I wanted Second Skin* with friends tonight and I wrote up a Netflix review, under the cut. What are your thoughts?

My thoughts on Second Skin

So I watched this with a couple of friends who are gamers, and we came to the conclusion that this film only advanced negative stereotypes about gamers. There was nothing positive about being a player of MMORPG’s at all, and there was no attempt at balance in how gamers are portrayed.

There was one female gamer shown, and she seemed to be into gaming to meet someone rather than actually being a gamer. At least that’s how she was portrayed in my opinion. The film portrayed gamers as either lazy man-children that eschewed growing up in favor of living together with other gamers and staying in an eternal state of buddy film glee, or moving on from the game, and being portrayed as a real adult and a success when you give the game up for good.

I feel badly for the woman who lost her son to suicide, but they did her no favors in how she was portrayed or the way in which she blames gaming for her son’s death, after she admits that he was diagnosed with severe depression and schizophrenia.

I wish they’d shown people who play games and have a balanced life outside the virtual world. It seems they only went for people who espoused the stereotype of the basement dwelling/living in a frat-house environ, type gamer instead of folks who know what the out of doors is and what real life interaction is still like.

I hope someone makes a more balanced film in response to this movie. It’s a disservice to gamers who can keep time spent in the virtual world separate from time spent in the MMO of their choosing.”

*Link goes to the Netflix page, it’s available on Streaming until 1/5/2011

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers attend the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make it better and more inclusive for everyone. She founded and was the EIC of Fresh Out of Tokens podcast where games culture was discussed and viewed through a lense of feminism, intersectionality and diversity. Now she’s a co-host on Spawn on Me Podcast. Along with all of that, she’s the Programming Coordinator for OrcaCon, she often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at multiple conventions throughout the year. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications.