Kulturkampf

[Alpacx]

I got 3 paragraphs in before getting tired of the millennial writing of this critique. So here's a Gemini summary:

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

 The article "10 years later, Firewatch's critique of masculinity is just a different shade of toxicity," written by Bee Wertheimer and published on February 17, 2026, offers a sharp retrospective critique of the acclaimed 2016 narrative game. While Firewatch has long been celebrated as a "prestige" title for its non-violent, introspective approach to storytelling, Wertheimer argues that a decade of reflection reveals a game that reinforces the very patriarchal fantasies it purports to subvert.

The Core Argument: A New Shade of Toxic
Wertheimer’s central thesis is that Firewatch—despite its sensitive, "mundane" exterior—is fundamentally a male fantasy. The author contends that the game’s critical acclaim was largely driven by a male-dominated games industry and academia, which ignored how the protagonist’s emotional growth comes at the direct expense of the women in the story

Key Critiques
The "Disappearing" Woman (Julia): The article criticizes the game's opening text-based prologue. Wertheimer describes the initial meeting between Henry and his future wife, Julia, as "cringey" and "creepy," noting that Julia’s immediate attraction to a stranger commenting on her looks is a classic male trope. Furthermore, the author argues that Julia’s early-onset dementia effectively "removes" her from the narrative, turning her tragedy into a mere catalyst for Henry’s personal retreat and self-actualization.

The Supervisor as a Support System (Delilah): While Delilah is the game's most prominent presence, the article argues she lacks true independence. Her primary function is to facilitate Henry’s emotional landscape through the walkie-talkie. The author suggests that even her "mysterious" nature serves the player's engagement rather than her own character depth.

The Powerless Authority Figure: Wertheimer highlights Henry’s lack of agency—he cannot stop the forest fire and has no real power over the world around him. However, the article suggests this "powerlessness" is used to make Henry a sympathetic figure while simultaneously mocking his inability to exert control over others, specifically the teenage girls he encounters. The author points to the scene with the skinny-dipping teens as a moment where the game plays Henry's discomfort for laughs, ultimately framing the girls as reckless and "immature" to justify Henry's desire for "macho sheriffing."

The Failure of Subversion
The summary of the article's conclusion is that Firewatch attempts to explore a different, more vulnerable kind of masculinity but fails because it refuses to apply the same critical lens to feminine gender roles. By treating women as "subservient or disappearing" elements of a man's journey, the game reinforces the patriarchal ideals it claims to be transcending.

Author’s Bottom Line: "Firewatch is praised for being insightful for its masculine gender exploration, but its refusal to look at feminine gender roles with the same critical eye leaves it reinforcing the same patriarchal ideals as the games it tries to subvert."

Maybe I'm wrong but all these criticisms go away if you simply remove all the women from the game.

[Potato]

Of course she thinks a story about a man retreating to the wilderness to contemplate life alone in the silence is toxic.

Same energy as the memes about nothing motivating a woman more than a man who has just sat down and got comfortable.

[filler]

[malfoyking]

I wondered why those kind of ads go so hard out of their way to only show white guys as the perpetrator. Turns out they get banned if they don't 

 I agree with the ban. Its mainly a men thing, show black men harassing black women, white men harassing white women. Simple!

[HaughtyFrank]

I got 3 paragraphs in before getting tired of the millennial writing of this critique. So here's a Gemini summary:

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

 The article "10 years later, Firewatch's critique of masculinity is just a different shade of toxicity," written by Bee Wertheimer and published on February 17, 2026, offers a sharp retrospective critique of the acclaimed 2016 narrative game. While Firewatch has long been celebrated as a "prestige" title for its non-violent, introspective approach to storytelling, Wertheimer argues that a decade of reflection reveals a game that reinforces the very patriarchal fantasies it purports to subvert.

