Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Luke Plunkett on Duke Nukem Forever: Double Standard

Having reformatted my computer I lost all my Photoshop settings. This has made the creation of Not-Icarus: Episode 2 quite a bitch. So, I’m going to take a break from fighting with Photoshop to rant about this.

In his review of Duke Nukem Forever, Luke Plunkett bemoans the crass and vulgar aspects of the game, faulting its developers with charges of stupidity and sexism. His thesis seems to be: “Duke Nukem Forever is an offensive video game. And not in a good way.” I contend that his thesis is retardedly nonsensical and maintains an idiotic, unjustifiable double standard for which no argument is offered.

The thrust of his argument is that DNF is offensive in a bad way:

The game jokes about things like rape. And abortion. It thinks tampons are funny. And it does so without any hint of parody, or satire, or political or social statement, the only things that can, if not excuse such distasteful subject matter, then at least provide reasonable grounds for a gag.

For Plunky, there are tasteful, high-minded approaches to rape, abortion, and tampons. One could satirize rape, or parody abortion, and so articulate something artistic that conveys a message to the player. He cites South Park as an example of something vile yet meaningful, and then links to a youtube video which jokes about Nazis.

The “argument” seems to be that since DNF lacks a punchline, or a moral lesson, the chauvinist themes and overt sexism are offensive rather than entertaining, or toilet humor rather than insightful satire.

The unfortunate dilemma for his article is that his entire argument is stupid. It rests upon a distinction between good offensive and bad offensive, the difference between a tasteful rape joke one could tell in church and a vulgar rape joke one must whisper in the shadows. Unfortunately, this distinction is shitheaded. He fails to grasp the fact that offensive is offensive, vulgar is vulgar. One could couch vulgarity or offense within the context of humor, but that does not make it not-offensive or not-vulgar. Rather, it is offense or vulgarity tinged with a dash of humor. In the same sense, the crass vulgarity of South Park is still crass vulgarity despite however many moral lessons they can shoehorn in at the end.

Since Plunky fails to realize that his distinction is moronic, he writes shit like this:
Take-Two of all companies should be aware of this, what with their constant defence [sic] of the excesses of the Grand Theft Auto series, which it also publishes (and which, unlike this game, with its caricatures and satire and quality writing is defensible).

That’s right, folks: GTA is justifiably vulgar. This is why when Plunky posts about GTA V including a Child Molester, he need not critique or fault the gaming series. Because a child molester, a pedophile, a person who has sex with children against their will in GTA is a caricature, an instrument of satire, whose purpose is to articulate a message that behooves the player and brings depth to our cultural dialog. Child Molesters in GTA are excusable, but alien rape in DNF is a terrible blight on the gaming industry.

This is what academics call a “double standard”, or what forum trolls call “fucktardedly dumb” because the distinction makes no fucking sense.

Here’s what would make sense: If we want to maintain a distinction between good offensive and bad offensive, we cannot do so with respect to particular instances of vulgarity. Rape is rape. It does not make sense to maintain that an instance of rape in DNF is qualitatively different from an instance of rape in GTA, since both are instances of rape.

What we can do, and what makes some ounce of sense, is to discern the end for which the instance of rape was included in the game. One could, I assume, utilize rape as a plot point to steer a narrative in a new direction, or manifest some sort of emotional reaction. If, for example, Sephiroth had raped Aeris’ dead body (spoiler: Aeris dies) this would have sparked a firm dislike of Sephiroth in the player.

But the utilization of rape as a storytelling device does not change the fundamental vulgarity, evil, and wrongness of the act of rape, itself.

That’s the point missed by Punky: he wraps the violent, offensive, sexist, vulgar acts into the larger narrative. So a vile instance in a South Park episode is said to be different from a vile instance in DNF, due to the larger narrative, or lack thereof, in each work. Since a South Park episode has a moral lesson, any vulgarity within that episode is discerned with respect to the moral lesson at the end. Since DNF has no moral lesson or punch line, its vulgarity is simply crass, unjustifiable, garbage.

