Film: The Dungeon Masters

[orsal]

Orsal, you're the first gamer I've heard with a favorable reaction to the film. Robin Laws saw it at the Toronto Film Festival and posted a follow-up to his initial reaction in his blog. The people featured in the doc hadn't seen it at the time of the Toronto festival, but their later reaction was also negative.

Interestingly, in the post-film Q&A, some of the gamers in the audience thanked the director for making a film that, in their view, neither ridiculed nor trivialized their hobby. I'll admit that the drow woman came across as rather freakish (thanks for pointing me to her blog -- that gives me a new perspective, and I can certainly understand why she'd be upset about it). But I thought the others did a good job of conveying why their hobby inspired them with such passion, and portrayed it as quite a healthy pastime. At least one non-gamer friend who saw the same film told me she got a better understanding of the gaming enthusiasts she's known.

 

[roguerouge]

Yes, but it doesn't matter. Ethical documentarians don't manipulate and lie to their subjects, edit out responses, or set up scenes* with makeup.That's for fiction filmmakers to do. For them, it's all about the film, because actors get paid and it's not their real lives.

They also tend to at least show the documentary to the principle subjects, barring exceptional circumstances which clearly don't apply here. That's been a standard practice in verite since 1960, for example.

*Errol Morris excepted.