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Power, Man: The Importance and Greatness of Luke Cage
via tvinsider.com
So Luke Cage came out on Netflix last weekend and was so popular the streaming titan collapsed, the first time I can remember it happening under such circumstances. It also was set in Harlem with an overwhelmingly African-American cast, so it also sparked a lot of stupid comments. That… was not a first, nor was it surprising. A lot of (white) people have had difficulty relating to its setting, storyline, and characters, and I understand that it can be difficult for people with one black friend so they totally aren’t racist to put themselves in the shoes of Harlemites. I also understand that many of them are unqualified to discuss the problems facing Harlem and similar communities for a variety of reasons.
Well, my last name literally translates as “white man,” but I’m going to review Luke Cage (mostly) spoiler free anyway, because I found it to be excellent, damnit.
Luke Cage, played by Mike Colter, is a soft-spoken giant of a man working in a barbershop with bulletproof skin and strength rivaled only by The Hulk. We last saw Luke taking a shotgun blast to the skull from fellow supe/ex-fuck buddy Jessica Jones in the show of the same name—oh yeah, there were a lot of people who had problems with their interracial relationship, too—and so he’s decided to lay low and avoid any more action. That plan, naturally, goes awry due to gifted police officer Misty Knight (played by Simone Missick), corrupt politician Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard), and local club owner/gunrunner Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (Mahershala Ali). Egos clash, schemes intertwine, old rivalries surface, and blood spills. To protect and avenge those that matter, Luke Cage must discover what sort of heroic deeds he is capable of. The plot structure doesn’t go into completely illogical diversions like season 2 of Daredevil, but it also isn’t as tight as Jessica Jones, so be prepared for some odd twists and turns along the way.
That last sentence pained me to write, because we absolutely do not need another superhero coming to grips with their powers and responsibilities. On its most basic level, it’s become the cliche every studio turns to when they need to start or restart a franchise, and people are so enthralled by their favorite characters that they turn out in droves regardless of how lazy that plot line is. I wished Netflix had said “You met Luke Cage in Jessica Jones and learned about his struggle there; here he is being awesome” instead of giving us another origin story. The Dark Knight was better than Batman Begins not just because of Heath Ledger’s immortal performance, but because we already understood our hero’s motivations and could get straight into the action. Luke Cage had the opportunity to open the story right there and blow us away with badassery; instead, we got a man extraordinarily conflicted on using his powers for good. Ho hum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytkjQvSk2VA
In a real world context, however, Luke Cage’s internal battle works much better than it did in train wrecks like Spider-man 3 or Superman V Batman. I recently read How Long Will I Cry? Voices of Youth Violence and High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing and a recurring theme throughout both is the decision for people living in high crime communities to stay and fix what’s wrong or leave for the sake of their families and themselves. Against the overwhelming odds depicted by the books’ contributors, there is no single right answer to that question. (For what it’s worth, Harlem’s crime rates have plummeted in the past 30 years, but have started to slowly rise in the past few.) Cage’s conflict is reflective of many individuals in similar areas, which is why his rise as a local hero is so fitting.
Standing in his way are two of the biggest influences in American life today: violence and politics. Mariah and Cottonmouth, cousins on opposite ends of Harlem’s legitimacy scale, have plans that hinder Luke’s dreams of a quiet peaceful life, along with the help of Cage’s old prison nemesis Shades (Theo Rossi). Does that sound at all like anything going on around the country today? As the story progresses, the writers’ political message becomes much more direct, but even from episode one, you can see a formation of real life patterns emerging. If you cross bosses, criminal or legislative, or try to out run a violent past, this country will often make it its mission to bury you, even if you are literally one of the greatest human beings alive. Hey, it’s happened before. (Note: That’s hyperbole. MLK is obviously a more important figure in world history than Luke Cage. Settle down, everyone.)
