Тёмный
No video :(

Forspoken: The Unspoken Anti-Blackness Around Frey 

Vudoomunkyfut
Подписаться 3,3 тыс.
Просмотров 2,2 тыс.
50% 1

In this video, I wanted to look at the reviews of the new game, Forspoken; more specifically, the commentary around and critiques of Frey, the protagonist. So much of the response to her, I would suggest, has been based in anti-Blackness, and I want to challenge us to get beyond "liking" (or not) these characters and being more introspective about what causes us to be uncomfortable or comfortable with characters...what structures how we think about characters, stories, worlds, and people.
In 2023, we will be beginning communal study sessions...be sure to join us via patreon! Become a patron and an architect of some Blackly Imaginative spaces where I share the resources I'm reading, and where we can engage in communal study, imagining, and creating:
www.patreon.com/vudoomunkyfut
Make sure to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and hit the notifications bell!
Check out our website at:
www.vudoomunkyfut.com
Follow us at:
vudoomunkyfut
vudoomunkyfut
vudoomunkyfut

Опубликовано:

 

23 авг 2024

Поделиться:

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист
Посмотреть позже
Комментарии : 62   
@alexandriacollins7119
@alexandriacollins7119 10 месяцев назад
Yeah, abandonment has been all Frey's known for the first 18-years of her life; she was found abandoned while still a newborn and then she went from foster home to foster home until she graduated high-school, after-which her attempts to make a life for herself are thwarted time-&-time-again until she's reduced to squatting in an abandoned building and even then that's set on fire by a gang who knew that she was inside at the time; is it any wonder that Frey had become jaded and apathetic? Yet everyone seems to blame *Frey* for being apathetic...
@ingenuity2217
@ingenuity2217 Год назад
Also the trope of depicting black women as the face of oppressive institutions (usually as an obstacle for the non-black protagonist to overcome) seems very common and also sinister in its implications.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
I agree. I've wondered if it's a kind of evolution of the "mammy" trope wherein a Black woman loves and labors for her master (in this case, the state) and then treats her own children with disdain and harshness. It reifies the idea that what Black people need from other Black people is "tough love".
@wilssavino8833
@wilssavino8833 Год назад
She does not have an obligation to like her surroundings. When the game makes it a point to tell you the player that she hates the world she is In, it makes it confusing. If she does not care, why should the player. Even if you personally start liking the world, it quickly reminds you that you should dislike it. Her personality is misplaced in this game. I would love to see this character in a game where there are other people that can match her fast and charming remarks. As it is now in this game the cuff is the only one that can. It just feels unfinished.
@ebenezerstooge
@ebenezerstooge 4 месяца назад
So if fray is not obligated to care about being a hero then why should the audience be obligated to follow her storyline or even like her as a character? Sounds like you’re making excuses for bad writing
@ebenezerstooge
@ebenezerstooge 4 месяца назад
First off to address your original title, not liking fray is not “anti black” it’s anti bad character and anti bad writing. Shes just a generally unlikable character. You’d think someone with her background would be at least motivated to save a world full of people who took her in and welcomed them as one of her own. And you’re right about one thing maybe she is not obligated to like or save other people. But square is obligated to write a character that isn’t terrible especially if they wanna get people to spend on their titles.
@jessicajefferson749
@jessicajefferson749 Год назад
First comment maybe? 🎉 lol. I just wanted to say that I’ve watched all of your videos and, just like the other ones, this one really resonated with me. I’m not someone who plays games usually (which bothers me at times because I love stories) so i’ve never heard of this game. As a young black woman when you first started talking about it, the idea of this game was interesting to me because I used to read a lot of isekai (until I got bored of the tropes lol). After those scenes you showed though I’m not as interested 😂 something just feels off, even though I see so much of my depressed self in her personality. As I’m coming more into my own way of seeing and understanding the world as a young black woman, I’m finding myself increasingly dissatisfied with or critical of all the media that I consume. Like when I really researched voodoo and learned how mangled the meaning has become and how deliberate and unrelenting the demonization of it is, I just realized on some level you really can’t trust yt people with black stories. Anyhow, all that is just to say your channel has become a source of reprieve and inspiration for me in a world where it feels like almost no one sees things the way I do (which makes me feel crazy at times) There’s this quote that lives in my head rent free from Plato’s Symposium that I’ll probably get tattooed at some point, and it’s something like: “there were the longings of a creature moving about in worlds unrealized which no art could satisfy”
@dominiquesnider9029
@dominiquesnider9029 Год назад
I do agree with u alot of the stuff I see on the internet now a day is repulsive. I’m really worried about the state of the world
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
Thank you SO much for this. It really means a lot. Moreover, it's what I hope for for this channel and the other coming projects. I think I've gotten to a point where I feel like Frey (I just don't have the cushion of being "special" with powers and belonging to another world). Being disenchanted with damn near everything, I've really become enthralled with thinking toward and imagining what the "after" of this society would look like. Regarding the tropes...you're so right. It does get tiresome that Black people are often reduced to these few "kinds" of us. So even with representation, none of us are really seeing ourselves. And maybe we shouldn't have to. I think the beautiful thing about how Black people relate to one another is we see ourselves in small glimpses of other people...so, in many ways, we behave as though who we are is communally produced. I hope to continue these conversations with you!
