Hey idk if anybody's really tracking on this so maybe it doesn't matter but in case anyone's been wondering where the rest of my images from the "Outside the Canvas, Inside the Lens" have been I've been wrestling over the past couple days of whether I'm comfortable posting content like this about the game in the midst of the ongoing criticism about their representation of the cultures depicted in Natlan.
Representation matters, and I think as somebody who's enjoyed this game for so long I have a responsibility to do what I can to voice my own discontent and make room for the voices of the people being actively scrubbed from the game. And even though I wouldn't consider this account any sort of platform, I've been pondering how it ties into this responsibility.
Recently, a Twitter (not calling it X fuck you Mr Musk) account which had previously been dedicated to posting content about the character Kinich made the decision to step down from being a Genshin "gimmick account", and (in my opinion rightfully) criticized other social media accounts dedicated for continuing to provide plenty of positive engagement and focus on their gimmick while claiming to support the boycott. I think they displayed a lot of empathy and maturity through the way their message was handled, and it's a good point.
Boycotting Natlan by engaging positively with everything *except* the stuff we want changed is hardly a boycott. It won't affect a company that has already demonstrated its disinterest is amending the issue. Even in the unlikely event that they hear the criticisms drowned out by the praise, the response will likely be to simply avoid even trying to put people of color in their game at all. We must demonstrate not that these cultures are unprofitable, but rather that failing to properly respect the cultures in question will make the entire project less profitable. In the modern day, social media buzz is essentially free advertisement.
After seeing the Special Program, hearing them harp on how much they listen to player feedback without touching any of the playable character designs, I felt deeply frustrated. Seeing so many praise the game online for free rewards and changes to the pity system, completely glossing over the actually important issues the team completely ignored... it kind of sealed the deal for me. I am confident in saying that I don't want to provide free advertisement to this game right now, no matter how minimal my reach is.
It's kind of a bummer, and I'm not saying this is necessarily a permanent thing, but I'm going to try to put all of my Genshin posting on hold for the time being, which means I'm not gonna be finishing up that series for now.
I've said something along these lines twice already, but I'm a very small account and I don't know how many people care. But if anyone is reading this, I hope you understand. And if you'd like more information about the situation with Natlan, I recommend checking out @hyvboycott and tags such as #BoycottHYV and #RepresentationMatters.
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