Luke Cage is bulletproof, which turns out to be incredibly handy throughout the season. I’m fairly certain the number of bullets-to-minutes ratio approaches 1:1, and gunfire comes from all sides. Cottonmouth, his gang, police officers,—everyone takes a shot, and no matter how many times they aim right, they can’t land a hit. How incredible would such a power be in my hometown, where over 3,000 people have been shot in 2016? Luke jumps in front of several people in order to save their lives from errant gunshots; he is selfless, nearly indestructible, and always in the right place at the right time.
Now, a lot of white people have argued that this show is (I can’t believe I’m even typing this) “too black.” Well, I’ve got news for them: we already had something recently released featuring a bulletproof white guy with near perfect timing, questioning whether or not being a hero is the right thing, and problems with the government, a troubled past, and a corrupt businessmen. That guy is Superman, and the last movie he was in was utter dogshit. No, it’s lower than that, because I’ll leave my dogs’ craps lying around my yard longer than I’ll leave Superman V Batman playing on my TV. The powers themselves are boring. Nearly indestructible? Gee, I wonder how hard it will be for him taking out the four guys with crowbars. The powers of both Cage and Superman may give them demigod status, but they give viewers a complete lack of tension until their individual kryptonites are discovered.
So why does Luke Cage resonate in a way that forever banished tire fire of a film that doesn’t? Because Luke is a black hero. That is very different than a hero who became black, as both Marvel and DC continue to do to well-known white supes from a time when all supes were white. Luke Cage was specifically designed to serve as Marvel’s jump into Blaxploitation; he originally looked like this. Since then, he has evolved in style and substance, developing into a well-rounded character who fits into almost any team in the Marvel Universe. He is the literal embodiment of progression in comics.
As for the complaint about the rest of the cast being “too black?” Which character should be changed? The cop who turned to a legitimate career after growing up around crime? The gangster and the politician pressured into following in the footsteps of their royal Harlem family? The barbershop owner who gives escaped cons and potential gangbangers a second chance? Honestly, race is such a crucial part of Luke Cage that any slight change would damage the integrity of the show.
There is one issue with the cast, though: the supporting characters are almost so good that they overwhelm Colter’s understated acting in the lead role. Ali’s Cottonmouth in particular stands out, a career criminal who aches beneath his powerful facade, sorrow forcefully transformed into rage, as complicated a villain as we’ve seen from a Marvel release since Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2… which wasn’t really even Marvel. Missick is fantastic as Knight, eager and powerful with her badge yet still damaged from an unseen past; Rossi plays the part of calculating consigliere far too well, especially in contrast to his (equally good) emotionally-driven role in Sons of Anarchy; and Woodard straddles the line between “corrupt politician doing what she has to” and “crime family matriarch recognizing her place” with aplomb. Throw in Rosario Dawson’s consistently solid Night Nurse to tie together Netflix’s three shows and a trio of veterans from The Wire to bring back that sense of realism for every David Simon fan, and you have an immeasurable amount of talent forming around Colter, who is… good. He just isn’t great, and that’s something we aren’t used to with these Netflix Marvel shows. Kristin Ritter was miles above everyone else in Jessica Jones—including Colter who was, again, good—and carried what would have been a solid show into the territory of excellent. Here, Colter is above passable—again, he’s good!—but the surrounding talent elevates him rather than the other way around. I wouldn’t recast Colter giving the chance; hell, I wouldn’t recast any of the actors in the show. But it is odd when the title hero isn’t the standout performance, and I can at least accept those complaints.
via newsreportcenter.com
Aesthetically, any criticisms need to be put to bed this moment. The music is incredible and sets the tone for the entire series; while I’m not sure if every performing artist in the show is actually from Harlem, the bold and beautiful sounds harken back to the Renaissance where the neighborhood served as a Mecca for African-American culture. The damaged Cottonmouth knows this, and no matter how far he goes into his criminal enterprise, he always vows to preserve his club as both a symbol of the glory days and a beacon for future growth among his people. Just as purple dominated Jones and red enveloped Daredevil, yellow is the main color in Luke Cage, but despite its notable prominence I never found it to be overused. Costumes joke back to the ridiculous stereotypes of the original design, and Harlem itself becomes a character, from the claustrophobia of alleyways to the background characters dotting the scenery. Even if you can’t stand the story, if you think Colter was the wrong pick, if you think Cage is way too overpowered to be interesting, I guarantee that you will find something wonderful to see and hear.
