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The [Ready Player One] Quarantine Thread

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  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Ringo wrote: »
    Is it wrong that if I was presented with Raijin's Choice I already know who I would pick?

    YES

    Oh... I was just kidding...

    That's clearly the one they want you to pick

    You have to consider the psychology of the enemy, Raijin

  • AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    Also, someone made a very good point: where are all the furries?. Because if the Oasis was real, it would be at least one-fifth furry by population.

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  • SethTheHumanSethTheHuman Registered User regular
    The thing that baffles me about RPO having ever gotten any good critical reception is that, setting aside it's extremely problematic elements which god knows doesn't always translate to bad reviews, it's just horribly written on a basic structural level

    Everyone was so quick to jump down Twilight's throat as the worst thing to ever happen to literature but god does it's prose look amazing in comparison

    Welcome to latent cultural sexism, where we rip down everything women like and cover up the flaws in what men like.

    I mean, having read both, RPO still isn't nearly as misogynistic as Twiligjt.

    You know what? Nanowrimo's cancelled on account of the world is stupid.
  • Goose!Goose! That's me, honey Show me the way home, honeyRegistered User regular
    I just got an email from Uproxx about their review, with the headline "RPO is a Visually Dazzling Satire of Consumer Culture" which is not a take I had heard.

  • Goose!Goose! That's me, honey Show me the way home, honeyRegistered User regular
    edited March 2018
    Ringo wrote: »
    Ah, yeah that tracks

    God damn I hope the timing of this is intentional, because it is the sickest of burns.

    Goose! on
  • MatevMatev Cero Miedo Registered User regular
    Goose! wrote: »
    I just got an email from Uproxx about their review, with the headline "RPO is a Visually Dazzling Satire of Consumer Culture" which is not a take I had heard.

    How can it be a satire when it wallows in consumer culture happy as a pig in shit?

    "Go down, kick ass, and set yourselves up as gods, that's our Prime Directive!"
    Hail Hydra
  • KnightKnight Dead Dead Dead Registered User regular
    I like the 372 pages we'll never get back method of adding "insanely hot" in front of every time he writes the word mom in Armada.

    What a terrible book.

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  • fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell #BLMRegistered User regular
    edited March 2018
    Also, someone made a very good point: where are all the furries?. Because if the Oasis was real, it would be at least one-fifth furry by population.

    my headcanon is that Second Life still actually exists in the RPO world, and that's where the "real weirdos" go to hang out.

    (i'd probably be one of those, "hating" on the mainstream Oasis users)

    fightinfilipino on
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  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Goose! wrote: »
    Ringo wrote: »
    Ah, yeah that tracks

    God damn I hope the timing of this is intentional, because it is the sickest of burns.

    Sometimes you just send a post out into the wild and it comes back a legend

  • UnbrokenEvaUnbrokenEva HIGH ON THE WIRE BUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered User regular
    I figure the movie will be a lot better than the book simply because Spielberg is a much better director than Cline is a writer.

    Whether that’s enough to elevate it to “good” remains to be seen, though not until it’s on Netflix or something because fuuuuck paying to see it in theater

    My guess is it will be improved enough to go through a similar cycle to the book - good reviews initially from people buying into the hype/pandering, but over time it will be seen in less flattering light.

  • WhiteZinfandelWhiteZinfandel Your insides Let me show you themRegistered User regular
    Am I the only person who thinks calling that one interaction transphobic is an overreaction? To me it seems like a clumsy way of stating a pretty normal sexual preference, entirely in keeping with how poorly socialized 18 year olds act.

  • Grey GhostGrey Ghost Registered User regular
    The funniest thing about Armada is that it progresses much like RPO does and then in the last chapter he rushes the ending worse than Neal Stephenson

    Like he straight ran out of ideas, even other people's, and just went okay aaaaaaand we're done

  • WACriminalWACriminal Dying Is Easy, Young Man Living Is HarderRegistered User regular
    Am I the only person who thinks calling that one interaction transphobic is an overreaction? To me it seems like a clumsy way of stating a pretty normal sexual preference, entirely in keeping with how poorly socialized 18 year olds act.

    Just because it's "pretty normal" (by which I'm assuming you mean "common" rather than the more questionable "healthy") or accurate to 18-year-olds doesn't make it not transphobic.

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    Am I the only person who thinks calling that one interaction transphobic is an overreaction? To me it seems like a clumsy way of stating a pretty normal sexual preference, entirely in keeping with how poorly socialized 18 year olds act.

    I would say that you're probably the only person who thinks it's something that needs defending.

  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User, Moderator mod
    Am I the only person who thinks calling that one interaction transphobic is an overreaction? To me it seems like a clumsy way of stating a pretty normal sexual preference, entirely in keeping with how poorly socialized 18 year olds act.

    it's hyper-specific to someone who "hasn't had a sex change" which in and of itself is a transphobic way to say it

    and then it's clear that the idea of being trans and having had any sort of surgery or medication is gross and wrong

  • UnbrokenEvaUnbrokenEva HIGH ON THE WIRE BUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered User regular
    Turns out our society has normalized a lot of shitty behavior towards minority groups, to the point that “normal” is in no way synonymous with “okay”

  • Casually HardcoreCasually Hardcore Once an Asshole. Trying to be better. Registered User regular
    edited March 2018
    Am I the only person who thinks calling that one interaction transphobic is an overreaction? To me it seems like a clumsy way of stating a pretty normal sexual preference, entirely in keeping with how poorly socialized 18 year olds act.

