Journal of Other Forum Analysis

[benji]

When developing Sass VS Fash: Girlballs of Steel, I found myself some neo-liberal tier comments saying that violence against nazis in a videogame is unjustified. Some come out with the whole ordeal about “did you meet nazis in real life?” or “this isn’t 1942” like complete buffoons, but I do think, at least as a stress reliever, that killing nazis in a videogame is perfectly fine.

Direct anti-fascist action sometimes cannot be at all safe, taking in mind the authorities and other factors to take care of. It’s a hassle you have to take care of when an actual nazi can incriminate you for hostile violence when all you’ve been doing is self-defense. And that’s because the justice system everywhere is so blind, that it favors actual fascists. Luckily, the medium of videogames, including titles such as Wolfenstein 3D (which turned 30 this year!) and the current title I’m developing, can help amplify the anti-fascist message, not just as a player, but also as a developer.

It’s reasonable that nazis are the bad guys in media in general, no matter what perspective you’re taking it from, because of the enormous damage they’ve done to society since 1938 and even earlier. As a result of capitalism, because fascism is capitalism in decay, the damage done to marginalized voices, whether it is Jewish, people of color, LGBTQ+, or anything, can only be paid for by nazis with punishment. And not just by physical punishment, but also by social punishment as well. Their trash ideology needs to be invalidated completely alongside the other ideologies that sustain it, and for that, it’s long work.

But a good start, luckily, is to spread anti-fascist media, especially games, which boost the anti-fascist message further. And that’s what our titles are for. So get going and kill some nazis (in a videogame).