Steven Spielberg’s film portrays video gamers at their worst | Alfie Bown
by Alfie Bown from Technology | The Guardian on (#3KHG3)
Ready Player One takes gaming culture and represents it as male-dominated, elitist and not dissimilar to the 'alt-right'
Steven Spielberg's new blockbuster, Ready Player One, is the most significant Hollywood depiction of gamer culture to date. For the first time in mainstream cinema, it presents video games not merely as the cliched subcultural world of geeks and nerds, but as a significant force shaping the future of entertainment, communication, love, and politics.
In this way, it does justice to the importance of video games, which have an increasing role in social and cultural life. On the other hand, it's fraught with gender problems, reverence for elitism, and a rightwing endorsement of the importance of culture over political and economic conditions. As such, the celebrated director is showing the worst side of gamer culture.
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