Midrange Weekly July 26
Your Weekly Round Up On What’s Got The Midrange Staff’s Attention
Midrange Staff @midrangeyvr
Hello all and welcome back to Midrange Weekly, and wow what a week it’s been. Lots of news happening this week, each story more ridiculous than the last. Nancy Pelosi kicked Jim Jordan off of the Jan 6 committee, citing that perhaps an investigative body tasked with learning more about the insurrection shouldn't actually have pro insurrectionists on it. Meanwhile Kanye West is allegedly living in Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz stadium so he can work on and finish his new album Donda, essentially making him a modern, stupid, Phantom Of The Opera. Honestly A lot more stuff happened. Let’s talk about some of it.
Can Gaming Culture Be Saved From Itself?
This week came with a cruel reminder that the rampant and virulent sexism that besieged the game industry in a particularly public manner during Gamergate has by no means been extricated. The California division of the Department of Fair Housing and Employment is suing the monolithic publisher Activison Blizzard on behalf of the state for a litany of sexist and abusive behaviour by its staff. Far from isolated instances, the lawsuit- which follows a two year investigation- documents an institutionalized “frat boy” culture that demeans, debases, and straight up abuses the women that work there. The allegations in the compliant appear so ubiquitous and widespread that it implies a foundational rot within the way the company is run, from development to administrative bureaucracy, even to human resources that is supposed to mitigate and adjudicate such issues. Within the lawsuit many of the details of such malfeasance and misconduct are documented:
In the office, women are subjected to “cube crawls” in which male employees drink copious [amounts] of alcohol as they “crawl” their way through various cubicles in the office and often engage in inappropriate behavior toward female employees. Male employees proudly come into work hungover, play video games for long periods of time during work while delegating their responsibilities to female employees, engage in banter about their sexual encounters, talk openly about female bodies and joke about rape.
Female employees are subjected to constant sexual harassment, including having to continually fend off unwanted sexual comments and advances by their male co-workers and supervisors and being groped at the “cube crawls” and other company events. High-ranking executives and creators engaged in blatant sexual harassment without repercussions.
In a particularly tragic example, a female employee committed suicide during a business trip with a male supervisor who had brought butt plugs and lubricant with him on the trip.
Activision Blizzard has responded through its legal department in an atypically hostile and combative manner, alleging unprofessional conduct on the part of the DFHE during their investigation. The tone of their retort strikes me as particularly insolent, the kind of defensive outburst endemic of an entity clearly in the wrong; you can read it here for yourself and make your own determination. Former Activision Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime has made his own personal statement, one that is more contrite. I wonder if such absolution would be present in his statement were he still at the helm.
Regardless of statements, be they draped in empathy or obfuscating legalese, it’s incredibly frustrating that yet again this is where we are at in the culture of gaming. The game industry and all of its orbiting fandoms have undergone painful and embarrassing growing pains, scared by self inflicted wounds, more publically and shamefully than any other medium in the last decade. Time and time again the obnoxious and alienating levels of harassment, racism, misogyny, gatekeeping, gas lighting, and straight up violence seems so intrinsically embedded in what should be an enjoyable pass time for all. Nearly every aspect of gaming culture, for all of its omnivorous vastness, has been affected by privileged white male toxicity. To read about how such conduct is just as pervasive and malignant within development ecosystems, especially that of industry exemplars like this one is enough to make a person want to put the controller down for good. This presents an unenviable conundrum for those that make a living off of streaming Activision Blizzard games like World of Warcraft or Starcraft. People are within every right to be angry and to advocate for boycotts, but should such streamers follow suit and jump to other games that are not currently embroiled in such controversy, their streams and followers will likely drop. And what of the employees that in some cases moved their entire families across the world to work in these offices? Should they be targeted with the vitriol of a community once again reeling from the actions of its most pernicious and malignant members? The ripple effects of this misconduct permeate far beyond its epicenter.
If it’s happening at Activison Blizzard, it’s happening everywhere. If you hear an anecdote about a streamer who is female or a person of colour being harassed, they all are. If a female employee feels unsafe, marginalized, or alienated within the development community, they likely all do, or at least have at one point or another. Expect more stories like this to surface, and potentially more lawsuits. Indeed, as this story has developed women in the game industry have shared their own demoralizing experiences with abusive male colleagues. It’s hard to proselytize the merit in separating the art from the artist when we are no longer talking about one problematic artist but an entire industry where such behaviour is coded into their social skills and mindset. To say that reforms are needed from top down is an understatement of egregious proportions. I don’t know what kind of reforms can inoculate the industry from such toxic and reprehensible conduct. I don’t know what kind of incentives, financial, legal, or otherwise will compel companies like Activision Blizzard to take such reforms seriously. Based on their statement, which seems to prioritize cynical PR stratagem over actually addressing such abuse, I’m not hopeful that this lawsuit will truly change anything.
