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.
Politicize Pac-Man
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.
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.
Easy, the sequel was Ms. Pac-Man. /s
My favorite sports political protest of all time.
And the white dude was ostracized in Australia for being there, in solidarity with Aboriginal persons.