this post was submitted on 29 May 2025
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Exactly. All art and media is political. No exceptions. The degree to which you consider a piece of media/art 'Apolitical' is the degree to which it either reinforces or at least does not challenge the politics you consider to be 'normal'.
Would Pac-Man be considered art? In its day it would have been a technological achievement, but was it created to be art or to extract money from players? If the latter, then that's its politics. If it was made with the intention of being art, then maybe it has to do with unlimited consumption? Not sure.
Just as a surface read: something about strength through consumption or nourishment to overcome obstacles and enemies. Also: ghosts are bad.
I don't think it's a gotcha at all, but rather an important additional point that just because all art/media is inherently political does not also automatically mean all art/media is inherently deep or complex. The saying is less the idea that all art/media has secret political messaging and more an observation that because all art/media has human voices and creativity behind it it objectively means that it has their own views and biases baked into it.
The politics of pac man are more baked into the operation of the cabinets and the way the game was written to kinda fuck you over and take your money after a few rounds.
That and the bugs that exist in the original code due to rushed delivery times and failure of a contractor to deliver needed board components.