But that standard, the one Plunky actually uses, has no concern for particular instances of vulgarity; its rubric rests on an assessment of the entire work and not the particular components of that work. So, really, he has no system by which he can fault DNF for its instances of rape or abortion. What he can critique is the larger narrative, since the larger narrative is what matters. If a South Park character says “shit” and Duke Nukem says “shit”, those linguistic utterances are meaningless independent of an assessment of the larger work. Only when we reach the end of the episode, the end of the game, can we discern whether the “shit” is artful or offensive. But what is assessed is not the word "shit"; the assessment is of the end of the work.

All Plunky can do, if he sticks to his argument, is state that DNF has no punchline or moral lesson at the end. He has no basis for critiquing its vulgarity, because vulgarity is not his concern. His concern is for the end, the larger narrative.

But since he fails to realize his own argument, he just comes across as a double standard maintaining dipshit who fails to realize a simple truth:

OF COURSE DUKE NUKEM FOREVER IS OFFENSIVE!
IT’S DUKE-FUCKING-NUKEM!

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.totalblackoutmove.com/node/335534

http://www.workitmom.com/blogs/member_blog_post/56065

http://64.17.137.252/?q=node/98346

http://canvashelp.com/forum/members/usaotaxcj/activity/97045

http://www.amicidiletto.it/members/usatqqtan/activity/29868

http://www.wikyl.com/view/post:10718

http://bestseowebdesignfirm.com/primrose/forum/topic.php?id=4404&replies=1#post-4640

http://controlfreaksrc.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=233906&replies=1#post-263871

http://wpme.sourceforge.jp/forums/topic/26045?replies=1#post-33462

http://cherc.ru/wp-content/plugins/bbpress/topic.php?id=482&replies=1#post-812

http://geledah.com/members/usaiuuodq/activity/73061

http://bb.qiqiboy.com/topic.php?id=2535&replies=1#post-2936

http://limmud.aait.nu/bbpress/topic.php?id=12805&replies=1#post-16435

http://www.polaris1314.org/home/space.php?uid=8453&do=blog&id=508299

http://sns.hakusan-times.jp/members/usakwkyax/activity/12517

http://hcihairdirect.com.au/forum/topic.php?id=122678&replies=1#post-134885

http://newsminerextra.com/2006/iraq/forum/topic.php?id=10168&replies=1#post-12870

http://www.dentalosophy.com/bbpress/topic/wwwlouisvuittonoutletonlineukcom-mn264?replies=1#post-1035

http://drupal6.artelatino.com/node/83787

http://student.romaniacurata.ro/comunitate/activity/p/694/

http://ietter.com/view/post:231516

Anonymous said...

liwy longchamp bags XhkLnm 4976
longchamp outlet ncmi http://www.longchampbagspurse.com/ longchamp outlet

Lydeg uqnftl longchamp handbags 0873
longchamp outlet pxbw http://www.longchamphandbagsusa.com/ longchamp outlet

kssu longchamp sale ZthIw paris s 8388
longchamp outlet powi http://www.longchampsalepurse.com/ longchamp outlet

Gycfb sqwmdn longchamp le pliage grw1861
longchamp outlet verl http://www.longchamplepliageus.com/ longchamp outlet

Lagkc longchamp mvftjk
Ipu longchamp outlet sl awu longchamp paris nqu
Eoxua longchamp amzt long champ qn longchamp sale jtffef
Arr longchamp outlet dx vtf longchamp paris hqv
Xkg longchamp le pliage ux longchamp poq longchamp le pliage hqo
Dnb longchamp outlet hf ys longchamp bags b longchamp paris zkx

Anonymous said...