Not that it will change the minds of those who think the show is “too black,” those intimidated by a truly great hero out to save his community. Nothing I write here will change their opinions. Still, detailing out why racists are wrong apart from simply calling them racist is important, because in doing so we can look at the positives of whatever culture they are attacking rather than the negatives of an individual. Cage and Cottonmouth both see this and do their best to preserve what they value in the best ways they can. They refuse to back down from what they value and what they hold dear, and neither will I. That’s power, man.
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5 AAA Games and Their Budgets: How much was spent, how much was made, and was it worth it
5 AAA Games and Their Budgets: How much was spent, how much was made, and was it worth it in the end.
In the videogame community, it’s impossible to have never heard of an AAA game (commonly pronounced Triple-A game), either during the marketing phase or thrown around amongst gamers. At some point in time, you’ve probably picked one up yourself. The term AAA game is commonly used by big publishers and developers simply as a marketing tactic to deem their game as “better” or “innovative,” but most of the differences between AAA games and indie games simply comes down to the budget and production team behind the scenes. While indie games or smaller developments will have much smaller budgets, AAA games can have an average development budget of around $60 million to $80 million, but many have been known to double, triple, or even quadruple that budget. Some of these games required thousands of employees ranging from programmers, developers, artists, composers, writers, and more, with even more extensive marketing campaigns as well.
However, once a game is created and released, many fans don’t consider the budget that went into creation when purchasing, but many will know whether or not it was deemed as an AAA game during its marketing campaign. The question comes in whether or not a game is truly worth being deemed an AAA game. Is it just the budget that deems whether or not a game is AAA? Is it simply just a tool used by big developers to hype their game up? Or is there something more nitty gritty about the details of development that causes a game to become an AAA game. To analyze these questions, here’s a list of 5 AAA games and their budgets–how much might have been spent creating the game, how much was made, and if fans deemed it to be worthy of that praise.
1.) Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Budget: Not concretely stated, but Odyssey was reportedly around $500 million
Earnings: Around $1 billion at release
Released in November of 2020, most players seem to have enjoyed this installment in the long-standing Assassin’s Creed franchise. Valhalla takes place in a viking-era Norway, following the main character Eivor who seeks revenge against the man who killed their parents and slaughtered their town. During the narrative, Eivor also deals with the political affairs of enemy kingdoms, prophetic visions, and the titular assassins the franchise is known for. Through Eivor, the player engages in snappy, fast-paced combat and a well-written story. According to Google, players seem to have enjoyed this installment, as 89% of Google users liked AC: Valhalla. Although the budget hasn’t been concretely stated, a similar AC project of this size, Odyssey, reportedly had a budget of around an eye-popping $500 million. While that may seem like an unreasonable budget, upon release, AC: Valhalla sold around 17 million copies at $60. Therefore, at around $1.02 billion, AC: Valhalla broke even on release, even with a potentially enormous budget. According to Ubisoft, Valhalla set a record-breaking number of sales, quickly becoming the company’s top-selling PC launch ever recorded. In this case, both the players and the company agree that this AAA game’s large budget was worth it in the end.
