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"GTFO: A Film About Women in Gaming" on Kickstarter

From Polygon :

New York-based filmmaker Shannon Sun-Higginson has turned to Kickstarter for funding on her latest project, a documentary on sexism and harassment in the video games industry called GTFO.

Sun-Higginson is asking for $20,000 to continue work on the film. Money raised through Kickstarter will go towards shooting expenses, including travel and paying crew members, post-production expenses, licensing rights for any gaming footage or images and promotional materials. She has already traveled to a handful of major events, including PAX East, but requires funding for ongoing production.

Sun-Higginson told GamesIndustry.biz she has received negative messages regarding the campaign, including accusations that she is seeking attention. She says that because she is an "outsider," someone who doesn't play games and became aware of the issue through friends, she has yet to attract backlash from serious "trolls."

- Kickstarter

- Q&A: Documentary aims to shed light on ugly side of video games - Gamasutra

- GTFO: Don't film the trolls (interview) - GI.biz
 
I know there's a legitimate issue in the gaming industry about woman being sexualized and/or treated like crap, but damn..... I'm sick of this.
 
As a woman, I know I probably should care more about this, but after that whole Susan + $829 debacle and the massive Anita Sarkeesian debate, I'm pretty damn sick of hearing about the subject of female exploitation and gaming.
 

antitrop

Member
Sounds more like how real women are treated in the industry/ as fans of video games, rather than sarkeesian's stereotype in video games shtick.

So it might actually be good and something worth spending some time to watch?

She didn't do anything most of us couldn't have done, at least not with the first episode. The only thing is that she has is an agenda and a lot of money.
 

Amneisac

Member
As a woman, I know I probably should care more about this, but after that whole Susan + $829 debacle and the massive Anita Sarkeesian debate, I'm pretty damn sick of hearing about the subject of female exploitation and gaming.

You really shouldn't let two incidents like this get you down. It's important stuff and there's nothing wrong with people investigating it.
 
As a woman, I know I probably should care more about this, but after that whole Susan + $829 debacle and the massive Anita Sarkeesian debate, I'm pretty damn sick of hearing about the subject of female exploitation and gaming.

yeah, I'm pretty conflicted about it... makes me feel bad because this is a real problem!

but damn, there's a limit of how many Kotaku articles and how many "company changed their game to be more pro-women(doing something stupid instead of actually being pro-women)" I can take.
 

shandy706

Member
As a woman, I know I probably should care more about this, but after that whole Susan + $829 debacle and the massive Anita Sarkeesian debate, I'm pretty damn sick of hearing about the subject of female exploitation and gaming.

Me too...and my wife. I showed her and she rolled her eyes.
 

Mesoian

Member
So it might actually be good and something worth spending some time to watch?

Depends on how in depth she decides to go. I'd like to think it'd focus on the positives and negatives...but there's just too much of a story in focusing on the negatives.

Edit: It's too bad that the proverbial well has been poisoned. The image of women in gaming, as gamers and as people related to gaming and gamers does need to be focused on, but the attempts that have been made thus far are so awkward and off putting that people don't even want to talk about it anymore in any sort of meaningful way.
 

Ryuukan

Member
"I first found out about the sexism in the video game industry about a year ago-"

right after Anita got her $150k
 
The title of the thread (and the Kickstarter for that matter) are a bit misleading considering the following:

GTFO is a film exposing the harassment of women in video games. It features gamers, bloggers, scholars, developers, and other experts.

This is an equality issue and not highlighting/promoting women thing. It would be nice if Shannon either renamed her project or decided not to skew it and literally focus on women in the game industry with sexism being a portion of it.
 
I wish people would donate their money more sensibly to issues like this and other issues.

I'm never giving a cent to anything like this.

Anita is pretty much a fraud, her first video was awful and had no production values. I hope that if this film gets funded it's taken seriously.
 

Mesoian

Member
Man, couldn't they pick a less embarrassing film name?

Considering the subject material, it fits.

Honestly, if the first two minutes of the movie isn't an XBLA audio montage of trogs just screaming at women because a woman is present, they should just go back to square one.
 

antitrop

Member
I'm never giving a cent to anything like this.

Anita is pretty much a fraud, her first video was awful and had no production values. I hope that if this film gets funded it's taken seriously.

I agree, Anita's first video was a huge joke.