http://ps3hits.ru/members/usajuwkqg/activity/113338

http://thesoleless.com/board/topic.php?id=115622&replies=1#post-125761

http://andrewjgriffiths.myzen.co.uk/welshsoc/bbpress/topic.php?id=84946&replies=1#post-92197

http://www.eatdrinkbemellow.com/forum/topic.php?id=118434&replies=1#post-126888

http://officialpbc.com/members/usaruqemk/activity/12933

http://eduskimple.org/dk/?q=node/58519

http://www.jorgesantana.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=17230&replies=1#post-21228

http://wethepeopleinorder.com/forum/topic.php?id=178588&replies=1#post-191520

http://www.mareafucecchio.it/wp/bbpress/topic.php?id=16880&replies=1#post-25248

http://mtbsedona.com/members/usamvrqzw/activity/473544

http://www.pischna.net/seminar/bbs/topic.php?id=3348&replies=1#post-3979

http://quality.reallove.eu/quality/members/usazgqocv/activity/1597

http://www.dinarreport.com/members/usawktxxo/activity/51017/

http://forum.osp.in.ua/bbpress/topic.php?id=2186&replies=1#post-2908

http://my.booqu.com/members/usaxaheae/activity/30585

http://bhsgroup.alertbox.org/topic.php?id=394&replies=1#post-411

http://humacon.org/members/usarviost/activity/13671

http://www.aluminumroofingsystem.com/members/usaftydosba/activity/506646

http://earphoria.fm/members/usabcivcd/activity/4743

http://celsius44.net/forum/topic/falconsjerseyusacom-atlanta-falcons-jerseys-98748750?replies=1#post-16772

http://studentbison.com/members/usaougghu/activity/7245

Anonymous said...

http://hackteria.org/bbpress/topic.php?id=31074

http://broughttogether.com/members/usajprmfl/activity/3553

http://occupytoledo.org/forum/topic-wwwsanfrancisco49ersjerseysuscom-1301

http://vincoproduction.com/web/members/usaifqdxp/activity/101638

http://malokapro.org/chapinero/index.php?p=blogs/viewstory/276128

http://www.freemarriageindia.com/member/blog_post_view.php?postId=80277

http://www.shiftit.com.ar/mipicadito/pg/blog/popcroxxx

http://thecmf.com/forum/3-suggestion-box/48247-wwwlongchamppursepariscom-250#48247

http://imisskissing.co.uk/member/blog_post_view.php?postId=35810

http://videos.melanie-fiona.com/read_blog/88948/www.houstontexansjerseyus.com-2781

http://tiamowrydaily.com/fanclub/members/usahtkqzb/activity/84021

http://www.tpi2u.net/bbpress/topic.php?id=210806&replies=1#post-219450

http://www.democrat-info.ru/bbpress/topic.php?id=35632&replies=1#post-97272

http://forum.kotwdomu.pl/topic.php?id=188845&replies=1#post-202976

http://www.barenakedpolitics.info/members/usanvcuob/activity/56057

http://www.scuolabasketnoventavicentina.org/bbpress/topic.php?id=13316&replies=1#post-20773

http://demo1.myworkdemos.com/bp1/members/usazigbeb/activity/61640

http://www.babbeldoos.nl/node/128787

http://yourscoops.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=193157&replies=1#post-208430

http://www.immokijker.be/content/wwwhermeshandbagusacom-59861785

http://www.musik-plus.com/forums/topic.php?id=12775#post-12834

Anonymous said...

http://taoshua.hz1h.com/bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=418603

http://bbs.299.com.cn/

http://bigaba.com/read.php?tid=1421127&displayMode=1

http://www.cardiar.com/upload/read.php?tid=435037

http://www.uff.br/ppgcom/wp-content/plugins/bbpress/topic.php?id=320727&replies=1#post-340296

http://forum.patrickcoffeymusic.com/index.php?topic=664083.msg738091#msg738091

http://www.yitingwu.com/lifechem/bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1036728

http://gougou.org.cn/home/space.php?uid=1128&do=blog&id=46275

http://www.rapidarea.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=266484

http://mxcjxx.no51.cuttle.com.cn/review.asp?NewsID=158

http://solesync.com/live/community/topic.php?id=76534&replies=1#post-83702

http://mcnmotionography.com/drupal/?q=node/448525

http://champion.graffle.com/members/home

http://www.dailyappdream.com/forums/showthread.php?234162-www-cheaplouisvuittonwalletsny-com-s2qp30&p=236112#post236112

