Video: Ballad Of Gay Tony With Dancing, Drugs, And Derogatory Terms
One of my favorite recurring themes in GTA IV was shown in plenty of American characters assuming Niko must be Russian because of his Eastern European accent - to which Niko usually coughs an offended, "I'm not Russian!" This is not only socially helpful in reducing player ignorance about what certain accents indicate, but it's also narratively heart-wrenching from Niko's point of view, since it was a Russian who betrayed him in the war and ultimately caused him enough strife to drive him out of his home country. Nevertheless, the ignorance and apathy of most Americans toward the complexity of events outside their borders is portrayed fairly accurately in the characters Niko meets.
It's that delicate balance of storytelling through the shattering of sanctity at which Rockstar excels, and which keeps me hopeful for a fairly sensitive and eye-opening game to be released tomorrow, even if it uses tools like offensive language and a few over-the-top stereotypes to contrast the actual humanity of a complex gay character and the (presumably) straight Latino assistant who does his dirty work.
If you're not worried about hearing Gay Tony throwing around some R-rated terms to make a point about Liberty City as a melting pot where everyone can be civil to each other, the above trailer shows off some of the new guns, base jumping, doing shots, line dancing, and plenty of violence. Use it as directed to get your fix for the only retail game this holiday season to have "gay" in the title until the game releases tomorrow, on XBox Live Arcade or in stores as part of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City.
faePuck
Posted to Video Games, Videos on 28 October 2009
· Comments (11)
Other stuff like this: ballad of gay tony, grand theft auto, gta, videos, xbox 360, xbox live arcade
I've never really been remotely interested in the GTA series; between growing up in New Orleans and spending most of my adult life in New York City, I feel the game glorifies aspects of gang and mob culture that really shouldn't be turned into entertainment. I've never played the game and my impressions could be off, since they're based on nothing more than the stuff I've seen and heard, but that stuff hasn't been compelling enough for me to get any interest in checking it out.
That said, the stuff I've seen about the "Gay Tony" update has been pretty good. I am not sure what makes you think this is an over the top stereotype (I'm assuming for gay people?) other than the fact that the soundtrack is techno-dance, but everything I've seen so far seems to represent a gay character in a well-rounded way. I had apprehensions about it even though all gay media I've seen has jumped up and down for joy about how great and progressive this is, but giving it an open mind I do have to admit that I think it is. The characters in Will and Grace seemed to rely much more on stereotypes than the minute and a half I've seen about this game, and Will and Grace is often invoked as one of the greatest successes of the gay rights movement (for reasons beyond me).
I also think it's a little silly to complain about the character saying fag or spic in the first 10 seconds while saying nothing towards the rest of the video which depicts your character gunning people down and tossing someone off the side of a skyscraper. In the context of a gay character saying, "We're not spics or guidos or fags, we're proud Americans," I don't think the f-bomb is that much to get worked up over, personally.
The problem for me is that you don't get to run around as Gay Tony though, you're just a straight guy that works for him.
Why are people jumping up and down for joy at how progressive this is?
I agree, it's not all that progressive, and from what I hear Tony is a total gay stereotype. But what I do like is that Rockstar is choosing to release an expansion called The Ballad of Gay Tony. There are still a heck of a lot of homophobes in the U.S., and guess what, GTA is the kind of widespread game that many homophobic people play. Rockstar is not afraid to alienate thus viable audience, and while not being afraid to prominently feature gays should be expected of any company, it is currently not.
@mixvio
A lot of folks see the hype around GTA and, bizarrely, only focus on the negative media - in other words, the worst possible set of actions someone can take in the game. There's much talk about how easy it is to patronize a prostitute, then kill her, but almost no coverage of the political satire that practically leaps out of the game from every radio show, billboard, TV station and some of the cutscenes. This bothers me most of all because the game does not specifically reward any behaviors - sure, you can get a free health boost by taking the ten minutes to drive a lady of the night to the right part of town, waiting for the deed, and then running her over - but you could also get your health back by running to any of your apartments, or exploring a little bit until you find a health pack lying around. You know, normal game stuff.
When I hear about the most amoral uses of sandbox technology from people, the question I think we should be asking is not, "why are you allowed to do that," but, "why would you want to do that?"
That said, I'd hope anyone who read my article thoroughly noted that I didn't say this expansion was going to be one big gay stereotype--just that it will, undoubtedly, contain stereotypes. Gay Tony himself will be a pretty complex character, I hope, with his own vices and virtues and surprising secrets.
And your comparison to Will and Grace is definitely not lost on me - I couldn't stand that show. But it never tried to be controversial or open any minds - and, as I showed with the example of Niko, Rockstar already has a pretty good track record of educating gamers subtly through storytelling. I guess most people are just too busy complaining about dead hookers to notice.
As for the f-bomb and other racial slurs - well, again, I disagree. I can't speak for you personally, but I've gotten enough harrassment in my life, even before I was out, that included the word 'fag.' We have a responsibility as budding journalists to present an inclusive and safe area for queer and straight people alike on this site. I'm unwilling to post a video with extremely loaded, offensive terminology that most people simply do not expect to hear every day without then warning people what they're about to hear and why it's not always okay to say those things.
Even worse, imagine the number of straight gamers who happen across our site and browse the videos - if one of them who's on the fence (hah) about whether it's okay to call people 'fag' when he's angry sees us throwing about the term willy-nilly with no concern, he's going to come away with the wrong impression.
