October 29, 2014 – Jill Lepore

EPISODE NUMBER: 11015 (October 29, 2014)
GUESTS: Jill Lepore | Anita Sarkeesian
STAFF CAMEO: Rob Dubbin (Gamer)
SEGMENTS: Gamergate | Gamergate - Anita Sarkeesian | Heroism in Canada | Jill Lepore | Sign Off - Microphone
SUIT REPORT: Dark gray suit | Light blue shirt | Navy patterned tie
VIDEOS: Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Stephen honors our neighbor to the North by singing “O Canada,” sort of.

Tonight’s episode was a passionate one, replete with a feminism theme and two lady guests. TCR waded into the controversy that is #gamergate. It is indeed a good story, and very provocative to have media critic Anita Sarkeesian on - and it’s also stirring up the internet. I was scanning tumblr for .gifs, and saw a good number of angry posts ripping both Stephen and Anita (and her being on the show.) It seems this is going to stew in social media for a while. Whenever attacks like this spring up around Stephen on the internet, I realize that there are always viewers looking to hijack content for the sake of their own agenda, and not true it-getters. I will let you guys discuss the pro and cons of #gamergate in the comments, if you wish.

Also, a heartfelt tribute to Canada. I know some prominent TCR staff hails from Canada, like co-exec producer Barry Julien, so they must taken pride in that segment. The song was just perfect.

The episode capped off with an interesting take on the history of Wonder Woman with Jill Lepore. I had no idea the character was written with feminist underpinnings. But contrasting her image with the overly sexualized female gaming characters Anita Sarkeesian was talking about, perhaps Wonder Woman was ahead of her time.

What did you think of the episode? Shout it out while we bring you some great quotes and caps.

Gamergate

• This is a stressful job, I’m not going to lie to you. So when I’m not out here spitting the truth hot and hard, I relax by gaming. I’m a huge gamer. I play them all, Monopoly, Go Fish. Saying I’ll meet you there but then it turns out I have a thing and I don’t showup. I win.

• I also love games of the video nature. I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing Dark Souls, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty -which is when I pause Assassin’s Creed and go use the bathroom. High score. New high score last night.

• As a gamesman, I am gripped by a scandal called “Gamergate” that’s shaken the video world.

Ronan Farrow: You probably heard of the term ‘gamer gate.’

• I have. That’s why I brought it up just now. What is it about?

Ronan Farrow: It is a scandal about gaming and sexism that’s now made front pages across the country. One million tweets and counting to the gamergate hashtag. It’s an online battle of the sexes over how gamers are portrayed and the sometimes violent reaction to women who speak out.

“Oh, she can gobble my ghost anytime.”

Shout out to Rob Dubbin, pictured here: “As the TV man said, gamergate involves some male gamers harassing women who are speaking out about the portrayal of women in video games, presuming after the initial shock that women were even speaking to them at all.”

• Leading the charge is media critic and World of Warcraft tribute named Anita Sarkeesian, who thinks the current gender roles in video games mega-bite. Jim?

Feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian has condemned stereotypes and abuse of women in video games such as Dragon Age Origins.
Game dialogue: ‘Let go of me!’ ‘It’s a party, isn’t it? Graba whore and have a good time.’
Sarkeesian: Women are often a damsel in distress, or helpless in some way or highly sexualized and sort of created to be these male fantasies.

• Now according to Newsweek, the original claim that started all this, collusion between one developer and one reviewer wasn’t true. But the fire was lit and the flame wars began.

“Gamergaters say that the scandal is really about something called ‘ethics and video game journalism’ and claim collusion between critics like Sarkeesian, female developers and the media to favor softer, more female friendly games. Like in this one game, you play a gust of wind. Do you know what I say to that gust of wind? Blow me.”

It is a group of male gamers who are attacking women. Threats of death and of sexual violence. Bomb, rape and death threats from on-line harassers. Game developer Brianna Wu went into hiding over the weekend after receiving death threats like these: ‘You just made a bad game nobody likes. That’s it, nobody will care when you die.’

• As opposed to on-line trolls, their deaths lead to widespread celebration.

• But gamergaters say they have been harassed too, especially once the media saw what they were saying to these women. Gamers have complained about anti-gamer, anti-nerd bullying for following their traditional gamer life-style.

• Yes, there’s a traditional gamer life-style. God ordained it is as one man, one joy stick. Read your bible. Read your bible, folks. It’s right there in Sega Genesis.