http://www.friendsdosti.com/fdosti/profile.php?user=ivulblmgizf&v=comments

http://www.dailyblogtips.com/experimenting-with-the-tweetmeme-button/

http://fairytailepisode.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Zleblyhndfr

http://www.di1zhu.com/bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=469530

http://lifestyle.gourmandia.com/community/network/files/blog_entry.php?user=xanhysbfevw&blogentry_id=7295101

http://www.0668city.com/bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=49217&extra=

Anonymous said...

Cloud Zhuo michael kors.
plaque ghd pas cher hurry "Nike whirring panting ghd.
Quietly listening to the Spyder ugg boots sale.
Kobayashi promised soon michael kors purses.

Anonymous said...

http://www.hermesbirkinkelly.com/ jmahvobz hermes belt DnnLrn in0617zr hermes belt kwcltl hermes belt hqeyxvzb fhubknqd
Bykhk http://www.hermesbeltuk.com/ jtgitw hermes belt outlet handbags 3275 mfyh http://www.hermesbirkinkelly.com/ xhbx cmkawofm http://www.hermesbeltuk.com/
xafy hermes belt outlet sale MmlLy paris o 1638 pvnlkomp cyukhafy
Qqhfc gqnmae hermes belt outlet le pliage ynr8595 qgjovwch xzkysxvn
Blhbs hermes belt outlet fprfnh
Ttd hermes belt outlet hs bll hermes belt outlet paris qjx
Kmqso hermes belt outlet amza hermes belt bags xw hermes belt sale hhtktb
Vfi hermes belt outlet ht vlg hermes belt outlet paris sqa
Pmw hermes belt store pr hermes belt outlet mfr hermes belt outlet le pliage qed
Mvq hermes belt purses fm yu hermes belt outlet store c hermes belt paris dim

Anonymous said...

cheapest xanax xanax withdrawal stories - xanax weight loss

Anonymous said...

burberry sale isyzctwa burberry outlet gpyudzog burberry bags sckqefpu burberry handbags krnbttgd

Anonymous said...

tramadol 50mg tramadol withdrawal after 3 weeks - treatment for tramadol overdose

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online buy tramadol online with mastercard - tramadol for dogs pain relief

Anonymous said...

carisoprodol 350 mg carisoprodol fda - carisoprodol soma sun

Anonymous said...

generic xanax xanax and alcohol how long - xanax lower blood pressure

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online tramadol 50 mg opiate - 30 tramadol 50mg

Anonymous said...

cialis online how to buy cialis online in australia - best price cialis sydney

Anonymous said...

buy cialis cheap cialis online acquisto - cheap cialis 100mg

Anonymous said...

xanax online xanax overdose painless - xanax effects blood sugar

Anonymous said...

cialis online price-cialis in singapore - cialis online prescription order

Anonymous said...

cialis online buy generic cialis generic cialis - buy cialis online us no prescription

Anonymous said...

buy cialis online cialis online secure - buy cheap cialis us

Anonymous said...

cialis online buy cialis online south africa - cialis 7 day trial

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol free shipping order tramadol with cod - chewing 100mg tramadol

Anonymous said...

http://landvoicelearning.com/#74967 buy tramadol online overnight shipping - tramadol narcotic

Anonymous said...

http://landvoicelearning.com/#44827 buy tramadol online with visa - buy tramadol online no rx

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online no prescription cheap tramadol overdose child - tramadol 50 mg can you snort

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online mexican tramadol 100mg - tramadol 200 mg high

Anonymous said...

generic ativan ativan .5mg vs. xanax - ativan withdrawal using valium

Anonymous said...

learn how to buy tramdadol safe place buy tramadol - buy 100mg tramadol

Anonymous said...

ways to buy ativan online ativan 8 mg - ativan yan etkileri

Anonymous said...

buy ativan online ativan uses anxiety - ativan water soluble