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A Truly Fucked Up Industry (The Jimquisition)
- Thread starter It’s Time To Go
- Start date
Yeah this was a good one from Jim. I know he didn't want it to feel like a 'very special episode' but it is a striking one nevertheless.
Great video and their was a moment in it that really spoke to me about how the one hand doesn't clean the other and those who you hurt never have to forgive you, you can only try to do good not be who you were, that's something sadly a lot of people forget, as a victim of over a decade physical and emotional abuse at School from bullies and teacher, the amount of times I was forced to forgive bullies who weren't actually sorry was countless. To be vilified to be pressured by adults to forgive people who physically assaulted, set me on fire, used homophobic, ableist and foul language at, it was always horrible, especially when I knew they weren't sorry, they were going to be right back at it the following day knowing they got away with it.
"Just forgive and forget" is term I hate because it puts the blame and weight onto the victim and gave the bully the right to go back at it, to continue, an excuse not to own up and it's sadly something that real life and fiction have taught so many people is good thing, I despise fiction that normalises it and no, the victim is not in anyway responsible for the actions of the abuser and in no way should the weight of forgiveness be on their shoulders, I don't give a shit if their some popular Anime anti-hero that MUST be absolved of all wrong doing, I don't care if it's DC's Zatanna, some white main character in a TV, a real world Esports player, bully, sexual abuser, IT'S NEVER OKAY and it's something that needs to stop.
"Just forgive and forget" is term I hate because it puts the blame and weight onto the victim and gave the bully the right to go back at it, to continue, an excuse not to own up and it's sadly something that real life and fiction have taught so many people is good thing, I despise fiction that normalises it and no, the victim is not in anyway responsible for the actions of the abuser and in no way should the weight of forgiveness be on their shoulders, I don't give a shit if their some popular Anime anti-hero that MUST be absolved of all wrong doing, I don't care if it's DC's Zatanna, some white main character in a TV, a real world Esports player, bully, sexual abuser, IT'S NEVER OKAY and it's something that needs to stop.
Damn. What a video to wake up to. All to him for talking about these subjects to a wider audience. Even the comments have people just learning about some of this.
While i give you 100% on all, im aware of 1 situation where it gets flipped on its head:
on person does something, fells guilty, tries to apologise, do things right, and the other states that he cant forgive him/her....for now.
And then tags the person with them as a friend only to hold it to them every time they dont act to their liking, like the sword of Damocles hanging over them "back then you did that".
In those situations, it would be honest (and probably better for everybody) to be clear that you'll never be able to forgive the person, and that continuous friendship/comradery does not work.
Since: forgiving and leting somethign behing are 2 different things, but a lot of people view them as the same.
(All in the assumption that the person that did the wrong understands their errors, is sorry and tries to to it right, if not, fuck them)
Mind you: im not flipping it around that the victim has to forgive, or that its that ofthen that this happens, i just had this happen to me (nothing huge, let a friend hanging cause i missread a situation), and its something where both have to be aware that if forgiveness is not an option a reflection if the connection (if optional, with family/collegues its ofthen less of an question) even makes sense without forgiveness. (Which is also okay, sometimes people realize,parting ways is the better option)
@Video: good seing jim being reflective, there where moments where i felt that he lashed out a bit to self-righteous on cost of others.
Well, that was some heavy stuff
It was a video that needed to be made, though. The videogame industry is going through some really dark times right now, it's really hard to believe how much shit is going on, and how they keep covering each other's asses and avoiding being held accountable for their actions.
And about that moment of self-reflection Jim had, since i have been following him since long ago i know how much he has changed, and i'm happy to see he hasn't relaxed about it, one must keep oneself accountable for whan you have done in the past. It's something i know very well, doing it speaks about yourself as a person.
Fuck, i'm in tears now. Some parts of the video really hit hard and close to home.
It was a video that needed to be made, though. The videogame industry is going through some really dark times right now, it's really hard to believe how much shit is going on, and how they keep covering each other's asses and avoiding being held accountable for their actions.
And about that moment of self-reflection Jim had, since i have been following him since long ago i know how much he has changed, and i'm happy to see he hasn't relaxed about it, one must keep oneself accountable for whan you have done in the past. It's something i know very well, doing it speaks about yourself as a person.
