King of Kong

“King of Kong” is a unique film. It takes the rather unfamiliar subculture of competitive gaming and markets it to a wide audience.  And most importantly, it presents these people as human beings. Society has stereotyped “hardcore” gamers as a sect of society that does not relate to what is normal, but this film does a great job of showing them for who they really are. Their oddities are actually kind of funny (not just weird), and in some cases, they recognize that as well. And in the case of Steve Wiebe, they aren’t any different from just about everyone I know. He has a family, teaches elementary school and finds enjoyment in “Donkey Kong.” The fact that the latter ventures into obsessive compulsive shouldn’t make him any less of a person.

Going back to the Aarseth article we read, he states that you can’t fully understand a game until you play it yourself. And this goes for the players as well. Before you can judge them, you have to understand them. Unfortunately, the majority of films do not venture past the stereotypical depiction of avid gamers. However, director Seth Gordon captures who these people really are by balancing humor and sincerity, all while creating a very entertaining piece of work. Ultimately, this is a step in the right direction for the gaming culture, and hopefully other films will learn from it.