Gamergate - Anita Sarkeesian

Stephen: All right, look. Let’s put this on the line, okay. Let’s call this what it is. You and the other femi-nazis in the gamer world are coming for our balls to cut ’em off and put them into a little felt purse, and take them away so wd have to play your non-violent games, right?
Anita Sarkeesian: No. That’s not true.
Stephen: It’s a culture war. It’s a subculture war.
Anita: There is something going on, and what it is is women being harassed and threatened and terrorized.
Stephen: After you first attacked male gamers for enjoying looking at big breasted women with tiny armor that barely covers their nipples. What’s wrong with that? I like what that looks like. I’m a man baby, newsflash, I like it.
Anita: Great. One of the problems with that is it actually reinforces the culture myth that women are sexual objects and sexual play things for male amusement, and we’re not.
Stephen: We’re saving them. They’re “damsels in distress.” I’m saving the princess. Am I supposed to let the princess die? Is that what you want? That’s kinda harsh, that’s kinda hostile.
Anita: Maybe the princess shouldn’t be a damsel and she could save herself.

Stephen: Do you understand how important it is? We’re talking about ethics in gamer journalism. Do you understand how huge that is? What if there was no ethics in Hollywood journalism? If we can’t trust Entertainment Tonight or TMZ, where would we be? Is that what you want for gamer journalism?
Anita: I think that is a sort of compelling way to reframe the fact that this is actually an attack on women. Ethics and journalism are not what’s happening in any way. It’s actually men going after women in really hostile and aggressive ways. That’s what gamergate is about. It’s about terrorizing women for being involved in this industry, this hobby.

Stephen: Off subject, but as a man, am I allowed to be a feminist?
Anita: Do you believe that women should have equal rights to men, and we should fight for those rights?
Stephen: Sure.
Anita: Great, then you’re a feminist.

Heroism in Canada

• The great thing about this job is I’m learning something new all the time. For instance, I just found out Canada has its own government. Even more shocking, it is not led by Wayne Gretzky. Separation of Church and State, I guess.

• Last week in Ottawa, a lone gunman opened fire on Parliament Hill, killing a soldier, then continuing his shooting spree inside the building. A shocking attack and all Americans share in our neighbor’s grief over the senseless tragedy.

” But as horrific as this incident was, it would have been even worse if it hadn’t been stopped by the House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, seen here with his ceremonial giant baby rattle.”

Here’s what happened:

…Kevin Vickers takes his side arm and dives around the pillar to the ground. While he’s in the air he spins, to land on his back, firing up, hitting Bibeau as he hits the ground.

• To hell with Bruce Willis. This guy, our neighbor to the north, just put the eh in yippy-kay-eh, mother (bleep).

• The very next day. Listen to this, the very next day Vickers returned to work and Parliament tore the roof off.

“Look at that magnificent bastard. Stoic. Humble.”

• I cannot believe I’m saying this, but I was wrong about Canada. I’ve said some awful things about you over the years. I said you’re nothing but maple-sucking moose humpers. I’ve said you were a bunch of beaver stroking ice holes. But now I know that you are steely-eyed, snowballed, John Wu diving m*therf*&kers who not only take out the trash, but also the recycling.

• So tonight I’m going to do something, I’m going to do the most Canadian thing I can imagine and say I am sorry. No, no, no. I am more than that. I’m sore-y. Which I know in your language means both hello and good-bye.

• And to make amends to all residents of Canadia for everything I ever said I will now sing your national anthem. Please rise for someone else’s national anthem.

Interview - Jill Lepore

Jill Lepore: The interesting thing about [William] Marston creating Wonder Woman in 1941 is she’s really a throwback. He had gone to college inthe 1910s and was really inspired by the suffrage movement. Women gained the right to vote in the 19th amendment in 1920. He was a freshman in Harvard in 1911 when the great suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst came to campus. Harvard banned her from speaking on campus, they didn’t let women speak on campus at the time. She gave this address in Harvard Square.It was incredibly rousing.

He married his childhood sweetheart who went to Mt. Holyoke, which was a hotbed of suffrage in the 1910s. he becomes a professor and teaches at Tufts University in 1925, annd falls in love with one of his students, who happens to be the niece of Margaret Sanger, who founded the birth control movement. She moves into the family and they are polyamorous.

Stephen: So the guy who created Wonder Woman has a wife and a girl on the side who he knows is on birth control. Jill: Yes. Stephen: so the playground is open, all right.
Jill: He says to his wife, you know, I would like her to live with us and I really love her and you could, either she could live with us, she could take care of the children and you could go to work, it’d solve your problems.
Stephen: As a woman how would you feel about that? Would you be into that? Would you be down for that?
Jill: No. There’s no other answer.
Stephen: No.
Jill: There’s no other answer.
Stephen: I’m more of a feminist than you are!
Jill: Exactly.