@DEGriffSoc
@DEGriffSoc Год назад
Very good video. From what I've seen so far, it's a very hit and miss story. About 16 hours in, I think this game is pretty good, the dialogue is not nearly as weird as people are claiming, but the issues you highlight with the story are stark. I think it reflects a problem common in videogames: the desire to draw on political issues without committing to a position. We see it in the court scene, which could have been used as a moment to highlight the racism of the justice system and to have Frey being Black be part of her character, her history and not just a surface attribute but that would have required the narrative to take a position (I would contrast it here with the recent adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, which made a prominent character a Black man and seemed to put real thought in to what that meant for the character and his life at the time it's set). Similarly, the trope of the reluctant saviour has become popular in videogames, in part, because it allows the writers to distance the protagonist from anything that looks like a real position on the world they're in. I think the story would have worked better overall if going back had been an option Frey refused, a way for her to find new agency and not something she's just forced to do. The game wants to be more than mindless fun but also won't commit to any substantive critique or position. And I think this is a shame because the game's core theme is the persistence of the effects of trauma (most characters seem to be dealing with the internal consequences of past trauma) and that's a really good area to explore with this kind of story. It's a much better game than I would have expected from the reviews but you're right that it's treatment of its protagonist leaves a lot to be desired.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
Absolutely! I think that more and more, companies, developers, etc. are experiencing a kind of "terror" or at least anxiety around leaning on real world experiences because they don't want to have the hammer of public commentary lobbed at them for taking up something poorly. But they also WANT to lean on these real world scenarios because it gives them the appearance of taking a stance...or at least taking an issue up. I think this is why philosophers and critical theorists need to be part of the process. The Matrix leaned on Baudrillard (even though he hated what they did with his work) and Hellraiser leaned on the work of Bataille (until Clive Barker was no longer involved). I would love to see what happens when we have more people who are dedicated thinkers for media are involved in the process of creating a text.
@wormcemetery
@wormcemetery Год назад
Great video, gave me a lot of better language to describe specifically why the way I have seen Gamers and game reviewers talk about this game makes me feel very weird. None of them ever talking about how stilted and odd the dialogue is in the FF7 Remake, but they are spamming clips of every single odd clip of dialogue of this game all over twitter. Just feels like it's in bad faith, but not like people using "objective unbiased rational thought and reason" as an excuse for bigotry is a new thing I guess. I was excited for the game prerelease and am still planning on trying it, the parts I was most interested in seem fun even though the combat does seem to be missing a little something.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
Thank you so much. And I'm definitely getting the game. What I played in the demo was fun, and I think that it's one of those games that I may run around in to relax sometimes lol. I'm honestly getting to the point where I don't really take reviews that seriously. It's just not possible to be objective about what someone 'likes'. And now that we have so many scholars questioning the authority given to science based on how it has been conceived in modernity...objectivity and what is real or true may not even exist. So, I am going to enjoy the games I enjoy lol. Once you get it...PLEASE pop back on here to let me know what you think!
