Matt Winnie · @Thirteen_XXXVII
3rd May 2011 from Twitlonger
@JimSterling The escapist crowd may actually need a SparkNotes for Jimquisition.
In reply to a comment on http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/3150-Solving-the-Sexism-Situation (I think this comment was too long to be posted where intended):
Your argument is that you think "[Jim] is not funny, informative, and entertaining because his episode." You really know how to construct a driving argument.
Let's try to aim for something that has a point or claim, reasoning to back up that claim, then evidence or examples that support the reasoning. Point, reason, and proof, it's not that hard.
For example, "This episode of Jimquisition is insightful because Jim presents an ironic 'solution' to a well known social problem in video game culture. Jim points out that this problem isn't necessarily one that can be simply solved due to the natural sexual attitudes of a mostly male dominated culture. The irony of the proposed solution differs from the attitude that implies we should change the way men think about sex; instead of sexually objectifying women in videogames, we, as a culture, should present a balance by portraying sexually objectified men as well. Jim's solution doesn't necessarily suggest any real action, but instead calls for a more positive change in attitude (though if any developers decide they want to create "Hot Abs: The Game", that's all the better... or worse -- that kind of sounds like a bad idea.)
Point: "This episode of Jimquisition is insightful..."
Reason: "...because Jim presents an ironic 'solution' to a well known social problem in video game culture."
Proof: Now here I don't just say, "Watch the video for proof." I reconstruct the points made in the video to help support my reasoning behind my claim. Specifically I included Jim's analysis of the problem, then explained how his solution was ironic. This area definitely could use some work, but honestly, I shouldn't need to spend that much time connecting the dots.
Conclusion: "Jim's solution doesn't necessarily suggest any real action, but instead calls for a more positive change in attitude" It always good to try to wrap up your argument some way that leaves something for your reader to think about.
Christ, no wonder everyone likes Extra Credits so much. They actually just spoon feed you the arguments during the episode. Not that it's a bad show for it, it's just seems like everyone here is so used to being specifically told how to think about something.