    That love never really bothered me because I'm guilty of being a pretty shitty teenager on the internet back in the day who used to ask a stupid question during my AOL days.

    Casually Hardcore on
  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User, Moderator mod
    I mean, I was pretty homophobic and probably transphobic when I was a teen

    I didn't know any better, went to a really Christian school, and while my Dad tried to teach me how to Not Be A Dick from a young age those sorts of topics never came up because he had no experience with them either

    Doesn't mean I wasn't being homophobic and transphobic as a kid, or that I was right, or that it was okay

    it just was

  • UnbrokenEvaUnbrokenEva HIGH ON THE WIRE BUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered User regular
    At least you're not a teenager anymore?

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    It's certainly a realistically shitty thing for a teenager to say, but that doesn't mean that it needs to be in the story. The hero of the piece (and I understand that he is unambiguously a hero) saying something like that certainly normalises the idea that This Is An OK Thing To Say, especially if it isn't called out or addressed in any way.

    To deride the book as a transphobic screed might be a little overblown, but I don't think anyone really does that. They just say that it contains transphobia and stars a character who says transphobic things, which it inarguably does.

  • tzeentchlingtzeentchling Doctor of Rocks OaklandRegistered User regular
    wirehead26 wrote: »
    This answer can be spoiled but is Chucky in this movie?
    Briefly, but yes, he makes an explicit appearance.

  • Casually HardcoreCasually Hardcore Once an Asshole. Trying to be better. Registered User regular
    Well, the question becomes do we label Cline a homophobic and transphobic person for writing characters that say some homophobic and transphobic stuff?

  • CelloCello Registered User regular
    edited March 2018

    Am I the only person who thinks calling that one interaction transphobic is an overreaction? To me it seems like a clumsy way of stating a pretty normal sexual preference, entirely in keeping with how poorly socialized 18 year olds act.

    *Words*

    Hey bud

    It's okay to like this book, but maybe don't use a slur so casually, especially when plenty of folks on this forum are trans

    It's...a bit gauche

    Cello on
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  • QuetziQuetzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User, Moderator mod
    Well, the question becomes do we label Cline a homophobic and transphobic person for writing characters that say some homophobic and transphobic stuff?

    When that character is a blatant Mary Sue

    Yeah, we do

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    Well, the question becomes do we label Cline a homophobic and transphobic person for writing characters that say some homophobic and transphobic stuff?

    If those characters are unambiguous heroes in the text, to the point of being author avatars, I would suggest that this is a pretty easy question to answer.

    Now, might I have been in a similar place myself once? Certainly. I wouldn't guarantee that Cline is homophobic/transphobic in the year of our lord two thousand and eighteen, but I'd certainly say he has some ground to make up.

  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User, Moderator mod
    Yeah it certainly isn't like, a book trying to be transphobic

    but the nature of the relationship in the book is coated in a layer of both transphobia and sexism (and weird creepy stalker behaviour) by the damn hero character and none of it is every really presented as "he's a fucking kid saying stupid shit"

    so it just hammers those ideals into the protagonist as "normal" or "okay" or whatever and never questions that

    so yeah it's pretty gross

  • Casually HardcoreCasually Hardcore Once an Asshole. Trying to be better. Registered User regular
    Tube wrote: »
    Well, the question becomes do we label Cline a homophobic and transphobic person for writing characters that say some homophobic and transphobic stuff?

    If those characters are unambiguous heroes in the text, to the point of being author avatars, I would suggest that this is a pretty easy question to answer.

    Now, might I have been in a similar place myself once? Certainly. I wouldn't guarantee that Cline is homophobic/transphobic in the year of our lord two thousand and eighteen, but I'd certainly say he has some ground to make up.

    So what's your opinion on 'Three Billboards'? Cause I had way more offense towards that movie.

  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User, Moderator mod
    Well, the question becomes do we label Cline a homophobic and transphobic person for writing characters that say some homophobic and transphobic stuff?

    impossible to know

    but if he put that stuff in there intentionally, then probably yes

    if he put it in there unintentionally, then he's probably naive and pretty privileged that he never thought about what that stuff would mean (and he still could be transphobic and homophobic IRL)

    either way, not a good look

  • Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    The impression I get is that the immaturity of the main character/author insert/audience focal-point is not an obstacle to be overcome but like, the entire thing that is being celebrated in the book.

    So the whole "well, it's part of how teenagers act" excuse really doesn't fly with the rest of the narrative that the book has.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • Andy JoeAndy Joe We claim the land for the highlord! The AdirondacksRegistered User regular
    Planning to go to the mall next week for a haircut and to buy some socks. I'll probably see it then.