But this Shannon Sun-Higginson actually seems like she's putting some legitimate effort into this issue.
I'm skeptical, but after watching the Kickstarter video for this I certainly have a higher opinion of Shannon Sun-Higginson than Anita Sarkeesian.

I won't be backing, but I hope something worthwhile comes out of this. Because there is room for legitimate feminist criticism of the games industry and the people who play games, but Sarkeesian has not yet proved that she is up to the task. Maybe Sun-Higginson is.
 
this issue deserves a sharply presented, well-researched, and well-funded piece of documentation.

this is not it.
sarkeesian is not it.
kickstarter is fucking dumb.
 

Yopis

Member
Same story.....they will focus on negatives and shame gaming culture, because some women don't feel welcome.

Look at the title of the project this won't point out pros and cons. This will be another agenda piece. Just my opinion after reading the title and reading she plays only casually.

Issue overall is very important one.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
She should interview all the 12 year olds on xbox live who fawn over a girl anytime one comes on chat.
 

Kokonoe

Banned
For those who are saying they are tired of hearing about this, well then when something changes you'll stop hearing about it. Also, saying you are tired of hearing about this doesn't do much for the discussion. This is a thread about news.
 

dave is ok

aztek is ok
I'm going to make a Kickstarter for a documentary about opportunists making Kickstarters after a Kickstarter takes in a lot of money. It's going to be called LMAO
 
I agree, Anita's first video was a huge joke.

But this Shannon Sun-Higginson actually seems like she's putting some legitimate effort into this issue.
I'm skeptical, but after watching the Kickstarter video for this I certainly have a higher opinion of Shannon Sun-Higginson than Anita Sarkeesian.

I won't be backing, but I hope something worthwhile comes out of this. Because there is room for legitimate feminist criticism of the games industry and the people who play games, but Sarkeesian has not yet proved that she is up to the task. Maybe Sun-Higginson is.


sounds good, I just don't know if calling your video GTFO is going to help the whole "take me seriously plz"

I wonder if there's a way to contribute not through KS.

I've seen several Kickstarter projects that accept donations through other means, send them an email
 
Kickstarter said:
I am just a casual gamer, so I was shocked about a year ago when a friend told me about the abuse that many female gamers and other industry figures endure on a daily basis. I immediately began researching and filming this documentary, titled "GTFO" in reference to the exclusionary response that many women encounter while gaming.

I wish she had greater ties to the industry beyond "casual gamer."
 

dude819

Member
I could not imagine a more tiresome subject.

I know this gets blog clicks, kickstarter money and makes you look like a swell guy for bringing this up but I just can't take it any more.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Except it's only about 50% funded with 10 days left.

polygon to the rescue


from the q&a
What was the inciting incident for this project?

I first found out about this issue [sexism in games] when a good friend of mine told me about the sexual harassment of a female gamer by her male coach during a Cross Assault tournament last year.
I was shocked not only at this young man's behavior, but also because I had no idea that this was such a widespread problem. I decided that everyone, not just gamers, needed to know about this so I immediately began research for the film.

i don't even know what that is
 

dream

Member
I wish she had greater ties to the industry beyond "casual gamer."

I kind of agree with you, but at the same time I wonder if fresh eyes might provide a different take on this instead of just rehashing the same tired arguments that are repeated ad nauseam.
 

antitrop

Member
I kind of agree with you, but at the same time I wonder if fresh eyes might provide a different take on this instead of just rehashing the same tired arguments that are repeated ad nauseam.

Yes, everyone already knows what happens if you are a girl and you speak into the microphone during an Xbox Live match of Call of Duty. Not groundbreaking material there, I hope she has something more interesting to say.

You know... maybe something that only an educated feminist would be able to declare? I've explicitly stated before that my problem with Sarkeesian is that her video series, at least the very first episode, does not look like the work of a respected feminist who has properly researched the subject, it seems more like someone who made a lot of money on the internet and then did a lot of Wikipedia reading for popular video games and tried to connect them to female tropes in gaming.
 

Syril

Member
"GTFO is a film exposing the harassment of women in video games"

It's not exactly a secret. At all.

Games-oriented websites are the only settings I've seen this subject actually brought up. Spending a lot of time at sites like this, it's easy to get a skewed perspective on what's common knowledge.
 
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