2.) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Budget: $100 million
Earnings: $620 million
Released in 2011, Skyrim was the fifth installment in the long-standing and well-known Elder Scrolls series. While the previous installment, Oblivion, also had an impressive revenue count of around $280 million, Skyrim more than doubles that at around $620 million. Set in a nordic inspired fantasy country called Skyrim, 200 years after the events of Oblivion, the player takes on the role as the dragonborn, a mythical human with the ability to learn shouts. The player takes on the quest to defeat Alduin, a dragon that is prophesied to end the world. With an open-world and a heavy emphasis on adventure and roleplay, Skyrim follows the theme of playing the game the way you want, the same way all the installments of the Elder Scrolls series seem to play out. Although the game reportedly cost around $100 million to develop, it seems the fans believe it was worth it. According to Google, around 96% of Google users liked the game and upon release the game received critical acclaim. Years later, Skyrim still remains relevant primarily due to the thanks of modders and DLC content that remasters the game and keeps it fun years after release. Despite the impressive success and revenue, fans are still waiting for the sixth installment in the Elder Scrolls series ten years later, primarily due to the fact that Bethesda seems to be focusing on Elder Scrolls: Online in the meantime. As of right now, the only hope fans have seen for Elder Scrolls VI was a small teaser trailer released in 2018.
3.) Cyberpunk 2077
Budget: Roughly $316 million
Earnings: $563 million
Although Cyberpunk 2077’s launch was widely regarded, in the kindest terms, as a shitshow, CD Projekt Red still managed to pull in around $563 in sales revenue after spending around $316 million in budget. The largest concern around Cyberpunk 2077 was the marketing. At first, the game was marketed as an innovative, open-world RPG set in a mature and futuristic cyberpunk world, with the player’s main stomping ground Night City. However, somewhere during the development of the game, the genre was changed from RPG to action-adventure, leaving many fans scratching their heads. Upon release, the game was riddled with hilarious game-breaking bugs, the main-story campaign was ridiculously short, and the graphics and gameplay was optimized only for new-gen consoles, leaving those with older consoles playing on choppy, low-quality graphics. According to Google, however, around 71% of Google users liked the game. While that may seem like a pretty decent average when considering the launch the game had, in comparison to other averages on this list the game performed very poorly. With media and reviews also displaying player dissatisfaction, in this case the Triple-A eye-popping budget was not worth it for most. However, it can be easy to blame the developers when it comes to Cyberpunk 2077’s downfall. However, the amount of times the game’s release was delayed, along with the pandemic happening at the time, it was clear that the development team was crunching hours on a game that just simply needed more time to be developed. But that wasn’t the team’s fault, per se. The truth of the matter is that due to the budget and due to the marketing and hype surrounding the game, those at the corporate level likely pushed the game to be released when it wasn’t ready. Many gamers can vouch, though, that most would like a game to be bug-free and optimized before release, and with a well-paid, well-rested, and no-crunch studio behind it, too.
4.) Red Dead Redemption 2
Budget: $80 to $100 million, while some sources reporting as high as $300-$500 million
Earnings: Around $1 billion
The long awaited prequel and second installment to Red Dead Redemption was released in 2018 and received universal acclaim from critics and fans alike, making it an extremely well-received sequel. Although it had expectations to live up to, both as the prequel to the first game and with a budget of up to $100 million, RDR 2 seemed to live up to the hype. Set in a fictional recreation of the Old West in 1899, RDR 2 centers around the story of Arthur Morgan and the notorious Van der Linde gang. After a robbery goes wrong, the gang is thrown into turmoil and decline as they deal with lawmen, rival gangs, and… swamp zombies. With a stunning open-world and an immersive, well-crafted story, Red Dead Redemption 2 was worth both the wait and the budget, for Rockstar Games and fans alike. According to Google, 96% of Google users liked the game. For a Triple-A game, this one seemed to be worth both the marketing and budget.
5.) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Budget: $81 million
Earnings: $200 million
Are AAA games worth it in the end?
Another CD Projekt Red game for the list, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt had a much better reception than Cyberpunk 2077. The Witcher series is the game franchise that threw CD Projekt Red into becoming a major league development studio. Originating as a book series written by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher franchise follows the story of Geralt of Rivia, a white-haired legendary witcher who is thrown into a story of fate, family, magic, and lots and lots of monster-fighting. Marketed as an action role-playing game, the third installment in the series, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt follows the story of Geralt as he aims to protect his adopted daughter, Ciri, who is running from a mythological Wild Hunt. With dynamic environments and advanced artificial intelligence, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was a game that set the expectations for CD Projekt Red. However, this game performed much better than Cyberpunk 2077, according to Google around 95% of Google users liked The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, making its impressive budget seem worth it in the end. With the success of The Witcher 3 and the fail of Cyberpunk 2077, it calls into question the validity of marketing a game as AAA. While both had impressive budgets, one was clearly more polished and ready for release than the other, but both had the expectation of being a well-developed, well-funded game.
