Tag Archives: Dick Wolves

Octopus Sashimi: Examining the Polemics of Tentacle Bento

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Kyle Carpenter

Editor’s note: the following is a discussion of the status of non-consensual sex in culture and fantasy, and necessarily employs some very charged terms. Please be warned before reading. If you don’t feel comfortable continuing, know that you have our sympathies. By Kyle Carpenter Tentacle Bento, the source of another whirlwind argument regarding the fictionalized portrayal of rape and its place in culture, is going to fade into obscurity within the next few months, but is for now the centre of much deserved discussion.  In many ways a microcosm of the furor that arose over the infamous Penny Arcade “Dick Wolves” fiasco, Tentacle Bento refocused the debate because of the way the game implicitly revolves around the goal of rape, as opposed to a throwaway line in a gag strip. The polemics of this argument are becoming well practiced. On one side, there is the suggestion that Tentacle Bento plays into a Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Conversation , Features | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , Penny Arcade , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

EQUIP WOLF SHIRT >USE: WHISKEY// On the Limits of Comfort and Warmth

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Michelle Perez

Imagine day in and day out enjoying something that in a very real way, engages you. You are not destroyed thereafter if you keep your wits about you. You’ll find yourself in common company, with those while not of a great kinship but still, of like mind. Some people find Jesus together, or Allah, or in their ethos, or of their ethics and love of philosophy. A recent BBC documentary called “Secrets of the Superbrands” made the rounds of the tech outlets, claiming that Apple products triggered what seemed to be religious reactions in the brain. These are the new confederacies. As the gulf between the rich and poor widens and we normalize and bat no eyelashes at grave injustices suffered at the hand of our fellow man day in and day out it seems so the capacity for empathy diminishes, even on a subconscious level. Continue reading →

Posted in Columns , EQUIP WOLF SHIRT>USE:WHISKEY , Features | Tagged Adult Pleasures , , God's Children , Guilt as Impetus to Action , , , Penny Arcade , smartphones as toilets , the Limits of Warmth and Comfort , The New Normal , the world is a river , triggers | Leave a comment