@dougclayton4235
@dougclayton4235 Год назад
The outspoken backlash to this game simply existing has been startling to say the least. I'm roughly 20 hours into Forspoken and I think the game is great. The game feels great to play, with great traversal, great strategic combat (not unlike a Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden), and a well written story with relatable, believable characters once you get past the intro. The music and the visuals are also top notch. The only difference between Forspoken and any number of the other AAA open world action games is that it stars a Black woman and most of the leading characters are women. Most of the reviews of the game go out of their way to not mention how Frey being a reluctant hero matches up with plenty of other heroes from other franchises, but few if any of those characters got dragged for being "unlikable". Dante from the DmC reboot is the only other one that comes to mind. I've been working in the AAA game industry for nearly a decade and I can tell you straight up, if this game fails commercially, the higher ups won't think "Oh, they must not have liked the magic system, let's not do that again", it'll be "Oh, they must not have liked the Black female protagonist, let's not do that again". There are plenty of us Black developers that would love to make games for us and by us, but game development, movie production, etc. is incredibly expensive and risky. Hence, why audiences don't see big games and movies made by Black studios. It's going to take time and communal reinvestment to build out the infrastructure so we can make our own stuff in a sustainable way.
@dominiquesnider9029
@dominiquesnider9029 Год назад
Please do if not for your sake for the better of entertainment as a whole but I’m sure that type of work has gate keepers will to capitalize of the next black thing
@theNEWMASKSdudexxx
@theNEWMASKSdudexxx Год назад
Your entire first paragraph is complete copium
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
Listen!!! You've spoken a word here. Thus far, I like the game as well, and I'm finding that it is trying to address some issues common in games with some not so common solutions. Magic parkour replaces having to find mounts (becoming trite)...just an example. I think that we are also seeing more complex battle systems to give people more options for gameplay (and it gives the devs some leeway to show off lol). I remember playing FFXV for the first time and thinking "what the hell is this?!"...but after gettting used to the battle system, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I think that games are, in some ways, trying to become less intuitive to pave the way for whatever changes come next. Regarding Black devs, I was wondering if you'd mind me reaching out to you about this very thing...for...reasons lol.
@dougclayton4235
@dougclayton4235 Год назад
@@vudoomunkyfut Feel free to reach out! I really appreciate your thoughtful commentary and we need more voices like yours on RU-vid.
@maskofacryingclown3
@maskofacryingclown3 Год назад
Yyeah because it's easier to just throw a generic basic white man in. Like the past 30yrs of gaming. Just play it safe. Crazy how a game starring white character that's bad is just trash. But if it's a bad game like Forespoken it's woke trash.
@ingenuity2217
@ingenuity2217 Год назад
This game and so many other movies and tv shows released the past few years (LoTR, GoT, Star Wars) really exposes the antiblack racism thats inherent to both the genre of fantasy/fiction and the majority of the community that consumes its content. I agree that the game is receiving a lot of undue criticism thats not given to other games that are very similar to it
@AdrianoTheOne
@AdrianoTheOne Год назад
Cause it's a mediocre game bruh
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
Exactly. And the thing is...I can understand if the game is receiving criticism for the technical aspects or even aspects of the roll out the way that Outriders and Cyberpunk did...but the hyper focus on Frey stood out to me; especially after playing the demo.
@maskofacryingclown3
@maskofacryingclown3 Год назад
@@AdrianoTheOne exactly the point it's mediocre. But there's like thousands of other mediocre games out there that's charging you full price. Why aren't those getting shitted on like Forespoken?
@DnAngeI90
@DnAngeI90 Год назад
​@@maskofacryingclown3 My guess would be that alot of ppl had unimaginary expectations of the game and just because one aspect didnt meet up to it (they just dont like frey) then the content creators bashing on anything about the game to the point that its trendy to hate on the game. Funny part is that 90% of the negative stuff they all mention can either be disabled or arent true. The only mediocre imo about the game is the story. Shouldnt be enough for ppl to whine.
@maskofacryingclown3
@maskofacryingclown3 Год назад
@@DnAngeI90 exactly bandwagon of hate. The part of the forspoken algorithm that gets them views. Shows what kind of people they want subbed to them. I personally like the game but it's still a 6 out of 10 for me. Wanna know something funny. Atomic heart has horrible dialogue plus hes just talking to himself it's not like he has somebody else talking back. Lack of enemy variety, and the "open world" in that game is hmmm. Same problems as forspoken yet it's not on the same level of hate. I'm not dissing atomic heart because eventually I'm going to purchase it. Just saying.
@coughcough3323
@coughcough3323 3 месяца назад
Considering her whole story is created by "Black Girl Gamer" this is hilarious.
