this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2024
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There's not a time in history sports and games weren't political.
My favorite sports political protest of all time.
And the white dude was ostracized in Australia for being there, in solidarity with Aboriginal persons.
Politicize Pac-Man
Pac-man was made specifically to appeal to women, a demographic that was rarely targeted with video games at that time. Its core design came right out of the idea that "women like to eat".
Is this feminist-misogynist sandwich political enough for you?
No it wasn't, I know Adam Ruins Everything claimed Ms. Pac-Man was "Made to appeal to women who loved Pac-Man more than guys!"
But the real story is that someone made a bootleg, and it was popular, so Namco paid them for it. Namco doesn't actually own the Ms. Pac-Man character or game and doesn't use her today for this reason.
Pac man disrespects the dead by eating ghosts, which is considered highly disrespectful in cultures that practice ancestor worship. What's more, Pac man has a wife who is explicitly shown to be as capable as he is, to the point where the only real difference between them is that Mrs Pac man has a bow and lipstick. A bold statement on gender roles if I've ever seen one. In summary, this game is a feminist masterpiece that pokes fun at superstitious conservative countries. Truly a thought provoking piece that will be remembered in the same vein as other great provocative works, such as A Modest Proposal or the movie Borat.
Easy, the sequel was Ms. Pac-Man. /s