Response to King of Kong

As was the case with IGTM, the editing and post-production in KoK was used to make an argument about the gaming culture being portrayed. I was most struck by the uncharitable light that Walter Day- who in my estimation is an energetic proponent of the gaming community that should be lauded as a beneficent contributor- was portrayed. It seems that the most cringe worthy clips were used at times, such as the completely unnecessary shots of him performing his (admittedly poorly sung) original music. He was placed in association with the antagonist, the eminently unlikeable Billy Mitchell, so as to convey the impression that they were teamed up to a certain extent. When the actual quotes of Day are considered in isolation from the movie, it is clear that Day’s first allegiance is to the Twin Galaxies establishment, and the integrity of his game ranking platform. At no point was Day actually shown interacting with Mitchell with any greater affinity than with the other gamers, yet the producers implicitly created a sense of a group with Wiebe on the outside, and everyone else on the inside. His impartiality is affirmed towards the end of the film as Wiebe receives the apology letter, but this reversal was too little, too late. This is clearly not a film that would have been created by the group in question; instead we are again presented a view into the culture from the perspective of an outsider, in a kind of disapproving, voyeuristic tone – “look at these freaks!” I found that the laughs during the viewing were all at the expense of the group. Wiebe, on the other hand, was handled with kid gloves, and not much was made of the neglect he put his family through while pursuing his quixotic obsession. Documentary is a great format, but I am learning by examining these films that great care must be taken if the objective is a relatively unbiased view of the subject matter. In these two films, I suspect that wasn’t the case, and so the editors had free reign to portray these men as they liked; as a spectacle for the entertainment of the viewer, who can feel confident that he is quite “normal” and “un-freakish” compared to the objects of the films ridicule.