@ruckly1241
@ruckly1241 Год назад
It is the response to Forspoken that made me interested in playing it, even more than games that are universally considered "good". A reception this mixed and this polarized tells me two things: the game isn't for everyone, and it is trying something new and different. The game might stumble as often as it succeeds, but there is a creative spark that is so rare in commercial art. I don't know when I will get a chance to play Forspoken, but when I do, your words will definitely be in my mind. I'm white and just as prone to anti-blackness as the gamers who couldn't connect with the story or characters. But I'm listening, and learning, and hopefully, slowly, understanding. Thank you for your insight. You've given me quite a bit to think about.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
Thank you for your engagement. I think that your statement regarding who the game is for is spot on. We know that Square Enix has been known experimentation. Granted, being as huge as they are, they kinda have a lot of information at their fingertips. I do think that when it gets to a point where there are games that are "easily" universally accepted...it might point to something or some things that we've all accepted and, maybe, aren't questioning anymore. Something that has entrenched itself as a "truth" of gaming and, to me, this could be dangerous for innovation. I'm going to have to think through this a bit more. Thank you!
@gregoryjean2512
@gregoryjean2512 Год назад
Great video and I am also of the camp that this game is receiving more criticism that equally as good (or broken? I'm looking at you Sonic Frontiers), much in part to most gamers not being able to relate to Frey. Great analysis
@feathercat9118
@feathercat9118 Год назад
your analysis has more thought and depth put into it, than the forspoken writers ever put into their game. i don't think her skin color matters much, unlikable traits will still be unlikable even if they made frey into a man. she is not an interesting character, the entire story feels written by numbers. have a sad backstory and some minimal scenes where she is actually a good person. a companion that never shut up. a most generic plot twist villain with a dumb name.
@squallthegriever
@squallthegriever Год назад
This game wasn't written or designed by Americans though. They chose someone with one thing in mind. Fantasy. This game has no deeper meaning in racism than anime? Lol
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, but I've also done a video on the anti-Blackness in anime. Check it out. Moreover, anti-Blackness isn't "just" racism. We get nothing from trying to see how things are NOT racist lol. I mean...other than temporary piece of mind...maybe.
@SwaayMusiz
@SwaayMusiz Год назад
Bro if am honest with u the game was amazing i loved it the characters everything the only thing i don’t like is how the map is setup thts it
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
Oh listen!!! This is COMPLETELY understandable. I liked it too. I DO feel that I became a little too OP too quickly and the game was pretty easy. So, for me, there isn't much replay value, but I didn't have nearly the negative reaction that so many others did. I agree with you on the map part. It could be hard to tell exactly where you were going sometimes.
@CjArt78
@CjArt78 Год назад
This game failed because of lazy writing and the Japanese developers creating a cosplay of what they think western life looks and sounds like. On top of the bad writing the game had boring empty worlds , muddy textures , and the characters in the world just felt like carboard cutouts. You are trying to make this deeper than what it actually is.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
I don't get the accusations of trying to "make something deeper". We all know that there are layers to everything that can become ever more complicated or abstract. All things along speaking beings have unconscious aspects, cultural, social, etc. I'm not saying that what you are saying is invalid, but i KNOW that what I'm saying isn't either. At some point, just engage what I'm saying or admit that you are either disinterested in the "depth", at which time there is no need for conversation...or...admit that you haven't the knowledge to handle the depth. I'm still acquiring mine...so that's fine as well. At that point we could do group study.
@CjArt78
@CjArt78 Год назад
@@vudoomunkyfut there is no depth to this game. It fell about as flat as a pancake which is why it failed. Grew quite irritated with seeing people cheerleading for this game that was clearly underwhelming in every way possible. Anyways to each their own.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
@@CjArt78 not a philosopher I see. Have a good one, fam.
@isaiahcarter8848
@isaiahcarter8848 Год назад
I’m sorry but Frey has a personality type that we’ve seen EXTREMELY COMMONLY in gaming, Had Frey been a Peter Parker looking white boy and not a black woman than I don’t think we’d be seeing NEARLY as many people calling her annoying as we are now
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
This is facts. Angst, disenchantment, cynicism are all things that are actually applauded in white males especially. There are WHOLE philosophical sets that come out of those sentiments.
@squallthegriever
@squallthegriever Год назад
I don't think so. Peter Parker doesn't act like this for one. A better comparison would be Delsin Rowe.
@kqtt574
@kqtt574 Год назад
Trying to make yourself seem like the victim? Of course 🙄 Im not even white, and I find her personality unbearable just like Geralt in the witcher 3 and aloy in Forbidden West.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
@kqtt574 maybe you're a misanthrope or in need of self reflection. Because all that means something... about you. Have fun deep diving... or not.
