Comic for Monday 01/02 (Early High Res)
I was trying to write an opinion piece to go along with this strip, but honestly, after a full two days of researching this Hogwarts Legacy controversy/boycott from all of the different angles I could find, reading articles and reddit subs and comment sections... I am simply worn out.
And more importantly, I think, I've ultimately come to the conclusion that I can't offer anything of value to this particular discourse one way or another. Like it or not, Hogwarts Legacy, and the act of buying it (or not buying it), is going to be viewed by someone as a stand for something.
Comments (6)
And, thus, they have succeeded in getting you to boycott the game in your coverage of video game content. Trying not to make a statement is a losing game. You've just made one side very happy by backing away from it and stating that it's too dangerous to cover, hopefully (in their minds) making it more likely for others to do so.
Nobody has "gotten" me to do anything. Though I recognize that the situation is an ethical hotseat, I've yet to find a way to clearly articulate my further thoughts/stance on the subject, and will refrain from doing so until I have a position I'm prepared to defend. I'm not going to say stuff just to say stuff about this when, despite great effort, I could not formulate an argument I was happy with.
Planning to buy it, let my kids play it, etc. My son loves Harry Potter and has been asking about this game since it was announced. Whatever weird moral corner the internet has backed JKR into by refusing any gray area or nuance has nothing to do with the game or the core themes of Harry Potter. One of those themes being that it doesn't matter what you were born as or where/how you were raised, you can do good and be a hero. Separating art from artist is also an important critical thinking skill in my opinion. If you really care about what your money supports you should just spend no money anywhere, because I promise that nearly any retail or fast food thing you buy is exploitative at some point in it's creation/transport and/ or enriches a CEO/owner who will donate money to politicians whom you oppose ideologically. I personally have accepted that my basic consumer behaviors will have unintended negative side affects no matter what I buy, because capitalism is exploitative at it's root. My kids doesn't need to know what a TERF is, they do need positive entertainment that's not getting called slurs in a COD or Fortnite lobby
The whole JK Rowling thing is weird. In fact how the LBTQ+ (I'll be honest it's gotten so long I can't remember all of it.) Latched onto the Wizarding world. I would easily argue that the Wizarding world laid out in the books is worse then then the real world that way. Heck they have a whole species of bound and condition slaves that even the most progressive wizards just see it as the way things are.
I honestly don't know why it's been so controversial. Both me and my wife can see both sides and as far as we are concerned they are both valid.
Yeah, this is definitely a sticky situation. I mostly feel bad for the developers of the game that are essentially caught in the middle of this argument. I fall more on the side of feeling a bit icky if I buy this and financially support JKR, but I’ve also read that she is not getting a dime past the royalty fees, so maybe it’s okay? I dunno. As of this point, I don’t have any time for new games, anyway!