Kasz216 said:
If you'd played his games, you'd understand. MGS games have a thick undercurrent of well... sexism and just in general perversion. For an example, one of the first things you do in MGS Peacewalker is to use your X-ray vision to look at a 16 year olds underwear. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8079-Hideo-Kojima-and-Women Then you later date them... All the talk about "Well maybe it has a deeper meaning is akin to saying "Well maybe the pedophile was just handing out candy at the local kintergarden to make up for his crimes!" Also... this tweet. |
That tweet came before what I posted earlier from Kojima, and it's the one that started this controversy. I know because I actually commented on gamrReview when they reported it. It begs the question of whether he actually wrote that on purpose, knowing he would get a certain reaction...
http://www.gamrreview.com/news/90456/metal-gear-sexism-kojima-wants-more-erotic-character-designs/
Now, how are erotic designs supposed to be inheretly sexist is beyond me... And that's all the tweet says. That, and his intention for the character to be popular with cosplayers and action figures, which is what many game creators want. To have their characters stand out by its look and actions, so that you're interested in their story/game. You can accuse him of "pandering" for this (a natural consequence of games being an entertainment and a business, which should surprise no one...), but I don't see how it's more than that.
While it's true that without having played his games I can't comment on the whole picture here, I believe I can still make certain observations from the outside, which don't depend on said knowledge. For example, why is it that this is not being considered here ? Or the fact that both Snake and Raiden have worn skin-tight outfits that could be seen as provocative, around as much as Samus one ? Isn't this enough to prove that Kojima just happens to have no problem with showing skin, no matter the sex ? Also, what about this general consensus I keep hearing that The Boss is one of the best female characters in gaming, thanks to her strength, personality and so on ? Is this character something a sexist person would create ?
Finally, regarding the whole "perversion" side and voyeurism... There's a lot of this that depends on interpretation and personal views, not to mention cultural differences. The idea of peeking at a 16-year old girl's body falls into a grey area in my opinion, as at that age, the body might be fully developed, and we're not talking about any sexual contact. Of course, peeking itself without consent is also somewhat questionable, but you would be hard-pressed to find someone of either sex who has never done it in small doses... Suddenly, I'm reminded of that Seinfeld episode where him and George peek at a 16-year old girl's cleavage (Denise Richards playing said girl), and later he tells Elaine that "you don't consider age when looking at a cleavage" or something like that. I haven't heard of any controversy regarding that episode... Anyway, I'll concede here that I lack enough information to make any judgment of these elements. From what I read, context seems to be essential here.
Still, I think it's fair to say by now that my interpretation of the games would most likely differ with yours, and I know for a fact that others don't see previous MGS games as sexist, which is the bottom line of it all. Different people, different cultures, different interpretations. You're certainly entitled to your opinion and I will respect that, as I respect all views here. But without MGSV even released yet, any opinion either way is speculative, and a trend (from any point of view) can always be broken. The chance of him surprising even you is still there, specially when he's trying to do so, while even pointing out how this character is supposed to be an antithesis of the kind of stuff you're accusing it of. In any case, we'll know soon enough...