Fuck, i'm in tears now. Some parts of the video really hit hard and close to home.
Jim, if you're reading this, this was excellent.
I appreciate your sense of humor in past videos, but it was refreshing to see you speak from the heart with some urgency about this industry's ills, how they're hurting people and the need to correct course. It was raw and real but also articulated with a degree of clarity that only comes with real introspection and reflection.
Seriously some of your best stuff yet. As much as I like your humor, this makes me realize that maybe the usual trappings ('80s cartoon footage, acoustic guitar noodling, etc) gets in the way of your message. Here, absent those things, the message resonates stronger.
Again, excellent work.
I appreciate your sense of humor in past videos, but it was refreshing to see you speak from the heart with some urgency about this industry's ills, how they're hurting people and the need to correct course. It was raw and real but also articulated with a degree of clarity that only comes with real introspection and reflection.
Seriously some of your best stuff yet. As much as I like your humor, this makes me realize that maybe the usual trappings ('80s cartoon footage, acoustic guitar noodling, etc) gets in the way of your message. Here, absent those things, the message resonates stronger.
Again, excellent work.
Great stuff...and by that, I mean...great video about some truly horrible shit.
Also, I couldn't fucking stand Jim back in the day. He really is a great example of someone who turned it all around to do much better.
Also, I couldn't fucking stand Jim back in the day. He really is a great example of someone who turned it all around to do much better.
The wrestling organization he moved across the country to work with just shut down. I'm sure that wasn't a fun thing to learn about.
In the long run I think he'll be happier where he is now then he ever was in Mississippi, but yeah Jim's desire to expand into wrestling took a huge blow the past 3-4 months.
Followed Jim for years and it puts a lot of his views and diatribes into perspective.
I'm also glad he's calling out the systemic nature of this abuse, the conspiracy of silence and fear of accountiblity with all these developers and publishers.
Many of my favorite channels and pocasts are just 'this happened and this happened and this happened and it sucks, believe victims now onto Last of Us part 2' as if we're talking about flukes of nature.
I'm also glad he's calling out the systemic nature of this abuse, the conspiracy of silence and fear of accountiblity with all these developers and publishers.
Many of my favorite channels and pocasts are just 'this happened and this happened and this happened and it sucks, believe victims now onto Last of Us part 2' as if we're talking about flukes of nature.
Shit, this was a tough one. You can really tell that Jim's been having a tough time recently which really isn't surprising seeing as how both of his main passions have seen such horrible shit uncovered recently. If you're reading this then, as someone's who's experienced similar levels of self-hatred before, all I can really say is that you're doing great and you should continue what you're doing.
Unfortunately I really don't see things getting better anytime soon. Gamers are more-than-willing to turn a blind eye to the more 'blatant' stuff so, like how Jim says, it's much worse when it comes to people caring about the things the gaming industry doesn't want us to know about. There's also the notion of 'fanboyism', where criticisms and allegations against people, studios, companies, etc that others have a strong attachment to are seen as the work of 'haters' more than anything. It's an incredibly insidious line of thinking that I've seen in practically every corner of the internet, but it's especially significant in gaming as we tend to attach so much emotional value to the games we play and franchises we like. Many of us don't see games as the works of flawed, sometimes horrible, people, but as parts of ourselves that we must defend at all costs. For instance it wasn't surprising that the only people defending Rueben Langdon on my Twitter feed when he began to victim blame sexual assault victims were... the people who really like Devil May Cry (I've since unfollowed them if you were wondering).
The industry itself, when it's not just ignoring things, harbours either open or more subtle hostility towards the kinds of voices that could actually see their abuses and crimes put into light. Jim mentioned the recent TLoU:P2 embargo as a good example of this; despite spoilers being one of the most petty of concerns the industry still made it so that negative voices could not adequately explain themselves (spoilers for the game) (and made it so that the game's trans and lesbian representation couldn't be criticised before launch) before the game had already launched and made a bajillion dollars. Many people actively celebrated them for that and implied that anyone critical of the decision was 'lazy' and 'couldn't write well'. So for things that are actually harmful that is only going to be amplified ten-fold, especially as the role of 'journalist' is more flimsy than ever to begin with (the vast majority of games journalists don't have J. Schreier's job security or Jim Sterling's fanbase, after all).