The game industry is already in throes of a logistical and existential crisis as it reckons with the debilitating symptoms of crunch culture. Adding all of this into the mix makes the entire ecosystem seem like something that is fundamentally untenable. A failed social experiment that reveals the severity of normalized immorality within traditionally and problematically patriarchal structures. Videogames being fun and entertaining seem like a less and less amendable trade off if this is the process that produces them. Clearly its naïve to even wonder if a multi billion dollar industry will implode under the weight and pressure of its own wilful depravity. But things proceeding as they are seems ruinous and nihilistic. Usually when the relentless breadth of humanity at its worst appears especially inundating, a pretty useful prescriptive measure would be to dive into a fictional and interactive world for an hour or two. Such an option seems less appealing these days. -Tristan
The Olympics Once Had Me At Hello And Now They Kinda Don’t
There are two parts to this story I want to share, so bear with me.
Part 1
Back in 1992, I was 12 years old. At the time I was a shy and introverted kid. My childhood wasn’t the most ideal and I didn’t have a father. My mother, bless her heart, loved me to bits, still does, but her talent in raising me came in the form of unconditional nurturing and not of the drive and achievement sort one might gain from having a Dad or a Mother who had high achiever aspirations of her own. That being said, let’s just say it took me awhile to figure out what my talents were and how best to pursue them.
Running and doing it quickly was one of the first I recognized. I was fast and it gave me great pride to excel at this over everyone I knew. When it came to running, I always won. One of my earliest primary school memories was when I was eleven years old. It was the first year I could compete in the city track and field championships. To get there I had to win at my school’s track day first. I entered every event I knew I could win. The 75m, 200m, high jump, long jump and shot put. I won all of them safe for the shot put, which I came second in. When it came time to give out the awards (ribbons for us kidlets), the Principal had all students come to the gymnasium and sit while he presented out the awards. Being we were the youngest grade, our ribbons were presented first. The Principal began with the 75m. He called my name and I walked up and took my prize. He did the same routine for the 200m, the high jump and then the long jump. Within ten minutes I’ve walked up and taken my red first place ribbon four times. As I begin to leave after the fourth time, he says amusingly to the crowd “well I guess we have a star in making with this kid eh?”
The room laughed and I sheepishly rushed back red faced to my seat as fast as I could scurry. I was embarrassed but elated all at once. I’ll never forget the moment. It’s tattooed in memory as if it happened yesterday. Why I bring this up is because for the next ten years of my life I lived and breathed Track and Field. It was my life. Watching the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics was one of the most special times of my childhood. Carl Lewis winning his third straight Olympic long jump gold medal was amazing too witness. Lindford Christie stealing the Men’s 100m Finals with a stare that would scare most kids for weeks was awe inspiring. I loved all of it. I lived and breathed the sport and the Olympics was the gold standard in which my dreams were built upon.
It’s in these childhood years of development where the Olympic ideal sparks and grows. Young kids daring to dream big, no matter their talent, hoping one day to land on that sacred podium. My goodness the nights I spent thinking of what that might feel like. I had talent and maybe with a bit more focus and luck, those fantasies might have turned into a reality. But I’m old now and my childhood ambitions no longer matter, but those who do make it today deserve all the credit from years of hard work. I want to celebrate their success.
The Olympics are meant to bring out the best in each individual. To dare one to dream big and to give it your all. In doing so, this aspiration brings all of us on the sidelines together in helping to share in their journey and to hopefully witness in their accomplishment — win or lose. It’s why the Olympic ideal is so beautiful. It helps us believe in the extraordinary and why with focus, some of us really can do magical things. That is such a wonderful human quality and I find that awe inspiring.
Part 2
From The Ringer:
The IOC’s self-professed mission is not only stewardship of the Olympic Games, but of the so-called Olympic Movement. In founding the modern Games, French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin sought to create a contemporary parallel to the ancient Olympics, which he viewed as a monument to human excellence and peaceful cooperation. Coubertin advocated for international collaboration and the advancement of society through individual self-improvement. Under Coubertin’s leadership, the Olympics handed out medals not just for triumph in sport, but in literature, architecture, and the visual arts.
Any ambitious and idealistic project will have flaws in execution. Many of Coubertin’s principles look outdated now, and he lived long enough to see his utopian vision bent by the exigencies of realpolitik (Coubertin died in 1937). But almost a century later, Bach has invited the youth of the world to an event riddled with scandal and danger, strained to a breaking point by the contradiction between what it professes itself to be and what it has become. The Olympic Movement is fatiguing under that strain.
This is the first time I can ever remember not being excited for the games to begin. On one hand, I’m eager to see the athletes perform. This part of me will never change. But with the cloud of the pandemic hanging over these already delayed games, how the IOC has behaved has left me feeling as if the entire ethos of what the games are meant to symbolize has never been more than a sham to promote their brand and to make billions off the sweat and tears of young athletes daring to dream. It’s disheartening and shameful.
