Ben-DutkaIt's nice to see video games get some extra recognition.
GLAAD, the media monitoring group that promotes LGBT lifestyle and imagery, has selected their "most intriguing new LGBT characters of 2013," and a character from one of the year's most critically acclaimed titles made the list.
It's Bill, the guy who helps out Joel and Ellie at one point during the post-apocalyptic adventure. The reasoning for their pick reads as follows:
"There weren't many new LGBT characters to be found in mainstream video games this year, but one of 2013's most critically acclaimed featured a particularly interesting one. Released for the PS3, The Last of Us is set in a post-apocalyptic world where lone plague survivors must protect themselves from the infected and each other. One of the characters the player encounters over the course of the game is Bill, an unstable loner in the town of Lincoln with a talent for fixing things.
Through dialogue and backstory, the player learns that Bill once had a partner named Frank who he loved, but the plague drove them apart and led Frank to a bitter end. Both helpful and contentious, Bill is as deeply flawed but wholly unique a gay character found in any storytelling medium this year."
For the record, I never even realized Bill was gay. I remember him mentioning a partner and that he "loved" him, but I guess I just didn't connect the dots in my brain. And I suppose that's the proper way to introduce such a character; he just is who he is, and nobody would think he's different in any way. So, bravo to Naughty Dog!
Related Game(s): The Last Of Us
If you read all the notes it became very clear that they were lovers; I know nobody will believe me but that was one of the many things I saw coming soon after meeting Bill and hearing his story.
also the porn ellie finds is gay porn…its called something like "hunks" and she makes a note of the guys, uh, ehm, "equipment"
I actually picked up on this on my last playthrough while reading notes and trying for all the conversations with Bill
Last edited by newchef on 1/1/2014 10:55:19 PM
Beat me to it.
If you watch closely in a cut scene after they leave Bill, the magazine Elle took from his place and looking through is a male porn mag. Its implied in the dialog also.
It was very subtle, and I thought the way that the handled it was correct. It was a part of him, not all of who he was.
I know few people on the gaming boards mentioned it and there were some discussions, but to be honest, I wasn't aware of his sexuality at all until someone mentioned the magazine Ellie took. But I don't really care he's gay or not.
Last edited by Kai200X on 1/2/2014 1:34:20 AM
Yea, he was an interesting character. I've said it before and I'll say it again though, it really felt as though too many of the characters met by Joel and Ellie were created with the intention of ticking a PC-positive checklist. Gay guy, strong females, dark people while the only real villain is a straight, middle-aged white man. Not saying they were bad choices or anything, but I found it kinda distracting.
I find it's easier to not care about that type of thing.
Yeah I can see that, I wonder if it entered into the minds of people at Naughty Dog or if these are just the characters they came up with while trying to be interesting. I did get a kind of syfy movie vibe from the side cast.
That's one of the benefits of a long-term show like Walking Dead, you get to see everyone change into what they are after the apocalypse so it makes sense.
one thing TLoU really missed out on, allot of the characters are never really built up.
one of the biggest theories was bills going to be the main star for the DLC, but there goes that idea.
so many characters you meet in the campaign, just for face value and thats it.
its almost like a guy walked in and said do you have this?
nah.
why not?
we just dont.
ok put him in,
why?
JUST DO IT!
just done for the sake of doing it, no reason, no meaning, just to tick a meaningless box.
My thinking is that since the story was laser focused on the relationship between Joel and Ellie it was important to make everyone along their road a transitory acquaintance because that's the kind of world it is. My two cents.
yea, does not excuse them from brushing over everyone else.
side characters just deepen the story and believability of the world, look at ME2.
actually made you give a sh*t about your crew, especially after doing the side missions for them.
i felt so bad when i screwed talis trial and she was banished from her home planet, or when you finally find jacobs father and learn what hes been doing all this time.
as the saying goes its always the little things that mean the most.
Bills preferences were pretty obvious in TLoU, I don't see how this is surprising. Nor do I see why the feature should be singled outed and promoted like this.. – Despite this I feel DragonRose313 pretty much summed up what was nice about the way TLoU didn't overstate it.
Well it's an LGBT group so their whole purpose is to single out and recognize non-discriminatory representations of characters of a certain persuasion.
The problem with glaad is their trying to police people's thought and speech. They do no favors for their community by attacking people who think or believe differently with their angry mob like tactics. In a free society people are allowed to believe that homosexuality is wrong if they want too. glaad seeks to ridicule and destroy people who don't agree with them. They like to deem themselves as anti-bullies yet they do most of the bullying.
