Rebecca Mayes
I discovered Rebecca Mayes purely by accident last night. Maybe I've missed the boat on this one and everyone already knows her and has decided what they think about her, but I'm going to write this up anyway, because I didn't and I haven't.
What Mayes is doing is kind of difficult for me to parse, but here's what I've collected: She's a folk singer/songwriter who doesn't (or didn't) identify as a gamer, but has begun writing songs about video games. Mostly, she writes reviews for games in song-format, but they are not really reviews as we know them. For example, her Arkham Asylum review - the video features herself dressed up as various Batman villains and Batman, having a tea party together, while she sings about how nice it was to not have to kill anyone.
The whole thing can be slightly incomprehensible (this 'love song' to Yahtzee in particular), but what really intrigues me is that she's somehow managing to do what she's doing without people calling for her head, which in my experience is a strange and unusual phenomena. Outsiders aren't supposed to have opinions about games, girls aren't supposed to have opinions about games, and certainly nobody within any kind of gaming circle is supposed to admit preoccupations with war and violence as problematic. She's also definitely coming from a feminist perspective, from what I can tell. I think maybe her hippie-chick shtick insulates her, but overall, she seems to be well-liked?
From her website:"Video games are fascinating," says Rebecca, "there is a huge pre-occupation with distorted power - the power to kill, control and win. A lot of what comes out in games I see as an exploration of the human psyche, especially what is repressed. The gaming industry seems to be a meeting ground for a lot of what is live in our culture at the moment, bringing together elements of film, music and technology, and it is increasingly becoming the majority pasttime for young people. There is a lot that I feel drawn to comment on."
I am not completely sure what to think, but the whole concept intrigues me. If anybody else checks it out, let me know what your thoughts are.
What Mayes is doing is kind of difficult for me to parse, but here's what I've collected: She's a folk singer/songwriter who doesn't (or didn't) identify as a gamer, but has begun writing songs about video games. Mostly, she writes reviews for games in song-format, but they are not really reviews as we know them. For example, her Arkham Asylum review - the video features herself dressed up as various Batman villains and Batman, having a tea party together, while she sings about how nice it was to not have to kill anyone.
The whole thing can be slightly incomprehensible (this 'love song' to Yahtzee in particular), but what really intrigues me is that she's somehow managing to do what she's doing without people calling for her head, which in my experience is a strange and unusual phenomena. Outsiders aren't supposed to have opinions about games, girls aren't supposed to have opinions about games, and certainly nobody within any kind of gaming circle is supposed to admit preoccupations with war and violence as problematic. She's also definitely coming from a feminist perspective, from what I can tell. I think maybe her hippie-chick shtick insulates her, but overall, she seems to be well-liked?
From her website:"Video games are fascinating," says Rebecca, "there is a huge pre-occupation with distorted power - the power to kill, control and win. A lot of what comes out in games I see as an exploration of the human psyche, especially what is repressed. The gaming industry seems to be a meeting ground for a lot of what is live in our culture at the moment, bringing together elements of film, music and technology, and it is increasingly becoming the majority pasttime for young people. There is a lot that I feel drawn to comment on."
I am not completely sure what to think, but the whole concept intrigues me. If anybody else checks it out, let me know what your thoughts are.