From Vox:
There is a ton of money to be made at the Olympics, even in a year like this. NBC has paid $7.7 billion for broadcasting rights to show the Olympics through 2032, and it’s already sold $1.25 billion in ads for the Tokyo games. The Associated Press estimates the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which runs the Olympic Games, stands to make $3 billion to $4 billion on television rights for the delayed 2020 Olympics. One NBC executive said they believe this could be the most profitable Games ever.
And yet, much of that wealth won’t be shared with the event’s most valuable assets: the athletes themselves.
Some 11,000 athletes are competing in the 2020 Olympic Games, and 4,000 athletes in the Paralympics (beginning in late August).The vast majority of those athletes are not rich, or close to it.
Most of the athletes competing make little to no money from their sport at any point in their careers. The Olympics is their one true chance to change that. But only a select few are so lucky. Most never get the attention even if they win. I hate this.
Yet in spite of this dilemma and misfortune, the IOC, the governing body which runs the Olympics, will make $3 to $4 billion just in Tv rights for this one Olympics. Where is that money going?
Seriously. Where is it going?
These athletes need Michael Jordan’s agent, David Falk, like yesterday to negotiate for them. Sheesh. I used to think the NCAA was the worst organization on the planet, but I’m starting to think the IOC might have them beat. Did you know that Japan, even if they had wanted to cancel and postpone the Olympics for another year for safety measures were not allowed to do so due to their contract obligations with the IOC? Only they have the authority to postpone. How is that even right?
There are no fans at these games. The Japanese don’t even want them on. Who is this for? Why is this even happening? COVID-19 cases are rising in Japan. The games are supposed to be a spectacle. A movement of sorts. This feels like a cash grab. A “get it over with, make our money and get the hell out” type of scenario. The Japanese stand to lose big on this bet. Is it any wonder that Brisbane was the only city to bid for the 2032 Olympics. They make no sense anymore. I feel for LA in three years. Good luck!
The Olympics are expensive. They never benefit as they purport and the city who hosts them always loses out. Just ask Athens or Rio. I’m kinda not feeling the love anymore and that bums me out. I’m usually in love with this time of year.
From The Ringer:
This semi-dialectical framework is playing out before our eyes in the Olympics. The Olympic Movement cannot espouse fairness, cooperation, and advancement if the staging of the Games can lead to greed, moral compromise, and the reification of existing social inequalities. Sooner or later, either the rhetoric or the actions have to change. Otherwise, the global public that has embraced the Olympic Movement’s principles for 125 years will increasingly condemn the IOC’s behavior. Public disapproval in Tokyo will turn into protests in Los Angeles and apathy by Brisbane, leaving the IOC as a rump organization left scrambling to find a place in a world suddenly devoid of suckers to exploit.
The youth of the world will always receive the invitation of the Olympic Movement. But unless something changes, they might stop answering.
I believe a lot already have. — Jamie
Things From The Internet We Liked
Bask In The Glory Of The New Dune Trailer
Oh hell ya it’s a new Dune Trailer. The cinematic adaptation of the unparalleled science fiction epic that for decades has proven too vast and sprawling to effectively translate into film is almost upon us. The sheer enormity of the story is enough to breed cynicism that this simply cannot be done, but if anyone can prove the naysayers wrong it’s Denis Villeneuve. Also, good lord is the cast ever stacked. Also also- are you seeing Oscar Isaac’s beard in this thing?? It’s glorious. Check it out.
The Wall Street Journal Drops A Fantastic Explainer As To Why The Tokyo Olympics Will Be The Most Expensive Ever
Hosting the Olympics has always been a fraught undertaking. They’re always overrun and very rarely end up being profitable for the host city. Most of the venues end up lying in wake just mere months after the games have ended. It’s any wonder why so few cities bid for them anymore. They make zero sense. This video helps give clarity to this colossal burden.
Love’s refrain by Julie Byrne embodies summers long and lasting heat
It’s always lovely to see a music collaboration take an artist out of their perceived lane. For this 2020 single, Julie Byrne teams up with Ambient producer and co-founder of Root Strata records Jefre Cantu-Ledesma to execute a natural transition from Minimal Folk-Americana to Super Shoe-Gaze. Byrne’s subtle vibrato sits atop the walking baseline just perfectly with the mirrored, swimming guitar lines and while they couldn’t have made a more straightforward melody or an anymore “shoe-gazey” track, the repeat factor is very high on this one. Listen closely and you can hear the subtly mixed in bit-crushed drum loop (insert heart eye emoji here).
Bloomberg Drops An Interesting Expose Into One Buenos Aires Companies Goal To Have Your Co-Worker Dictate Your Pay
The title says it all. Imagine choosing what your co-worker got paid? The transparency of knowing what everyone got paid. How might that change your perception of each person’s role within the company. It’s mind boggling to think of but even more intriguing to watch in this video.