Many of you probably saw Steven Colbert from the Colbert Report on Comedy Central last night talking about World of Warcraft. Well I just want to say I'm sick of this attitude these "comedians" have about WoW and online games in general, like it's some nerdy thing that shouldn't be taken seriously. Colbert was all like "Imma level 500 paladin in dungeon and dragons bla bla bla" to mock WoW, acting like that's a goofy thing to be.
The context for Colbert bringing up WoW was talking that woman running for congress who played WoW, and her opponent was using it against her saying she was a violent murderer because she played a rogue. See, that I don't mind as much because at least the people who think we're all psycho killers take us seriously, and make us look kind of edgy. But when I hear these "comedians" who know nothing about the game trying to be funny by mocking it like Steven Colbert was doing, it makes me sick.
If they knew the level that I, and many of the top level players around the world, perform at on this game, they would have a little more respect for it. Becoming a master at WoW requires the same dexterity and skill as something like being a virtuoso violinist-- which Colbert had on his show weeks earlier and was giving him some actual respect. Because I can tell you my fingers move a lot faster and a lot more accurately when playing WoW than someone playing a violin. A violinist has to concentrate on pretty much 1 thing, moving the stick back and forth over the strings in the right way-- something that just comes from repeating the same action over and over. With WoW, you have to perform actions with your hands just as fast, but you have to react to many things at once and deal with new situations every day.
All I'm saying is I wish people would stop acting like WoW is some nerdy hobby for people with no lives and quit mocking it, and realize that the level of skill and dexterity it takes to play at the highest level is just as respectful as something like playing an instrument or being an athlete.
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wysłany:
I loved the segment last night. I knew at the time, too, that some players might take offense to his words or the tone in which they were used. But to take offense is, I believe, to miss the point.
First and foremost, Colbert is a satirist, so there's virtually always a contradictory message in what he's saying. In the context of last night's segment, he was making light of games to point at a seemingly trivial political attack on a candidate running for state senate, whereby her character is called into question because of her World of Warcraft persona. Yes, Colbert used some random Warcraft lingo in a silly fashion for a laugh, but the real joke wasn't that the terms he used were from some geeky game -- he was pointing out the absurdity in the argument that this candidate should be feared for her potential inability to distinguish a game from reality. Notice that, after he drops Warcraft terms, he also draws ridiculous comparisons to people in the past losing touch with reality after playing too many board games. I argue he wasn't mocking the WoW community, even while he was poking some fun at it. But remember, it's just a game. It's a game where people are collecting epic amulets and flying around on dragons. It's crazy and it's awesome, and Colbert wasn't attacking that. He's long shown pride in, and yet ridiculed himself for, his long nights playing D&D back in the day. Colbert is a true geek. If he's making fun of geeky things, you can probably bet he's stirring a much larger criticism through irony and satire. Those are my thoughts on the matter since I first watched it last night. I was all smiles by the commercial break. ;) You can watch the segment in which WoW is referenced on ColbertNation.com. |
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wysłany:
I decided to go and watch the segment after seeing Zarhym's comment above on MMOC Blue Tracker. I was having a hard time not laughing ... when he got to the "invasion of North Africa from Brazil" and "ruthless hotel tycoon with no respect for anti-trust laws." That was the best three minutes of my day so far. Yea, the Risk and Monopoly comparisons killed me too. And that's the part that really puts all of his WoW comments in proper context. ;) |
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wysłany:
The irony of this entire thread is abso-friggin'-lutely hilarious. Nice work. This thread. So meta. |