I already noted that the actual idea behind what Tony was saying in the trailer was not lost on me. But the actual use of such language, especially in public media, is one of the most controversial topics for some branches of media-centered government like the FCC - in terms of public resonance, there's nothing light about it. Just because we gamers are usually desensitized lot doesn't mean that we shouldn't at least qualify our contributions when we add to the publicity of harsh language.
I guess I'm looking at this from another point of view.
I really don't see what would cause the hesitancy to post this video (no offense faePuck# from the context #gay Tony says "fellows watch your language" in the opening) it sounds like what happens is someone uses a slur, and Gay Tony takes a moment to remind them that they are all Americans, no matter what "group" they're being insensitively classified as.
I also can see why this is a huge win for the Gay community. Let's put it this way, think about GTA's target audience? Well, a lot of those people are the ones dropping the fbomb in multiplayer games. If this game changes even one person's perspective on gay's shouldn't we concider that a win?
I have never been a fan of GTA, but for the last few years I really applaud Rockstar for their work in pushing the envelope. Sure, they pbrought on a lot of attention with "Hot Coffee" a while back, but now the GTA name is almost expected to push buttons, so it doesn't get the attention it once did. The clip above depicts an act of fellatio! where are the outraged mom's! I think people are almost over it. Which I think is great. In film, the deepest storylines are typically in R rated films. They use crude language, depict acts of violence and/or sexuality, and are unappologenic. Rockstar is part of the growing group of studios bring us video games on the same artistic level as films.
As for the complaints that your not playing as Gay Tony, but as some straight guy, I think it makes sense. If only 1 in 10 people are gay, then why alienate 90% of a market that is not yet ready to play as someone they cannot relate to. Rockstar was smart to make Gay Tony your boss. That way they can still have him as a major character and expose the player to a gay character as they may not have seen potrayed before. Also it shows how this macho main character has no problem answering to a Homosexual. Maybe that will be just enough to show that 14 year old dropping the fbomb in Halo that Gay's arent as strange or scary or different as you think, and that your not emasculated from showing compassion for them, or befriending them. You gotta start somewhere. Bully (Boys Kissing)>Gay Tony (A set in stone gay character)>GTA5??? (The freedom to choose your sexuality???)
Ultimately the win in this situation is that we get to see a fully realized gay character in one of the least likely places. Millions of people are going to be exposed to this character, I can't wait to see player remarks.
@faePuck
I don't think there will be much question about if that word should be used or not. If anything, due to the context of the video, I would think they would be less likely to use it. He basically puts it in the context that calling someone a "fag" is just as bad as calling someone any racial slur.
BTW, are we all suddenly biased? True the f word hurts, but we need to side with all minorities. If the problem with the video is Tony's use of a gay slur, then we should also be offended that he was using racial slurs as well.
Yeah, I just don't agree that one off-the-cuff reference to the "f-word" taints the video. By all means if you wanted a caveat attached to it sure, but I think it was fine.
Reading some of the feedback... That's it; final nail in the coffin. I'm so sick of gays and militant gay activists whining about EVERYTHING! If this game was called "The Gay of Gay McGayerson" and featured a gay guy as the player with all the other characters gay as well, somewhere- people still wouldn't be satisfied! And this is happening EVERYWHERE!! For television, movies, music, politics- nothing happens overnight. I agree some of the progression we're due to see SHOULD happen overnight (ahem, same sex marriage), but as a person who's actually PLAYED this game, I have to really commend Rockstar for taking such a leap. I'm a GTA junkie and Gay Tony was easily my favourite instalment. It was over the top, hilarious, inclusive and just, well fun! Sure the 'f' bomb is thrown around a bit, even Yusif, one of the characters, throws the 'n' word around a fair bit, but as in real life, the users of the slurs almost always result in a negative backlash or karmic end, be it a "shut up" or an eventual bullet in the head (for unrelated reasons).
It's a good step, guys- for the darker, more violent sides of gaming, it's a HUGE step.
I think your point would have been stronger without the weird "militant gay activists whining about everything" part, personally.
I'm so sick of gays and militant gay activists whining about EVERYTHING!
Typical derailing attempt. Sorry, people who use this argument lose any discussion attempt automatically, but nice try.
Next time, bring the point without fail arguments like this, and you could even convince people. The rest of your post was at least halfwayworthy of considering it.
But "militant activists", seriously?
I didn't mean to offend with my choice of words, but I'm referring to the type of people who went on boycotts of Proctor and Gamble because they didn't show two gay characters on a soap opera have sex... You know, as appealing as that sounds, it amazes me how some people can go on and on and on and keep pushing, when really- the attention could be better paid to things that are worth actually demanding. Like equal rights and benefits under the law.
I still stand by to say that for a company that creates games that allow you to open fire on unsuspecting passerby with grenade launchers, this is a pretty good step towards equal exposure of gays. As a gay guy I don't expect to be treated better, and for people to tip toe around me because I'm special... I simply want equality and respect. I've been a huge fan of GTA for a long time and was really touched when coming across the characters depicted in GTA IV and Gay Tony. I think it's terrific exposure to a totally different demographic of people who may still have mixed feelings about gays.. It's a bit like the "Ellen" sitcom of it's time in a way.