The curse of the scruffy white male: why representation matters

Rowan Kaiser, writing for Indiewire:

The problem faced by woman and minority-starring video games is largely the same as the problem facing traditionally underrepresented groups across all forms of representation: their failures are treated as definitive, and their successes are ignored. Dozens of white man-starring video games have underperformed, but their failures are treated as specific to that game. Every woman-starring game, though, has to bear an unfair burden, just like “Bridesmaids” was treated as a referendum on the very idea of woman-centered ensembles in theaters.