ummm….. okay… yeah… no…..
Songster and perpetual master of subtlety Morrissey has teamed up with pals at PETA to produce This Beautiful Creature Must Die, a mobile and desktop browser-based app that turns saving cuddly 8-bit farm animals from a gruesome death into a fun, Tetris-like puzzle game.
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“This game is the biggest social crusade of all, as we safeguard the weak and helpless from violent human aggression,” The Smiths frontman said humbly in a statement issued by PETA. “You don’t get that from Pokémon Go.”Source: https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/11/pokemeat-is-murder/
The Stupidity
We safeguard the weak and the helpless from violent human aggression… you don’t get that from Pokémon Go… Yeah. Well, you’re right. But that would be because Pokémon Go is a rather simplistic game without a story line.
Pokémon games, movies, and tv shows however do have story lines… and maybe you didn’t notice…
But Pokémon frequently focuses on stopping the cruel treatment of Pokémon, freeing stolen Pokémon from abusive individuals (Team Rocket), and treating Pokémon well in general. Over and over again the Pokémon universe stresses that these animals are friends, have individual needs, have personalities, and need to be treated with respect.
I feel like if PETA and Morrissey were actually interested in Pokémon, instead of obviously using Pokémon Go’s publicity for their own gain, they would’ve realized that the Pokémon universe already delivers a message similar to their own.
That seems like a pretty damn big oversight to me. But hey, I guess it doesn’t matter to them… I guess nothing matters when you’re more interested in brutally murdering dogs as you mouth off about saving animals.
A Business of Art Perspective
Yeah… so… If I were The Pokémon Company (the rights holder for the Pokémon universe) I would sue PETA’s ass off for that parody regardless if I felt I’d win the suit or not. Pokémon is a childrens universe of art… that whole world of art relies on having a clean, kids friendly, and kind atmosphere. This parody perverts that universe… and while it is clear to adults it is a parody… since Pokémon is a children’s game it very well could confuse kids.
So even if I didn’t win the suit, I would still be making an important statement to my users. I’d be signalling that I will not tolerate anybody perverting the message of kindness to animals and other people that Pokémon promotes and I will not tolerate people using my kids universe to potentially serve up wildly disturbing imagery. It might sound a little silly, but it’s important… both for parents and in turn The Pokémon Company.
If I did win, I’d still be making that statement but also prevent the further destruction of a story line / universe I created.
The legality of PETA’s parody is obviously not for me to decide… The point I’m trying to get across is that sometimes artists must fight to prevent their creations from being perverted. I feel that for The Pokémon Company, this should be one of those times.
Learn More About Why You Should Hate PETA
The number of animals killed at a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) facility in Virginia increased 30 percent in 2014, according to a new report by the Center for Consumer Freedom.
The animal rights group that touts responsible pet adoption and veganism euthanized a total of 2,324 dogs and cats at their facility in Norfolk last year, representing 88 percent of all pets PETA rescued, the CCF said.Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/11/peta-virginia-shelter-killed-88-of-rescued-pets-l/
PETA, considered by many to be the highest-profile animal rights group in the country, kills an average of about 2,000 dogs and cats each year at its animal shelter here.
And the shelter does few adoptions — 19 cats and dogs in 2012 and 24 in 2011, according to state records.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/us/peta-finds-itself-on-receiving-end-of-others-anger.html?_r=0
not only does PETA itself round up to kill animals (sometimes illegally). But it specifically targets healthy community cats for destruction.
Last year, for example, it rounded up cats in the neighborhoods surrounding its Virginia-headquarters and took them to local shelters for destruction. Among those killed in Virginia Beach were community cats as young as six weeks old, two six-month old kittens in “good” health, an eight-month old kitten in “good” health, and a 10-month old also described in “good” health
Source: http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?p=16489