every critic needs to determine their own personal ethic and mine is in a state of perpetual evolution but 1 thing i believe is: it's v. reductive to look at art only thru a lens of cultural impact (or what we perceive that impact to be) & it's irresponsible to ignore that impact

a blockbuster action film can be violently misogynistic and also thrill me with the beauty of its cinematography. a game can be brutally transphobic and also convey feelings of transcendence if a particular song comes on the radio while the sun rises over the ocean.

i don’t ever want to give art a pass if i genuinely think it’s normalizing harmful attitudes or beliefs, but i also don’t want to deny the complexity of art or our responses to it. i’d much rather that my work complicate people’s experiences with art than simplify them.

That said I also think there's sometimes an attitude, particularly in games, that flat-out pans or condemnations lack "nuance," that it's always better to find some value in a thing. I don't agree. I value the knives-out savage pan. I think critics should feel free to hate things