The Controversy Continues: Modern Warfare 2 Video Raises Concerns

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@Stephen Johnson:

"So Infinity Ward says it was just mocking the people who hold homophobic views as opposed to actually being homophobic... except I've seen the video, and there's nothing in it to indicate this is the case."

There are a number of elements in this video that indicate a mocking tone, an element of social commentary. This begins when the video opens from the perspective of a player. That player's profile pic has the words "Blunt Trauma" surrounded by pot leafs and his handle/tag is "Meewah420." Could this possibly be a caricature of teen players who think that "fronting" weed makes them cool? I've never run into any of them online /sarcasm

And then there's this idea that IW is using the slur against homosexuals. If you pay a little attention you'll see that the person speaking is against grenade spamming. The acronym stands for Fight Against Grenade Spam. So the guy giving the PSA, presumably from the perspective of IW, would therefore be a member of this organization. In other words, he himself would be one of the (insert racial slur). How does calling themselves that make them homophobic? It seemed rather clear to me they were ridiculing those who use that term online.

I understand most people who saw this video watched it only once and not looking for any deeper meaning, any hints that this could be some kind of joke or social commentary. They are a casual audience who watched a trailer/ad, deep thinking or thinking at all is not usually required. You, Mr. Johnson, are a reporter even if it is on a blog about video games. You are given an elevated voice in the community, a chance to define discussions and set their tone. You are expected to watch a video multiple times, too look at the smaller details and try to see all sides of an issue, especially if you're going to be opinionated about that issue in an article.

I'm not trying to say that using the acronym was a good idea. Obviously they weren't able to objectively look at the ad and see how it could easily be misinterpreted. The fact that so many people have done so is proof that it can be. Removing the video was the right decision. None of that excuses you from trying to see from their point of view, of trying to see how it could have been a very poor attempt at social commentary. We have more than enough people who are happy to respond to things like this in an inflammatory way on both sides, there's no need for professionals to fan these fires by failing to do their research, which is in fact their job.

I'm sorry this is so critical, I have no issue with you as a person and in the past I've very much enjoyed your work. I see this as a mistake you made. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion to the actual issue. If so I'm sorry. I tend to look to people like Adam Sessler as leaders for our community. That includes the authors here by extension. I expect you guys to be unbiased, or at least mostly so. This feels to me like you watched the video once and made up your mind about it without trying to see things form IW's side. Maybe I'm wrong about that too but that's certainly how it comes across from here.

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with saying IW messed up, that they released something that was insensitive. They've acknowledged that by taking down the video. Saying that IW is intentionally encouraging slurs against homosexuals is the kind of move I expect from the comments section, not the staff. It's entirely possible to criticize the release of the video without accusing Infinity Ward of bigotry.