GTFO: Get the F&#% Out

It's a documentary that demonizes gamers and is written with little to no knowledge of the medium. Very little is factual and it goes out of it's way to paint those who oppose said ideas as awful human beings. Not to mention it pretends to take offense for those who aren't offended. Steer clear at all costs

I just can't even start with this...

Yes I know that the Internet can lead to harassment, but how is it at this level?!? Based off of ONE SINGLE EVENT, we get a film that claims to be about how women and video games equal sexual harassment, but fails horribly. The group video evidence had a women majority, WOMEN MAJORITY. It also tries to show that all male gamers are sinful little devils that hate women, which by the way is COMPLETELY BIAS. My recommendation is to just skip this film, and play games with your girlfriend. Sadly I wanted to give it a 0/10, but IMDb can only go to 1/10, so it will stay there.

The sole intent of this movie was to demonize. And it does a relatively good job at that. It paints the attackers (Gamers) as not humans with rational thoughts and feelings. But as nothing but hate mongers, in order to assassinate that identity and to shame any viewer who is a gamer to feel bad. It's a giant mess of rich kids fishing for sympathy from online hordes. It's Britney Spears crying about her jet being silver. instead of platinum. It's almost impossible to feel bad for the victims. They are literally complaining about smack talk in an online game where competitive environments are thriving. You know that guy that said "I got you sucka'" on Call duty. Apparently he was sexually harassing you and you didn't even know it. Online gaming is not your hugbox, stop pretending online gaming is preschool

Hours and hours of online video have been devoted to the topic of sexual harassment towards women in the video game community, but Shannon Sun-Higginson's trim 76-minute documentary appears to be the first actual movie dedicated to the matter. The film reviews, analyzes, and comments on a wide range of relevant subjects with impressive clarity and calmness. While not bombastic enough to be a true blockbuster documentary and unlikely to dislodge opinions firmly moored against it, the movie nevertheless triumphs by summarizing a very complex social situation and presenting it in an accessible manner.

It's important to know what this movie *isn't.* It isn't a platform for media figures like Anita Sarkeesian, Brianna Wu, or Zoe Quinn to promote their ideas. If the combined screen time of Sarkeesian, Wu, and Quinn exceeds five minutes, I'll be surprised. It's also not focused on the Gamergate controversy - a subject which the filmmakers tack on during the film's final three minutes, pointing out that harassment in gaming is too large an issue to encompass with one spectacle. Instead, the documentary focuses on a host of subjects that includes cyberbullying, the perception of female game-players, the historically isolated nature of the game development world, the "boys' club" mentality, and an analysis of online and in-game harassment.

The movie does a fine job of disseminating its intricate subject. Its overall approach is holistic, but it doesn't ignore the troubling symptoms of the phenomenon. The filmmakers are aware that understanding is paramount to addressing this problem on a practical scale, so this is not the fist-in-the-air, marshal-the-troops display of militant feminism that some might expect. A sound weaving of narratives gets across this one's message, which is essentially that not only is harassment of this sort prevalent, it's based on firmly-established cultural norms and produces effects not limited to a handful of spiteful comments on Xbox Live. Longtime followers of this trend may not find anything groundbreaking in the information presented here, but the movie may be the best vehicle for presenting these ideas as a package.

On a technical level, the film maintains a rolling pace but nevertheless bears some less-than-perfect qualities. There's an overabundance of repetitious stock footage (forgivable and limited to the first half of the film) and the audio of some of the interviews is a little hollow. Viewers who dismiss the movie out of hand may cry foul at every point expressed, but the only problematic instance I noted is the framing of Miranda Pakozdi, who presents her experience of the infamous "Cross Assault" event differently than the filmmakers do.

Despite its serious subject matter, the movie is not pessimistic. Much of the runtime highlights positive developments, including the influx and encouragement of female interest in game design, the fostering of supportive communities like GirlGeekCon, and growing male awareness of the matter. When the film ended, I felt optimistic and energized, which is probably the way the filmmakers intended me to feel.

A certain number of viewers will have absolutely no use of this one. If you're already well-informed on the matter, then there's nothing here for you to sink your teeth into. However, I do recommend this one to general audiences who are fine with the subject matter and occasional profanity. There is a ton of information here and this is probably the easiest way to receive it.

On a technical level, this film is awful. The video and audio quality are absolutely horrendous. This is absolutely unacceptable for any film of any budget. So, why 4 stars then instead of 1 star? 2 for the actual content and another 2 for the editing, which I thought was decent. The animations were cute. If this movie were more well-presented I'd rate it higher, but I just can't look past the technical issues, I'm sorry. Avoid, you can find better videos on this topic on YouTube.