@riven4121
@riven4121 Год назад
Really? Did you forget the amount of shit games like DmC Devil May Cry got for making their characters a hot headed foul mouthed buffoon with little actual depth?
@Tempest7TTV
@Tempest7TTV 9 месяцев назад
Fire ass video, bro.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut 9 месяцев назад
Thank you so much, fam!
@Oceanstalker
@Oceanstalker Год назад
My man, you nailed it the reason why I like Frey. I can relate to her because I actually see a touch of me in her. I know what it's like to think you have absolutely no way out. To be questioning why I should spend any more of my life on people. I honestly do not see any of the cringe people keep harping about. I am willing to agree that if SE had improve the writing a bit they'd be able to cast a bigger net, but for what's it's worth I STILL deem it as a substantially good story.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
Same...and I think that the fact that no one in Athia seemed to care about where she was from and what her experience in that place may have been let's us know that there was no ethic of care where she was concerned. So then...what IS her obligation?
@bmarkbyte
@bmarkbyte Год назад
I thought she was Puerto Rican?
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
I don't think there was ever a mention of her being Puerto Rican; at least not that I have seen. Also, with Puerto Rican being a nationality, it doesn't preclude the possibility of her being Black or biracial. I also took my cue from the actress who portrayed her who is Black and white biracial.
@maskofacryingclown3
@maskofacryingclown3 Год назад
Black, white , and Caribbean.
@Doorkey2
@Doorkey2 Год назад
I don’t care if Frey was Black guy/White girl/White guy. Her character was a giant jerk with no shot of redemption. The combat and world I actually enjoyed just not the MC.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut Год назад
"I don't care if Frey was..." I don't believe that. I don't think it's possible to not care. Blackness and anti Blackness are endemic to how we know in this world. The idea that you are uncaring is a futile and counterproductive move toward innocence. Most people who respond in this way think that I'm only thinking of conscious feelings of contempt or like... I'm not. As long as race is a thing, this will always have to be a consideration. The very idea that you say she has no shot of redemption as though you could stand in judgment is telling enough.
@Doorkey2
@Doorkey2 Год назад
@@vudoomunkyfut”as long as race is a thing” buddy it’s only a thing if you make it a thing. Take your dumb takes to twitter atleast there you can find other like minded idiots preaching about dumb stuff.
@coughcough3323
@coughcough3323 3 месяца назад
@@vudoomunkyfut One of the most popular Sony female protagonist is a black woman. (Gravity Rush) Frey was written by black writers. (Black Girl Gamer) Maybe let writers with actual skills write good characters than activist. That tends to work better.
@vudoomunkyfut
@vudoomunkyfut 3 месяца назад
@@coughcough3323 what you're missing is that I'm not actually talking about how Frey was written, but the assumptions of who and how she should be. So basically, what I'm suggesting is that only certain portrayals would have ever been acceptable. So, this limits what even "writers with skill" can portray and/or do. If you check out my video about Blue Marvel, you'll see that there as well.
@Truthteller863
@Truthteller863 4 месяца назад
You actually put your argument more articitulatly than I could. I felt like critics gave Frey a bad rap for her personality, but instead of asking why is she this way they should be asking why isn't she the way she is. You gave insight into the game that I never considered consider my thoughts provoked, thanks for the video.
Далее
Forspoken Shouldn't Exist
22:24
Просмотров 224 тыс.
would you eat this? #shorts
00:29
Просмотров 1,9 млн
Х.евая доставка 😂
00:23
Просмотров 299 тыс.
Why Forspoken Is So Misunderstood | Backlog Battle
12:00
Forspoken (Zero Punctuation)
5:59
Просмотров 614 тыс.
Forspoken- How To Ruin A Good Game
35:46
Просмотров 3,4 тыс.
War of the Woke: Where Losing is the Battle
19:47
I beat the FORSPOKEN DLC so no one else EVER has to
26:26
Was Forspoken as Bad as Everyone Said It Was?
22:24
Просмотров 69 тыс.
What The HELL HAPPENED To Forspoken?
8:07
Просмотров 145 тыс.
What the hell happened in Bioshock!?
3:25:17
Просмотров 39 тыс.
Forspoken Is Better Than You Think
7:38
Просмотров 19 тыс.