The Core Argument: A New Shade of Toxic
Wertheimer’s central thesis is that Firewatch—despite its sensitive, "mundane" exterior—is fundamentally a male fantasy. The author contends that the game’s critical acclaim was largely driven by a male-dominated games industry and academia, which ignored how the protagonist’s emotional growth comes at the direct expense of the women in the story

Key Critiques
The "Disappearing" Woman (Julia): The article criticizes the game's opening text-based prologue. Wertheimer describes the initial meeting between Henry and his future wife, Julia, as "cringey" and "creepy," noting that Julia’s immediate attraction to a stranger commenting on her looks is a classic male trope. Furthermore, the author argues that Julia’s early-onset dementia effectively "removes" her from the narrative, turning her tragedy into a mere catalyst for Henry’s personal retreat and self-actualization.

The Supervisor as a Support System (Delilah): While Delilah is the game's most prominent presence, the article argues she lacks true independence. Her primary function is to facilitate Henry’s emotional landscape through the walkie-talkie. The author suggests that even her "mysterious" nature serves the player's engagement rather than her own character depth.

The Powerless Authority Figure: Wertheimer highlights Henry’s lack of agency—he cannot stop the forest fire and has no real power over the world around him. However, the article suggests this "powerlessness" is used to make Henry a sympathetic figure while simultaneously mocking his inability to exert control over others, specifically the teenage girls he encounters. The author points to the scene with the skinny-dipping teens as a moment where the game plays Henry's discomfort for laughs, ultimately framing the girls as reckless and "immature" to justify Henry's desire for "macho sheriffing."

The Failure of Subversion
The summary of the article's conclusion is that Firewatch attempts to explore a different, more vulnerable kind of masculinity but fails because it refuses to apply the same critical lens to feminine gender roles. By treating women as "subservient or disappearing" elements of a man's journey, the game reinforces the patriarchal ideals it claims to be transcending.

Author’s Bottom Line: "Firewatch is praised for being insightful for its masculine gender exploration, but its refusal to look at feminine gender roles with the same critical eye leaves it reinforcing the same patriarchal ideals as the games it tries to subvert."

Maybe I'm wrong but all these criticisms go away if you simply remove all the women from the game.

The tweet is a joke but it reminds me of this

[Alpacx]

Good ole narcissist's prayer. If it's not happening why is banning it bad?

[HaughtyFrank]

I wondered why those kind of ads go so hard out of their way to only show white guys as the perpetrator. Turns out they get banned if they don't 

 I agree with the ban. Its mainly a men thing, show black men harassing black women, white men harassing white women. Simple!

It would make sense if they generally shy away from inter racial implications but when the harasser is white and victim a person of color there seems to be no issue.

[TylenolJones]

Another big crossover!!!

[HaughtyFrank]

Never convince me that "non-binary" isn't a pathetic attention grab.

Edit: HE'S BALD

[benji]

[malfoyking]

What does this racist fucking idiot know about football? worthless asshole. It was Roma's fucking ball and Modric kicked it away. Modric fouled Vaz, Vaz goes to take the ball, Modric intercepts, wastes time and plays it away and Vaz pushes him. But fucking bitch racist ragebaiters who dont even watch the goddamn sport turn it into nonsense shit.

It's a weak yellow but has nothing to do with racism. Fucking asshole.



Modric literally got the yellow card for time-wasting.

[HaughtyFrank]

This quote from the ruling is particularly astonishing:

“A person does not need to believe in Christianity to accept that another person is Christian. However, to accept that a person is transgender, one must accept that their gender identity is different than their sex assigned at birth.”

[Alpacx]

This quote from the ruling is particularly astonishing:

“A person does not need to believe in Christianity to accept that another person is Christian. However, to accept that a person is transgender, one must accept that their gender identity is different than their sex assigned at birth.”

Cooked 

[filler]

a person does not need to be canadian to accept that another person is canadian.

[HaughtyFrank]

[Rendle]

a person does not need to be canadian to accept that another person is canadian.

But only a true scotsman can spot a true scot

[Potato]

What does this racist fucking idiot know about football? worthless asshole. It was Roma's fucking ball and Modric kicked it away. Modric fouled Vaz, Vaz goes to take the ball, Modric intercepts, wastes time and plays it away and Vaz pushes him. But fucking bitch racist ragebaiters who dont even watch the goddamn sport turn it into nonsense shit.

