I have been a bit swamped at work and so am behind in my posts for this blog. Below are articles I found interesting sorted by category:
Video games:
Trigger warning: Discussion of death threats and harassment. Yes, her life was threatened to the point she had to seek safety away from her home and notify authorities. Read on for more analysis of the situation.Each new video that Anita Sarkeesian posts is a sign that the bullies are losing.
New Videos up by Sarkeesian: Feminist Frequency
Great post that shows why we need more representation (and to stop the harassment and shaming that happens everytime a woman tries to speak up on the Internet): Illustrated Guide to Harassment, Representation, Criticism
Writing:
Why we need more diversity <— This can never be stated enough.
The Hero’s Journey <—- randomly encountered this and found it to be a good resource. I often fall into the pattern of writing my story after an altered idea of the hero’s journey. It’s such an ancient way of telling stories. How does it influence your storytelling?
A great article: The Inner Editor vs the Inner Critic and How to Ignore Them <—- I can’t even say how much I need to take this to heart. So often both of those kick in hard in the butt when I try to finish a novel or a short story. I start to wonder if it’s good enough. If I’m good enough. The truth is we are all good enough. We all have stories to share, and we just need to keep at it.
Sums me up, especially when I have a deadline that I’m way too close to for comfort: Neurobiology of Writing
Anyone have any other good links in regards to writing?
General Real World Stuff:
Home is Where the Hatred Is <— Amazing essay about racism. Long but worth the read.
Paul Ryans Poverty Plan Attacks the Wrong Problem and comes up with the Wrong solution
Miami Drowning in Climate Change Deniers as Sea Level Rises <—- Miami is being flooded not only yearly but often several times a year, the city is slowly being engulfed by the sea as sea levels rise and there’s still people with their heads in the sand trying to pretend climate change isn’t happening. I want to laugh at the irony here; the climate change denialists claim doing anything to curb climate change will “ruin the economy.” Climate change will ruin it. Doing something about it might actually save it. But sorry to say, I’m not sure anything can save Miami at this point.
The horrifying reality that is Ferguson, MO: Police again foiled in their quest for a bloodbath will try again tonight <— At this point, considering they have freaking tanks on their side and the protesters are unarmed, it does make me wonder if their hope is to kill them all. Did you know tear gas is banned in some countries? Yet it’s being used on unarmed civilians in America, who are just exercising their rights under the Constitution. Also, in regards to Ferguson: Daily Show Take on it And self Segregation: Why it’s so Hard for Whites to Understand Ferguson.
Not surprising to me but maybe to some: Forcing kids to Stick to Gender Roles Can Actually Be Harmful to Their Health
The Bigot <— this is sad but alarming truth. This in particular:
Using the language of liberty to justify policies that disadvantage woman, gays, and people of color cynically enables him to fit into a changed cultural and political climate. It is also not merely a matter of the bigot demeaning the target of his prejudice but in presenting himself as the aggrieved party. That purpose is helped by (often unconscious) psychological projection of the bigot’s desires, hatreds, and activities upon the Other.
The persecuted is thereby turned into the oppressor and the oppressor into the persecuted. The bigot’s self-image is mired in such projection. “Birth of a Nation” (1915) — the classic film directed by D.W. Griffith that celebrates the rise of the KKK — obsesses over visions of freed black slaves raping white women, even though it was actually white slave owners and their henchmen who were engaged in raping black slave women.
In Europe during the 1920s and 1930s, similarly, anti-Semitic fascists accused Jews of engaging in murder and conspiracy even while their own conspiratorial organizations like the Thule Society in Germany and the Cagoulards in France were, in fact, inciting violence and planning assassinations. Such projection alleviates whatever guilt the bigot might feel and justifies him in performing actions that he merely assumes are being performed by his avowed enemy. Perceiving the threat posed by the Other, and acting accordingly, the bigot thereby becomes the hero of his own drama.
Think about that for a bit. Then consider how it can influence the villains in your stories to give them more depth. People will often try to find any way to justify their actions, no matter how harmful they are, and the above is a great analysis of some of the most terrifying and damaging moments of history, where entire people were either enslaved or the victims of genocide. The people committing such atrocities? Well, in their eyes, they were doing the right thing, no matter how horrifically wrong and harmful their actions were. Stepping inside another’s shoes for a bit can be useful but also can be terrifying.
Reshaping Reality 