I don't know. It's all just incredibly depressing. I wish that I could say things might get better but I don't know if they're going to tbh. I also can't say that I'm not in some way culpable as, despite what I have said, I still do buy games from companies that I know have done shitty things. I know I shouldn't, and I know I could easily not do it, but I still do and I have to own that. Self-reflection is an incredibly difficult thing but it's something that most of us have to do at some point in our lives.
But, yeah. Great video, Jim.
Unfortunately I really don't see things getting better anytime soon. Gamers are more-than-willing to turn a blind eye to the more 'blatant' stuff so, like how Jim says, it's much worse when it comes to people caring about the things the gaming industry doesn't want us to know about. There's also the notion of 'fanboyism', where criticisms and allegations against people, studios, companies, etc that others have a strong attachment to are seen as the work of 'haters' more than anything. It's an incredibly insidious line of thinking that I've seen in practically every corner of the internet, but it's especially significant in gaming as we tend to attach so much emotional value to the games we play and franchises we like. Many of us don't see games as the works of flawed, sometimes horrible, people, but as parts of ourselves that we must defend at all costs. For instance it wasn't surprising that the only people defending Rueben Langdon on my Twitter feed when he began to victim blame sexual assault victims were... the people who really like Devil May Cry (I've since unfollowed them if you were wondering).
The industry itself, when it's not just ignoring things, harbours either open or more subtle hostility towards the kinds of voices that could actually see their abuses and crimes put into light. Jim mentioned the recent TLoU:P2 embargo as a good example of this; despite spoilers being one of the most petty of concerns the industry still made it so that negative voices could not adequately explain themselves (spoilers for the game) (and made it so that the game's trans and lesbian representation couldn't be criticised before launch) before the game had already launched and made a bajillion dollars. Many people actively celebrated them for that and implied that anyone critical of the decision was 'lazy' and 'couldn't write well'. So for things that are actually harmful that is only going to be amplified ten-fold, especially as the role of 'journalist' is more flimsy than ever to begin with (the vast majority of games journalists don't have J. Schreier's job security or Jim Sterling's fanbase, after all).
I don't know. It's all just incredibly depressing. I wish that I could say things might get better but I don't know if they're going to tbh. I also can't say that I'm not in some way culpable as, despite what I have said, I still do buy games from companies that I know have done shitty things. I know I shouldn't, and I know I could easily not do it, but I still do and I have to own that. Self-reflection is an incredibly difficult thing but it's something that most of us have to do at some point in our lives.
But, yeah. Great video, Jim.
Their is also the sad fact that even when stuff like this comes to light, the outrage and backlash to it rarely lasts, Jim brought up the Blitzchung banning, massive backlash until it faded until people get annoyed and angry if you bring it up which is what the companies are hoping for, their hoping their nasty deeds get forgotten and those who speak get shutdown.
The incident that I'll always remember was back in 2012 at the Capcom's "Cross Assault" web series, Competitive Fighting game player Aris Bakhtanians decided when commentating make incredibly rude, creepy and sexual comments to about fellow player Miranda "Super_Yan" Pakozdi in ear shot and when called on it said (CW: Gross sexist crap):
https://kotaku.com/competitive-gamers-inflammatory-comments-spark-sexual-h-5889066
https://kotaku.com/sexual-harassment-is-a-joke-to-these-fighting-game-fans-453101345
https://kotaku.com/this-is-what-a-gamers-sexual-harassment-looks-like-5889415
And what happened? Nothing really, Aris went to continue to commentate and compete in Fighting game events like EVO (Seen him mostly at MK and Tekken ones which just ruin the experience of watching EVO) and within a week tons of fighting game players were complaining to sites like Kotaku about "It's been a week! Move on!" or act like they were being picked on, something I've seen fans of the fighting game scene and it wasn't the only time I saw fighting game fans in mass try to shut down discussion and debate of this stuff.
I remember bringing this up once on another site and got told that it didn't reflect the fighting game community because Aris doesn't represent fighting gamers... Despite the fact he does because he participates in official tournaments, he does which is sadly another aspect I've seen, if some messed happens, just pretend they don't represent gaming or the company and sweep it under the rug, pretend their are now underlying issues etc.
This is why we have to thank god (or a deity of your choice) for Jim Sterling. He doesn't pull any punches here. I just hope this will change at least something, anything, even if just a little tiny bit.
This is one of his best episodes ever. It feels like a conclusion to his work, since it covers topics from his past Jimquisitions and Industry Bullshits such as loot box exploitation, sexual assault, greed-fueled layoffs, lack of unionization, the abuse of workers during crunch, the frustration that game journalists feel when their livelihoods can be pulled away for doing their job, and more. It's also a testament to how Jim has grown over the years; he was definitely an edgelord in the early 2010s (I won't go into detail, what's in the past should be in the past). Excellent stuff overall.
Best video he ever made. And he's made more great videos than most.
Heavy subject, strong, brave and great of him to do this.
Heavy subject, strong, brave and great of him to do this.
It's probably better now than it has been in the past.
Damn.
Also, is that why Obsidian dropped Chris like a sack of bricks?
Because it makes a ton more sense now.
Also, is that why Obsidian dropped Chris like a sack of bricks?
Because it makes a ton more sense now.
Jim Sterling is simply a vital voice in game journalism, and we're lucky to have him.
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100%.
I really don't understand the shit dude gets on here when time and again he speaks truth to power and uses his platform to advocate for industry unionisation, better working conditions, against shitty industry practices, and now, in support of victims of sexual assault and harassment.
Thank God for Jim.
Jim makes people feel uncomfortable because they have to reconcile with the idea that their enjoyment of a consumer good often comes at the price of one or many other people's abuse & suffering. That discomfort often manifests in lashing out at Jim for being "too negative".
Jim isn't like the other major outlets. He doesn't cozy up to publishers, goes to industry events with lots of booze, games, and a ton of swag, he calls people/publishers out constantly. He's pro-union, against crunch, and so much more positive things.
Hell, people here like to bitch about his negativity as if that somehow cancels his arguments.
Finally a Jimquisition video I won't feel awkward about sharing with others. And right on point too!
Very brave of Jim to speak out about his own abuse issues and how he is dealing with them. This was a delicate subject that was handled with the appropriate amount of care and respect, unlike from several other gaming youtubers.
Thank you, Jim
Thank you, Jim
Because Jim makes people uncomfortable. He charges against the status quo and takes no prisoners, he repeats his claims over and over and over and over again until something changes, because that's the only thing he csn do from his position.
People who gives him shit is people who is usually more comfortable with silence. Silence is what the industry likes the most, because once it creeps in, people forgets about the industry's misdeeds.
One of my favorite Jimquisitions speaks precisely about this.
Enjoy The Silence, Feel The Noise (The Jimquisition)
http://www.patreon.com/jimquisitionhttp://www.thejimquisition.comhttp://sharkrobot.com/collections/jimquisition-merchAs news of Assassin's Creed: Syndicate's...
m.youtube.com
I've gotten a little tired of Jim's "schtick" but that's exactly what's needed right now.
Edit: just to clarify, I mean in terms of calling out companies.
Edit: just to clarify, I mean in terms of calling out companies.
Jim's schtick has been needed for a long, long time.
But yeah, now is more needed than ever
I've never been hugely into his videos but this video is incredible, if heavy as hell.
I feel like damn near everyone on this forum needs to see it.
I feel like damn near everyone on this forum needs to see it.
Because people want to just stick their fingers in their ears and enjoy their games. Every "negative" video brings out the people who just want him to shut up.
His messages would be so much better served if he didn't dress like he fell into a clearance bin at Hot Topic. I can barely take it seriously.
I didn't know Jim had so many problems himself. That explains why he created that persona that relentlessly lashes out against any wrongdoing in the first place.
All the topics he touches upon make me feel kinda powerless. What is some normal guy like me supposed to do against all this shit? Boycotting each an everything while there are still millions of people blindly buying whatever all these companies put out?
All the topics he touches upon make me feel kinda powerless. What is some normal guy like me supposed to do against all this shit? Boycotting each an everything while there are still millions of people blindly buying whatever all these companies put out?
You actually see the man for about 20 seconds of that video, it really doesn't matter.