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  • UnbrokenEvaUnbrokenEva HIGH ON THE WIRE BUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered User regular
    Tube wrote: »
    Well, the question becomes do we label Cline a homophobic and transphobic person for writing characters that say some homophobic and transphobic stuff?

    If those characters are unambiguous heroes in the text, to the point of being author avatars, I would suggest that this is a pretty easy question to answer.

    Now, might I have been in a similar place myself once? Certainly. I wouldn't guarantee that Cline is homophobic/transphobic in the year of our lord two thousand and eighteen, but I'd certainly say he has some ground to make up.

    So what's your opinion on 'Three Billboards'? Cause I had way more offense towards that movie.

    I haven't seen it but my understanding is all of the character in that movie are some combination of awful and broken, as opposed to being presented as heroic author stand-ins.

    Even still, I'd probably still find it uncomfortable if there are a lot of slurs even if they're come from someone we're not supposed to cheer for.

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    Tube wrote: »
    Well, the question becomes do we label Cline a homophobic and transphobic person for writing characters that say some homophobic and transphobic stuff?

    If those characters are unambiguous heroes in the text, to the point of being author avatars, I would suggest that this is a pretty easy question to answer.

    Now, might I have been in a similar place myself once? Certainly. I wouldn't guarantee that Cline is homophobic/transphobic in the year of our lord two thousand and eighteen, but I'd certainly say he has some ground to make up.

    So what's your opinion on 'Three Billboards'? Cause I had way more offense towards that movie.

    I have not seen it.

  • tzeentchlingtzeentchling Doctor of Rocks OaklandRegistered User regular
    The movie strips out any transphobic bits, as far as I saw. There's still the conversation between Aech and Parsival about Artemis possibly being "a 300 pound dude in his mom's basement" but Parsival never asks her if she's "female" or anything like that, he just "knows it to be true because he's in love" or something along those lines.

    Aech/Helen's sexuality is never addressed in the movie, and Wade's shock over seeing her in person disappears quick and he just accepts that that's who she is - no time is really spent on that beyond the first "I'm here and I'm rescuing you" bit.

  • ThetherooThetheroo Registered User regular
    Shorty wrote: »
    I used to say that RPO reads like fanfiction but that's unnecessarily insulting to people who write fanfiction, of which I have read a great deal that is executed better than RPO

    Where's the good fanfiction thread?

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    Thetheroo wrote: »
    Shorty wrote: »
    I used to say that RPO reads like fanfiction but that's unnecessarily insulting to people who write fanfiction, of which I have read a great deal that is executed better than RPO

    Where's the good fanfiction thread?

    I merged it with the dead fanfiction thread.

  • CelloCello Registered User regular
    Anyway I'm sure if I approached this book when I was like 16 I'd have been extremely pandered to

    I mean hell, I read a lot of Wheel of Time at that age, I did not have the ability to discern for quality

    But I've grown up and tried to expand my perceptions and I think for a lot of people on this forum specifically, recent events like GG and essentially all of 2016 on have really forced people to examine their own a bit more. Though I think more positively, more diverse voices in actually audible places calling that stuff out also helps

    It's harder to wear blinders and pretend everything is, in fact, fine and normal and equal when it comes to media, though that hasn't filtered out to the mainstream yet to the same degree. It plays a big part in the reactions here versus elsewhere.

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  • WhiteZinfandelWhiteZinfandel Your insides Let me show you themRegistered User regular
    WACriminal wrote: »
    Am I the only person who thinks calling that one interaction transphobic is an overreaction? To me it seems like a clumsy way of stating a pretty normal sexual preference, entirely in keeping with how poorly socialized 18 year olds act.

    Just because it's "pretty normal" (by which I'm assuming you mean "common" rather than the more questionable "healthy") or accurate to 18-year-olds doesn't make it not transphobic.

    Are you saying that having a sexual dispreference for trans folk is inherently transphobic?

  • MadicanMadican No face Registered User regular
    Also, someone made a very good point: where are all the furries?. Because if the Oasis was real, it would be at least one-fifth furry by population.

    It turns out the Oasis we see has only SFW options toggled. All the NSFW is still there, but it's intangible and invisible. Every scene of the movie there are at least fifty unseen people indulging any and all kinds of fantasy kinks at all times.

  • Casually HardcoreCasually Hardcore Once an Asshole. Trying to be better. Registered User regular
    edited March 2018
    Thetheroo wrote: »
    Shorty wrote: »
    I used to say that RPO reads like fanfiction but that's unnecessarily insulting to people who write fanfiction, of which I have read a great deal that is executed better than RPO

    Where's the good fanfiction thread?

    You have to turn on the 18+ filters.

    Casually Hardcore on
  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    WACriminal wrote: »
    Am I the only person who thinks calling that one interaction transphobic is an overreaction? To me it seems like a clumsy way of stating a pretty normal sexual preference, entirely in keeping with how poorly socialized 18 year olds act.

    Just because it's "pretty normal" (by which I'm assuming you mean "common" rather than the more questionable "healthy") or accurate to 18-year-olds doesn't make it not transphobic.

    Are you saying that having a sexual dispreference for trans folk is inherently transphobic?

    Are you doing a bit right now

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