Yes, they seriously call the Zelda series sexist, classist and racist, in case you seriously wanted evidence they're a bunch of misguided 'social justice' morons looking for meaning in a series where there is none. Here's the (non active) link:
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/05/the_legend_of_zelda_is_classist_sexist_and_racist/
Let's have a look at this disaster eh? On classism:
The game’s perspective on class issues can best be seen in its portrayal of the Kakariko carpenters and the wealthy family in the House of Skulltulla.
Also known as a bunch of good people who help you out by fixing the bridge to Gerudo Valley and end up doing their job, and a bunch of unfortunate but good people who get cursed and turned into spiders by... I can't remember who. But basically they're both sets of nice people portrayed in the best light possible. So let's move on a bit...
Ocarina†portrays the apprentices or journeymen as lazy and shiftless, and the boss as the only one willing to work. “Young men these days don’t have any ambition,†the boss says. “Do you know what I mean, kid? My workers are just running aimlessly around the village, and they’re not making any progress at all … Even my own son doesn’t have a job, and he just wanders around all day! They’re all worthless, I tell you!â€
Or I don't know, they're just lazy or taking their time. Not everything is about some hidden social meaning.
Besides, they get much better at their job in about seven years or so, so don't knock them for that.
Additionally, it's not just the carpenters who are lazy here. You've got the guards who do pretty much sod all other than get killed throughout the adventure, the king who does nothing about the obvious threat in the same room and gets killed just before Link draws the Master Sword for the first time and the people in general (both rich and poor) just lazing around and taking things easily. It's not even remotely class related.
By focusing on the greed of individuals, the game ignores how private property incentivizes and even mandates such behavior. And with this moralizing focus comes a belief that society’s economic ills are intractable because of humanity’s flawed nature.
What on Earth is the author on about? I'm sorry, but what?
It sounds like the delusional ramblings of someone under the mistaken impression that communism is a workable economic system. Probably a college student.
That aside, the game doesn't ignore the private property thing, because get this... it's not trying to make a statement about economics or the human self or psychology. All it's saying is simple:
The Skulltula family got a bit greedy and wanted money
They got cursed and turned into giant spiders
And you break said curse by killing Golden Skulltulas.
Also, a few other things:
Private property doesn't 'incentivise' or mandate said behaviour. People can be well off and still be nice people. People can own property and be perfectly reasonable people who aren't trying to screw everyone else over. The Skulltula family in the game itself are to a degree, pretty nice people who aren't really portrayed as villains or corrupt or anything of that nature.
There's also no moralising focus. Really, this isn't a game with an aesop about greed and finance. The whole House of Skulltula thing is a sidequest with no real major relevance to the plot.
And humans being flawed by nature is not an incorrect thing to believe. Look up a list of logical fallacies sometime. Look up known psychological biases that people have. Dunbar's number. It's not insane to believe that human psychology might indeed be one reason certain systems (like communism) will never, ever work in the real world.
Oh, and none of this stuff is even remotely brought up in the game itself or hinted at in any real way. You're going from 'literary criticism' to 'everyone is Jesus in purgatory' style making crap up for the hell of it.
The racial, ethnic and religious traits of the “good characters†and the “bad characters†within the game also demonstrate a certain xenophobia. All of the good characters, such as the Hylians and Kokiri, are white. In contrast, all of the bad characters, such as the thieving Gerudo and their king, Ganondorf, have brown skin. The Gerudo live in the desert, and in case it wasn’t clear what real-life group of people they are based on, the original Gerudo symbol is strongly reminiscent of the Islamic star and crescent.
Except the Gerudo aren't evil, nor portrayed as villains. Some are (namely Ganon and Twinrova), but the vast majority are just members of a desert tribe who don't really want much to do with the evil scheme in this game and mostly hang around in a fortress in the middle of nowhere.
One of the sages is also a Gerudo.
Additionally, why no comment on the other 'races'/'species' in Hyrule? What about the Gorons or Zora? Or do only groups that look a bit like humans matter in this context? How about the fact these groups are portrayed entirely positively and in a heroic way and aren't associated with some 'race' in the real world?
Link also rescues other female characters who arguably fall into damsel trope, such as Saria, a friend from his Kokiri childhood, and Ruto, princess of the aquatic Zoras.
This is just plain wrong in all counts. Saria isn't ever really kidnapped, she's entirely present throughout the child half of the game and goes into the Forest Temple of her own accord in the second half. She never gets kidnapped, and while she does 'die' before becoming a sage, it happens because she's walked straight into a dangerous dungeon in an attempt to save the other Kokiri and people in Hyrule and got horribly murdered by Phantom Ganon. That's not a damsel in distress. Heck, you don't even know she is in distress at any point.
Same goes for Ruto. She goes to try and help Jabu Jabu of her own accord, and gets 'eaten' by pure accident more than anything else. In the dungeon she never really gets kidnapped, is used as assistance by Link throughout the entire area and never shows any fear at all.
She then returns in the Water Temple, where she simply gives Link some help and swims off, only getting killed because she can't defeat Morpha. Never kidnapped.
