrayed as heartless money-hungry monsters?

Because stereotypes are easy to write.
Don't take it so personally.

Hahha... So true, so gosh darn true.
Vile Bill has this discussion (like so many others he's in) pegged dead right. Growing up in school I was THEE most bullied kid around. I was hunted from school to school by what started out as a few bullies and by highschool ended with 30+. You know why they hated me? They found out I was a Christian and their parents had told them "About us and our kind" and that we're all bad people ("Death to the gay Christian"). So for over 10 years I had to deal with that untill I couldn't take it any further and I dropped out of school in ninth grade because the abuse was just that bad. There went my dreams of becoming part of high academia and rubbing elbows with great scientific minds and peeps like Steven Hawking.

Later on I left home, Became my (second) dream of being a MetalHead vagabond and never let anyone pick on me again (I had made a promise with my mom when I was little that I wouldn't fight, thus I couldn't fight Back either, but that Promise ran out when I no longer lived at home). Also during that time I hung out with gamers and became one.
Good times.


Point is that, gamers have Never gone through the real prejudice that other groups have gone through. And frankly what I went through didn't come close to what Others like Jews, Blacks, and Gypsies have gone through...
And NO ONES GROUP has ever suffered more than women (the worst short end of the historical stick).

So as much as I may find the some what Humorous and often accurate depictions of gamers in shows like BONES to be a little "Not cool" from time to time, I can Honestly say that it is Nothing at all like what other groups who have truly suffered have gone through. The Idea of putting us gamers in the same light as them other groups who've REALLY suffered frankly makes me feel Very uncomfortable.
We at least Have a choice about how we live our lives and how we appear (and Gross Majority of gamers I meet fit the stereotype geek), Others like the aforementioned simply do Not.

Blacks are Born black (brown), Asians born asian, Jews are born semetic, Women are Born female (I'm glad too cuz, ewww if they started out as U.L.G.Y. lookin guys)... None of them get to choose what they're born as or how others view them, yet we gamers CAN choose.

Compaired to everyone else out there in the world, I may as well say that I have never suffered a day in my life and that I have lived the easy life compaired to the above. So if BONES (Written Largely by groups of geeks in the first place) decides to laugh at me for being a geek, I say GREAT. That stereotype doesn't come close to fitting me so it is fun when I pull it out at a party and suprise people that I am a gamer (I like to Freak Yo Mind like that ).
Better yet is while all those peeps are Stunned at this revelation, I get Others to start admitting that they as well are gamers ("No not Bobby & Sharon Zenawik! But he's head of MS-Word developement and she's a consultant for CK! their Also a gamers?")-


PURE AWESOME!!!
Freak the Non-geeks Yeah baby.

[Davenrell]

To be fair most of my experiences with gamers over the current age of 35, most of the stereotypes fit. Before it was more of a mainstream accepted activity you had to be fairly fanatical about gaming. Most of the stereotypes listed here for different groups have been the ones that fit the fanatics. If you look at just about any hobby you will find the media focuses on the fanatical aspects of the hobby. Sports are rarely portrayed as simple games that are meant for fun and entertainment, everything is about the team and such. Also for those of you who know several people in the military I am sure you would agree it is only in the past ten years or so that military people have started more accurately being portrayed as the truly mellow people that they are when they are not on duty. It used to be in media that if you were a military person with a sense a humor you were some kind of maverick.

Television and movies have to hold attention and very few things do that better than drama and fanaticism. Most everything in them are exaggerations and the portrayals of us geeky ones is no exception.

Should you meet someone on the street that actually believes that is what all gamers are like then simply do the geek thing and raise your hand, split your fingers, tell them to live long and prosper and walk away. That is if you can do the finger thing, I just don't have that much control of my pinky and ring finger.

[Mr Fox]

Or you could say "Live long and prosper", and give a different much easier to perform finger salute.

j/k