In the modern day, most games, movies, shows, and books try to be as inclusive as possible. While this is not inherently a negative thing, there are those that think conversely. Media that shows an ounce of inclusivity or representation are seemingly burned at the stake for being “Woke”. But is this always the case? And why is this happening?

I want to preface this article by acknowledging the sensitivity of this topic and how this can mean different thing for a variety of individuals. Right off the bat, I want to say that no, I don’t think that representation is wrong. But there has to be a reason why fans and audiences hate seeing it in media now.

The latest example that comes to mind is that of Dragon Age: the Veilguard and the latest Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man show. The controversy stems from the inclusion of characters who are actively vocal about their identity and characters who had their gender and race swapped. I want to talk about why this is generally disliked and why.

An Intolerant Audience?

A lot of people think that the hate for representation in media is driven solely by an intolerant fanbase. However, there’s a more nuanced story behind this. Believe it or not, representation has been around in media for decades now. Disney has had POC protagonists for a while and nobody hated it. Pocahontas, Mulan, Jasmine, and Tiana are all beloved characters and yet none of them are white. In fact, there was one episode of the Little Mermaid animated series that featured a dark skinned mermaid who used sign language. Additionally, one of Marvel’s most successful titles, the X-Men, is an iconic and loved franchise all about inclusion and the struggle of minorities to fit in.

It’s not just western media that had representation. Many animes in the past had effeminate male characters and butch females yet these animes are some of the most beloved titles. Despite what most people think, diversity has always been a thing in media. So what’s so different now? The main difference is the way by which these elements are presented.

Woke V.S. Inclusion

There is a key difference between inclusivity and woke agenda. Being inclusive entails accepting characters and individuals from all walks of life. The woke agenda that people dislike is when representation is treated as a piechart or checklist in order to pander to a specific minority; even at the cost of organic storytelling or plot quality.

There are games that promote freedom of sexuality like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Hades, but it’s done so without sacrificing the story or plot. The reason why people dislike Dragon Age: the Veilguard despite having a good storyline and pleasant gameplay experience is that there are abrupt moments of preachy political messages. These moments are so jarring and feel out of place that it detracts from the overall experience.

Compared to Dragon Age: Origins’ queer representation, Veilguard got way more backlash. The main reason for this was the inclusivity in Origins wasn’t shoehorned into it. Zevran and Leilanna’s bisexuality was played off as being a normal thing and was shown by having both the male and female protagonists being able to romance them. The game didn’t have to go out of its way to correct its own NPC’s pronouns.

Why the Hate?

With that said, no, I don’t think that the general dislike of representation in games stems from an inherent intolerance. It’s likely that the controversy is brought about with the rise of the “woke” agenda. There’s a fine line between organic storytelling and inclusion and outright political pandering. Sadly, many individuals have a hard time seeing the difference at this point. For some, the mere mention of gender or sexuality is enough to call for a woke witch hunt.

That’s sadly the byproduct of the aggressive commercialization of DEI by corporate entities. Rather than actual quality inclusion, many companies treat DEI trends as a checklist rather than a proper thought. They place it in places that it need not be. Do I really need to know the gender of my robot over the in-game stats? It makes the inclusion and representation cheap and tokenistic rather than meaningful.

The irony here is that the mere act of portraying preachy political correctness as special alienates its inclusion as normal in the status quo. Putting these radical minorities and events on a pedestal often leads to the othering of said minorities.

Where other projects fly is in their ability to portray minorities as part of the status quo rather than an exception that needs to be included. Inclusion and representation done right can mean the difference between a meaningful experience and woke pandering. People don’t hate it when you include an original character for representation, but people lose it when an established character is race or gender swapped for no reason other than for DEI purposes. For the same reason why people hate whitewashing, race swapping for no reason is generally disliked.

Representation Done Right

At the end of the day, there is absolutely a place for minorities in media. Everyone deserves representation but everyone needs these to be done right. More than anything, audiences hate it when something is being shoved down their throats. The same way we dislike a protagonist who’s portrayed as cool just because the movie tells us they’re cool, a character that’s aggressively shown to be of a minority is just as likely to be disliked.

One example I can give of queer representation in gaming done right is how bisexuality and pansexual characters are portrayed in Mass Effect. The game shows rather then tells and players appreciate that. When you have to go out of your way to include representation, then that’s already the wrong direction. Representation should flow with the story just as well as character development. It should jive with the plot as well as the conflict, the struggles, and the resolutions. You can have a game chock full of representation and still be well liked as long as everything is well done. DEI exists as a means of having voices heard; not as a checklist.

At the end of the day, games and shows that focus too much on being inclusive rather than letting it be a part of the overall theme lose track of why it needs to be inclusive. Media is inclusive because it acknowledges different backgrounds and walks of life. It’s not to preach a political agenda. It has the burden of showing rather than telling.

Need a lighter topic to talk about? Here are a few you’ll like.

Read More

Fantastic Four First Steps: Our Initial Thoughts and Reaction

Must-Have Gaming Phone Accessories – Coolers, Controllers, and Finger Sleeves