Neither of these cases can even remotely be called damsel in distress cases and neither character is portrayed as one at any point during the game.
From the perspective of domesticated animals, agriculture of the past was a gentler prospect than the modern, factory-farm system. But for non-humans the pre-industrial farm, as symbolized by Lon Lon Ranch, was still a place of exploitation and violence, where their lives, in general, would be significantly shorter and more circumscribed than those of their nearest, wild cousins.
Okay, this is getting ridiculous. First we had criticisms of class, then race, then damsels in distress... and now the treatment of cows in fantasy fiction.
This is sounding like the writings of a batshit insane communist hippie vegan. One who apparently reads way too much into video games and 'social justice' meanings within them.
My reaction to just reading that was something like Ganon's in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPNGCesEWgw
It's a cow. It's a farm. No one cares this much about domesticated farm life on a pre industrial farm.
But in the game, domestication is portrayed as a mutually beneficial, voluntary arrangement. The anthropomorphized cows of Hyrule speak to Link, literally saying, “Have some of my refreshing and nutritious milk!†Of course depicting a relationship as anything like symbiotic when one party kills and eats the other, as well as the latter’s children, would be laughable if it weren’t so appalling.
There's nothing wrong with eating meat. There's nothing wrong with domesticating food animals and using them for meat in foods that humans and other animals eat. Seriously, the idea that treating domestication as a voluntary thing is bad in media is just... I'm not sure whether I can even take it seriously. Even if the game let us buy 'delicious Lon Lon Steaks for 100 rupees', it wouldn't be a bad thing.
I'm sorry, but there is absolutely nothing there that's remotely 'offensive'. Cows are animals who are eaten by humans/have their milk used for human consumption. That's it. And no one on the planet takes the whole 'cows saying that you can have their delicious milk' when you play Epona's Song as even remotely questionable because it isn't, it's just a nice joke/easter egg for the few people willing to try playing random ocarina songs while standing next to cattle.
“Ocarina†is a fantastic piece of art we can enjoy while being aware that, like so much other art, it has a lot of problems.
Absolutely none of which are the things you attempt to blame it for in this 'article'. Instead, you listed a bunch of factually incorrect, pointless complaints that show how easily you seem to be offended by basic things in a simple work of fiction. Seriously, the whole article sounded like something you can imagine PETA writing. Or perhaps the work of a moral crusader religious extremist.
All in all, a poor article which uses flimsy 'logic' to complain about non existent social 'injustices' in a work of fiction that doesn't have much of a plot to begin with.
What did everyone else think of this (unintentionally hilarious) article?
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/05/the_legend_of_zelda_is_classist_sexist_and_racist/
Let's have a look at this disaster eh? On classism:
The game’s perspective on class issues can best be seen in its portrayal of the Kakariko carpenters and the wealthy family in the House of Skulltulla.
Also known as a bunch of good people who help you out by fixing the bridge to Gerudo Valley and end up doing their job, and a bunch of unfortunate but good people who get cursed and turned into spiders by... I can't remember who. But basically they're both sets of nice people portrayed in the best light possible. So let's move on a bit...
Ocarina†portrays the apprentices or journeymen as lazy and shiftless, and the boss as the only one willing to work. “Young men these days don’t have any ambition,†the boss says. “Do you know what I mean, kid? My workers are just running aimlessly around the village, and they’re not making any progress at all … Even my own son doesn’t have a job, and he just wanders around all day! They’re all worthless, I tell you!â€
Or I don't know, they're just lazy or taking their time. Not everything is about some hidden social meaning.
Besides, they get much better at their job in about seven years or so, so don't knock them for that.
Additionally, it's not just the carpenters who are lazy here. You've got the guards who do pretty much sod all other than get killed throughout the adventure, the king who does nothing about the obvious threat in the same room and gets killed just before Link draws the Master Sword for the first time and the people in general (both rich and poor) just lazing around and taking things easily. It's not even remotely class related.
By focusing on the greed of individuals, the game ignores how private property incentivizes and even mandates such behavior. And with this moralizing focus comes a belief that society’s economic ills are intractable because of humanity’s flawed nature.
What on Earth is the author on about? I'm sorry, but what?
It sounds like the delusional ramblings of someone under the mistaken impression that communism is a workable economic system. Probably a college student.
That aside, the game doesn't ignore the private property thing, because get this... it's not trying to make a statement about economics or the human self or psychology. All it's saying is simple:
The Skulltula family got a bit greedy and wanted money
They got cursed and turned into giant spiders
And you break said curse by killing Golden Skulltulas.
Also, a few other things:
Private property doesn't 'incentivise' or mandate said behaviour. People can be well off and still be nice people. People can own property and be perfectly reasonable people who aren't trying to screw everyone else over. The Skulltula family in the game itself are to a degree, pretty nice people who aren't really portrayed as villains or corrupt or anything of that nature.
There's also no moralising focus. Really, this isn't a game with an aesop about greed and finance. The whole House of Skulltula thing is a sidequest with no real major relevance to the plot.
