D&D General The Art and the Artist: Discussing Problematic Issues in D&D

[MGibster]

The small social group that created the game cannot be said to be representative of their country at the time. The range of perspectives represented was very narrow compared to society as a whole.

Sure, but isn't that true of anything created at any time?

 

[Gradine]

Sure, but isn't that true of anything created at any time?

Not really? Increasingly media created for a mass audiences have attempted to reach out to include as many relevant perspectives as is possible, with varying degrees of success.

 

[MGibster]

Not really? Increasingly media created for a mass audiences have attempted to reach out to include as many relevant perspectives as is possible, with varying degrees of success.

That varying degrees of success is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

 

[Gradine]

That varying degrees of success is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

I will note that success and effort and tend to hand-in-hand here. The more honest of an effort to include multiple perspectives in your output, the more successful you will be. But there's definitely those doing the bare minimum, if that (including diverse voices in the writing room and then constantly ignoring and/or devaluing them).

It's progress, if in fits and starts.

Beyond that, even "singular" works like novels involve research, editors, and more and more often "sensitivity readers" (they really need a better term for these)

 

[MGibster]

I will note that success and effort and tend to hand-in-hand here. The more honest of an effort to include multiple perspectives in your output, the more successful you will be. But there's definitely those doing the bare minimum, if that (including diverse voices in the writing room and then constantly ignoring and/or devaluing them).

In all my haste I forgot to mention that your point was valid. The perspective possessed by the original creators of D&D was much narrower than the perspective by those in control of the game in more recent years. But, still, given the relatively few people involved in the creation of even motion picture and television shows, I'm not sure the D&D creators today are a more significantly accurate representation of things today than the creators in the 70s were for their time.

 

[Gradine]

In all my haste I forgot to mention that your point was valid. The perspective possessed by the original creators of D&D was much narrower than the perspective by those in control of the game in more recent years. But, still, given the relatively few people involved in the creation of even motion picture and television shows, I'm not sure the D&D creators today are a more significantly accurate representation of things today than the creators in the 70s were for their time.

Of course they aren't, and the progress they've made in that direction has certainly come in fits and starts (Tomb of Annihilation, Book of Cylinders, etc.) One area they have made considerable progress in is in gender and sexuality, at the very least.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Beyond that, even "singular" works like novels involve research, editors, and more and more often "sensitivity readers" (they really need a better term for these)

"Basic human decency technicians' or BHDTs"

 

[Gradine]

"Basic human decency technicians' or BHDTs"

Excellent, but could be pithier

 

[Thunderfoot]

Racial terms are not offensive.
Racist terms are.

There is a very important difference between the two. If we can't see or understand the difference, well...that's pretty much the whole discussion in a nutshell.

I agree, but some people can't be bothered with the distinction. (Sri, my sarcasm seems to be broken and people seemed to have missed it.)