Anita Sarkeesian Hates Talking About Gamergate—But She Has To

She is not interested in debating whether or not male privilege exists. Ten years ago, her web series, Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, kicked off a debate about the treatment of female characters in video games. It has been a long time since she faced an onslaught of harassment for her work.

She wouldn't talk about it again if it were up to her. It's a problem that she has to solve.

Historical context is important to the Sarkeesian people. She hears similarities between modern online harassment and the Gamergate case. There is a map to the crossroads between pop culture and politics in her new series. She investigated the satanic panic of the 1980s in this week's episode of the show. Even if it is a period that would never happen again, it ends with Gamergate. She said she was part of the history. I don't want to talk about it anymore.

In the past decade, many industries have evolved. Politics of the day have also. People are more knowledgeable about media representation than they used to be. The Obi-Wan Kenobi star received racist messages on social media after the show's launch, and there have been other repercussions. There are precedents to these things. "Moments when pop culture and politics collide are about retrograde,uritanical control over women's bodies, over culture, over challenges to the status quo or perceived progressive shifts." Like all of her work, That Time When is about making connections.

One episode of That Time When is about the early 1900s and the movies of Lois Weber. There is an episode about the impact of Star Trek on Black public figures, as well as an episode about the cancellation of theChicks. Janet Jackson's breast was briefly exposed during a Super Bowl halftime performance.

The debate over trans rights is eerily similar to what happened when Ellen came out on her show. When TV character Murphy Brown became a single mother in the early '90s, the talking points around traditional family values and reproductive rights came to light.

Cancel culture is a tactic used by the right for a long time. She points to one of the episodes in her show. The band was blacklisted after lead singer Natalie Maines voiced her opposition to the Iraq War. The recognition that the term "cancel culture" is perpetuated by the right is what makes that episode important.