With this list in mind, we can see that there are some games with high budgets that tend to perform better than others. However, all are marketed as Triple-A games, leaving consumers to decide whether or not the game is worth purchasing in the end. However, with such large budgets and strategic marketing, AAA games tend to be pricier than indie games and many will even take some form of pre-ordering into account. For some games, this pre-order works out if the released, final product lives up to consumers’ expectations. However, in the case of Cyberpunk 2077, many felt duped that this AAA game was marketed to be amazing, innovative, open-world, immersive and ended up pre-ordering a game that did not live up to their expectations. With Cyberpunk, the case is more severe than other disappointing games, since some bugs upon release were entirely game-breaking. Still, as I personally had finished playing the main campaign in all of ten to twelve hours while still playing side missions and roaming around, I felt that the game’s steep price just simply wasn’t worth it.
For me, this makes the culture and hype surrounding AAA games a bit trickier. While the marketing and budget are there to back the hype up, these games tend to have a harmful environment surrounding them both with consumers and developers. While consumers may be duped into pre-ordering an expensive game that doesn’t live up to the hype, developers, artists, writers, and programmers are forced to work overtime and “crunch” to make these games presentable for release. With such steep budgets, one would think that these developers would be able to sustain a reasonable work schedule, but many are overworked, underappreciated, and underpaid. This leaves one to wonder if AAA means anything at all when labeling a game, or if it’s simply a way for big videogame corporations to market their game as “innovative” and “better,” while mistreating their development team to get there. As is commonly the case, a bigger budget does not necessarily mean a better game, as many critically acclaimed indie games such as Stardew Valley or OneShot were created with little to no budget. Therefore, it’s important to take a look at the culture and expectations surrounding AAA games. What really makes an AAA game different from the others? Is it marketing, budget, or the development team behind it? More importantly, we should analyze the culture behind AAA games to realize that, sometimes, the pressure and the hype of creating an amazing game can leave unfair expectations on the team behind the scenes, leaving many developers underappreciated and overworked. If bigger budget games means mistreating workers to the point of exhaustion, AAA games might simply just not be worth it in the end.
From the very beginning of esports, games have commonly been dominated by men on the competitive scene, a trend that has continued through time to the present day. And yet, as we see a shift for inclusivity on a global scale, the gaming community is also marching toward more inclusivity for women and marginalized genders.
But not without the help from the community.
In the recently released and increasingly popular game VALORANT, one of these community-run organizations is Galorants–something that started as a Discord server, but grew to be far more important.
Beginning as a looking-for-group Discord server spawned from the VALORANT subreddit, Galorants grew at a pace that no one could have predicted. What began as a safe space for women to support each other away from the toxicity they often face in gaming communities, the server had grown to be much more. Within the first week, the server had grown to 600 members. By the second week, 1,000. And now, a server that is less than a year old, they are close to reaching 10,000 members, a quick and massive expansion for a Discover server–all consisting of women or marginalized genders.
“We knew by the second week of creation that this server would be huge and we wanted to make sure we made a lasting impact on the female-gaming community.” – Nicci Barker, Owner of Galorants
And with this power in numbers comes the ability to support. The amazing staff behind Galorants and the owner, Nicci, have taken advantage of their growth to provide opportunities and support for women and marginalized genders within the gaming community. Whether that be providing a platform to make friends and support each other, to help women grow in esports, or by hosting women-centered esports tournaments, Galorants looks to change the game for women and marginalized genders in the VALORANT community.
To support Galorants and their endeavors, consider following them on Twitter here.
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