It was pretty there when he was talking to Joel about his partner and later supported by Ellie in the truck with the magazine.
Like I mentioned waaaay back in a post, Bill is an interesting character and I would have liked to have seen where he went after Joel and Ellie left. It would have been cool if he tagged along until they met up with his brother.
Keep playing!
I gotta get this out as a matter of gender politics.
Yesterday I commented to a girl on facebook who always posts tons of selfies but doesn't smile in them, I said "You gotta smile more!" a totally innocent comment as far as I'm concerned.
I was assaulted and accused of being a misogynist insensitive male for daring to tell a woman to smile. What the hell is wrong with people? You guys know I'm a total liberal, but now I'm starting to see why you all can't stand us. Sensitive much? I unfriended said person.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 1/2/2014 8:35:08 AM
You've seen the light! 😉
Honestly everyone is a victim now. And we shouldn't be victims, we all should stand up for ourselves without taking advantage of stuff. Theres a difference in being a victim of a crime, and being the victim of being told to "smile more".
It's just too much man, there are real issues for the politically minded to do something real about. Being a constant victim doesn't advance your cause at all, it makes it less credible.
This is just in my experience, mind you, but every single liberal I know well ticks all of the following boxes:
— Overly sensitive to the point of comical idiocy
— Absolutely zero common sense (or just a refusal to acknowledge it)
— Not a fraction as smart and enlightened as they think they are
— A distracting, disconcerting 'believe what I believe or you're a Neanderthal' attitude, which, considering the constant preaching of tolerance for different views in life, I find ridiculously hypocritical
If it wasn't for this, I wouldn't have any problem with them at all. But for some reason, they all seem to be cut from a very similar – and VERY annoying – mold. That whispery, condescending tone they all seem to adopt just makes me nuts. It's why I can't listen to NPR.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 1/2/2014 11:15:53 AM
You should have asked her to go to couples therapy with you. That would have gone over well, I promise.
World, you're one of the few liberals I know aside from my good friends who are truly liberal. Many of today's "liberals" really aren't liberal. They're self righteous grievance mongers who seek to police speech and thought and would use the power of the state to do so if allowed. In my mind, that isn't liberal. It's statist and reeks of a totalitarian mindset.
As for Bill being gay? I think it was so subtle that it really didn't matter or come off as overt gender politics. If he really was a homosexual, it's refreshing that they didn't make him a stereotype. As some one said above, it was simply a part of him rather than his entire character.
Last edited by Jawknee on 1/2/2014 11:38:28 AM
Jawknee – Yea my views on liberals are similar to yours. Liberal views can easily be justified, but for reasons you and even Ben have pointed out that sense of entitlement shines through.
Underdog – ha, knowing World (as much as I can from comments) I'm Surprised he didn't.
World – Yea, that is our society's biggest problem now days. It stems from entitlement. A perfect example is that waitress that recently committed fraud by claiming the table she waited didnt agree with her lifestyle, to try and gain something. Another good example is yours. There is a sense that everyone has something to gain on behalf of others, and thats not rIght. And yeah to top it off it does make the cause less credible.
.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 1/2/2014 11:42:38 AM
So many are misguided in the way they go about their mission, noble intentions and a lot of angst and resentment aren't enough for anyone if they don't practice what they preach. I can't stand up for anyone who uses their views just to put themselves above other people, no matter if they are lefties or righties.
I think it's fine to talk about stuff, advance the conversation in an open forum even, but to go rampaging through the world accusing people of BS is unforgivable.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 1/2/2014 12:41:34 PM
The only time I'm really against use of some words or phrases are when people use terms that are really insulting to the people originally classified as such for historical reasons. The obvious one being the "n"-word. Hopefully obvious ones like that people know better than to use. lol. Another example for me is the use of the word, "retarded". Now that I work with people with intellectual disabilities, I totally get how insulting that is. (admittedly having used it regularly in the past, myself!)
But the types of things world described… yeah… when it has no historical significance and well…. isn't really insulting at all… there's something wrong when people are practically looking to get insulted.
I'm in amazement how there are people who didn't realize he was gay. It was pretty blatant. I talked thoroughly with my closest gamer friends and everyone caught this, it wasn't even an issue of someone not catching it or not noticing the obvious, like the porn mag. It makes me wonder what else these people missed out in the game, if they didn't notice something this obvious.
Hopefully I don't sound rude, I really do wonder now if those people missed out on all the subtle points that made the game so special.
Last edited by Fabi on 1/2/2014 4:21:30 PM
So Bill was a LGBT character???
Good for him, I bet it was tough covering all four of those roles all in just one game.