It's a weak yellow but has nothing to do with racism. Fucking asshole.



Modric literally got the yellow card for time-wasting.

Kicking the ball away is an immediate yellow. Always has been.

That being said, I like that the yellow guy is testing out if his skin colour gives him immunity from being cancelled.

[Kazuma_Kiryu]

t4t = trans for trump 

[Ribosome]

He is (was) the Avatar of the X Timeline.

[HeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth]

[HaughtyFrank]

[Alpacx]

[Uncle]

"I don't read because I don't want to be accidentally influenced by them and go on to plagiarize, or in general have my writing accused of sounding like others"

[HeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth]

https://laurenhough.substack.com/p/who-the-fuck-is-ana-mardoll

If you are somehow unaware of Ana Mardoll, save yourself. Close this window. For the love of god, read no further. Go enjoy your not very online life that I envy. Send me a postcard.

Still here huh? Alright then. The first thing you need to know about Ana Mardoll is that Ana Mardoll is not real. I know he’s been the main character of twitter for a couple days. I know his defenders are saying he was doxxed. I know half of twitter is dunking on him because he works at War Crimes inc. But Ana Mardoll isn’t a real person. Ana Mardoll, the innocent, ever so earnest, kissmate loving, cat hoarding, twee trans boy of twitter fame is the online persona of a near-40 year old person who is a software engineer at Lockheed Martin. There is no Ana Mardoll.

Ana Mardoll, the character, has been a scourge on the internet for years now. He developed his character on tumblr and moved on to twitter where he perfected it. His craft was harassing and terrorizing authors who did what he could never do, that is, write a thing anyone would want to read. But Ana Mardoll found another way to make a name and sell his self-published books. He weaponized his carefully crafted identity and used it as a cudgel against anyone who crossed the imaginary line he made up in his head that morning.

He’d change his story about his past and his ailments and financial situation constantly. He’d post takes so outrageous—“the word ‘humane’ is insensitive to people who identify as animals”, and, “reading is ableist”—they could only be described as bait, then he’d wait for the mockery. As soon he found a large enough target, almost always a queer author, he’d attack. He never said “go harass this person until they delete their account or have to check themselves in for suicidal ideation.” Few of his followers would have rallied to the cause.

What he did instead was claim the author was attacking him, sending their thousands of followers to harass him, threaten him, misgender him. The myth of the attack followers, while absolute bullshit not supported by any evidence whatsoever because authors generally aren’t running shitstirrer accounts, was nonetheless easy to believe since it’s exactly what Ana was doing.

Because Ana Mardoll needed a lot of help. He had medical bills. He needed a 3D printer. He needed cat food (I shit you not). He needed to escape Texas and move to Chicago. He needed to qualify for a house. And his followers were glad to help. Of course they’d help.

When he wasn’t fighting, he was burnishing his identity. Just a smol twitter busker who liked gaming and cats and kissmate, his partner. Ana Mardoll is disabled and autistic and frequently ill with a smorgasbord of diagnoses. Ana Mardoll’s had it rough. His parents disowned him. Then they paid for college, then loaned him the money for college, then paid his medical bills. His parents are wealthy and supportive. But they threw him out. He grew up in a cult. He got a concussion when a pack of toilet paper fell on his head. He had a fall. And needs a new liver. And his parents got him a job at a major corporation he won’t name.

But it’s a part time job, according to Ana Mardoll. The only job he could get with his degree and 15 years of experience as a software engineer at fucking Lockheed. It’s only a part time job. But he had to take three days off work to read a book. Though he can’t read because of his many medical conditions. And he only works part time.

[benji]

Also Ana is a woman who fled her big house in Texas for Chicago out of fear that Texas would exterminate her because she's trans even though she visibly looks like a 40 year old woman.

[benji]

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

[Alpacx]

[HaughtyFrank]

^

[HaughtyFrank]

Russians so bitter about getting stomped in ice skating they're now declaring the winner fat

[nachobro]

lol