The Sarkeesian Effect: Inside the World of Social Justice Warriors
- 2015
- 2h 36m
The Sarkeesian Effect focuses on the controversy surrounding feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian, Social Justice Warriors, and the GamerGate movement. The title is a play on 'The Streisan... Read allThe Sarkeesian Effect focuses on the controversy surrounding feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian, Social Justice Warriors, and the GamerGate movement. The title is a play on 'The Streisand Effect'.The Sarkeesian Effect focuses on the controversy surrounding feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian, Social Justice Warriors, and the GamerGate movement. The title is a play on 'The Streisand Effect'.
Photos
- Self - Narrator
- (voice)
- Self
- (as Brad Wardell)
- Self
- (as Tim Meehan)
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOn November 25, 2020, writer/director Jordan Owen issued a public apology for creating the film and for his actions towards Anita Sarkeesian.
- Quotes
Himself - Narrator: By the time Anita Sarkeesian ascended on to the GDC awards stage there were two conflicting stories on how she had gotten there. The one put forth by Mr. Druckmann was the one put forth by the media at large. The story of a heroic young woman who overcame impossible odds to gain ground for women and minorities everywhere. It was a compelling narrative, one that fit well with the civil rights stories of the past. PBS even saw fit to compare Anita Sarkeesian to Rosa Parks, Harvey Milk and Martin Luther King Jr. But this appealing narrative doesn't tell the whole story. As Anita grinned ear to ear with trophy in hand thousands of gamers were watching something else entirely, the video game industry bowing down to a bully like none it had ever encountered before, a bully that used guilt and political correctness to have her way. The two narratives about Anita Sarkeesian, one heroic, one heinous had come to define the two sides in a bitter culture war in modern gaming that would soon explode in the controversial consumer revolt known as GamerGate. While the world at large looked on with confusion gaming culture stood divided over what can be called The Sarkeesian Effect.
Let me make myself perfectly clear: I didn't donate to TSE Patreon, in fact the entire idea of filming a documentary rebutting Sarkeesian seemed incredibly redundant. The hyping and bravado displayed by both creators was honestly cringe worthy, especially considering the fact that neither of them had ever made even a remotely decent movie and, judging from their previous work, didn't seem at all capable to handle a project of such seriousness and ambition. Add the repeated public falling outs, the budgetary restrictions, or the horrendous quality of the raw footage, and the end result seemed clear: the movie will be nothing but another YouTube video consisted of a series of poorly shot and barely related interviews repeating what everybody already knows, with amateurishly constructed arguments and no additional value, and thus will only serve to stroke the ego of people who have always agreed with its basic premise and are willing to delude themselves into thinking that this isn't crap both as a critique, and as a filmmaking venture. Imagine then my surprise when I press the play button and see that the movie is none of these things.
First things first, the atrocious raw footage has been, with the use of a few neat visual tricks, transformed from embarrassing unwatchable train wreck into something that doesn't really stand out all that much and, believe it or not, sometimes looks like quite a charming quirk – it's hard to believe that one of the accusations levied against Owen was that he knows nothing about editing. The laughable goal to "make this movie for our parents" has shockingly been achieved without the film seeming didactic or repetitive, and Owen's voice-over presents a clear, easy to follow timeline of events and ideas, all skillfully intercut with the raw footage enriching them with many new insights and much interesting information. The progression of arguments is logical, something the rough draft completely lacked. Owen explains Sarkeesian's background, the growing rift between media and consumers and how exactly it led to GamerGate, the origins of social justice warriors and their go-to MO, the connection between Sarkeesian, sex-positive feminism and the idea behind NotYourShield (again, the rough draft mucked this up), and why Sarkeesian of all people returned into the spotlight during GamerGate, a controversy which at first glance has absolutely nothing to do with her. Barring a few moments at the very end the movie is mercifully free of armchair psychology, and the end ties everything up in a way I don't think has been done before, turning The Sarkeesian Effect into an unexpectedly touching and occasionally funny story with a happy ending where the underdog wins, the princess known as gaming is saved, and the villain gets laughed out of the building. Now that's what I call a play on tropes.
Not to completely blow Owen's trumpet, the time devoted to several of the interviewees seems way disproportionate to what they have to say, certain technical issues remain (e.g. Cathy Young is virtually unintelligible), the animated sequences ARE kinda ugly (though the idea to animate the Anita snuff fanfic certainly must be appreciated), and the last 30 minutes are devoted solely to the ending(s), one of which takes a form of imitating the style of Ayn Rand – nothing against Rand per se, it was just strange to hear her talk through Jordan's mouth.
Overall, this is a remarkable achievement and nothing to be ashamed of. So if it means anything, Jordan, you knocked this one out of the park.
- kiddo1-1
- Sep 17, 2015
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- Also known as
- The Sarkeesian Effect
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $50,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 36 minutes
- Color