And humans being flawed by nature is not an incorrect thing to believe. Look up a list of logical fallacies sometime. Look up known psychological biases that people have. Dunbar's number. It's not insane to believe that human psychology might indeed be one reason certain systems (like communism) will never, ever work in the real world.
Oh, and none of this stuff is even remotely brought up in the game itself or hinted at in any real way. You're going from 'literary criticism' to 'everyone is Jesus in purgatory' style making crap up for the hell of it.
The racial, ethnic and religious traits of the “good characters†and the “bad characters†within the game also demonstrate a certain xenophobia. All of the good characters, such as the Hylians and Kokiri, are white. In contrast, all of the bad characters, such as the thieving Gerudo and their king, Ganondorf, have brown skin. The Gerudo live in the desert, and in case it wasn’t clear what real-life group of people they are based on, the original Gerudo symbol is strongly reminiscent of the Islamic star and crescent.
Except the Gerudo aren't evil, nor portrayed as villains. Some are (namely Ganon and Twinrova), but the vast majority are just members of a desert tribe who don't really want much to do with the evil scheme in this game and mostly hang around in a fortress in the middle of nowhere.
One of the sages is also a Gerudo.
Additionally, why no comment on the other 'races'/'species' in Hyrule? What about the Gorons or Zora? Or do only groups that look a bit like humans matter in this context? How about the fact these groups are portrayed entirely positively and in a heroic way and aren't associated with some 'race' in the real world?
Link also rescues other female characters who arguably fall into damsel trope, such as Saria, a friend from his Kokiri childhood, and Ruto, princess of the aquatic Zoras.
This is just plain wrong in all counts. Saria isn't ever really kidnapped, she's entirely present throughout the child half of the game and goes into the Forest Temple of her own accord in the second half. She never gets kidnapped, and while she does 'die' before becoming a sage, it happens because she's walked straight into a dangerous dungeon in an attempt to save the other Kokiri and people in Hyrule and got horribly murdered by Phantom Ganon. That's not a damsel in distress. Heck, you don't even know she is in distress at any point.
Same goes for Ruto. She goes to try and help Jabu Jabu of her own accord, and gets 'eaten' by pure accident more than anything else. In the dungeon she never really gets kidnapped, is used as assistance by Link throughout the entire area and never shows any fear at all.
She then returns in the Water Temple, where she simply gives Link some help and swims off, only getting killed because she can't defeat Morpha. Never kidnapped.
Neither of these cases can even remotely be called damsel in distress cases and neither character is portrayed as one at any point during the game.
From the perspective of domesticated animals, agriculture of the past was a gentler prospect than the modern, factory-farm system. But for non-humans the pre-industrial farm, as symbolized by Lon Lon Ranch, was still a place of exploitation and violence, where their lives, in general, would be significantly shorter and more circumscribed than those of their nearest, wild cousins.
Okay, this is getting ridiculous. First we had criticisms of class, then race, then damsels in distress... and now the treatment of cows in fantasy fiction.
This is sounding like the writings of a batshit insane communist hippie vegan. One who apparently reads way too much into video games and 'social justice' meanings within them.
My reaction to just reading that was something like Ganon's in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPNGCesEWgw
It's a cow. It's a farm. No one cares this much about domesticated farm life on a pre industrial farm.
But in the game, domestication is portrayed as a mutually beneficial, voluntary arrangement. The anthropomorphized cows of Hyrule speak to Link, literally saying, “Have some of my refreshing and nutritious milk!†Of course depicting a relationship as anything like symbiotic when one party kills and eats the other, as well as the latter’s children, would be laughable if it weren’t so appalling.
There's nothing wrong with eating meat. There's nothing wrong with domesticating food animals and using them for meat in foods that humans and other animals eat. Seriously, the idea that treating domestication as a voluntary thing is bad in media is just... I'm not sure whether I can even take it seriously. Even if the game let us buy 'delicious Lon Lon Steaks for 100 rupees', it wouldn't be a bad thing.
I'm sorry, but there is absolutely nothing there that's remotely 'offensive'. Cows are animals who are eaten by humans/have their milk used for human consumption. That's it. And no one on the planet takes the whole 'cows saying that you can have their delicious milk' when you play Epona's Song as even remotely questionable because it isn't, it's just a nice joke/easter egg for the few people willing to try playing random ocarina songs while standing next to cattle.
“Ocarina†is a fantastic piece of art we can enjoy while being aware that, like so much other art, it has a lot of problems.
Absolutely none of which are the things you attempt to blame it for in this 'article'. Instead, you listed a bunch of factually incorrect, pointless complaints that show how easily you seem to be offended by basic things in a simple work of fiction. Seriously, the whole article sounded like something you can imagine PETA writing. Or perhaps the work of a moral crusader religious extremist.
All in all, a poor article which uses flimsy 'logic' to complain about non existent social 'injustices' in a work of fiction that doesn't have much of a plot to begin with.
What did everyone else think of this (unintentionally hilarious) article?
