Stockholm: An Exploration of True Love

In response to letters from a concerned public, Amazon has stopped selling “Stockholm: An Exploration of True Love,” a disturbing video game. Stockholm is advertised as a game “in which you must sexually and psychologically abuse your kidnapped victim to get her to fall in love with you.” Online petitioners who liken the video game to “great art” are working to garner enough support to convince Amazon to reverse its decision and continue to sell the video game.

Meanwhile, the creators of the game are trying to capitalize on Amazon’s ban of the game. The official website proclaims Stockholm as “the controversial masterpiece that was banned from Amazon” and comments on several articles suggest that Amazon’s decision to ban the game will only increase the number of game sales once the creators find another distributor who can sell to customers. Which leads me to wonder how to protest the sale of misogynist, disturbing video games and other products in a way that successfully prevents sales or is effective in another way, but that also does not attract a backlash? Is raising awareness about the video game to expose its misogynist, violent and disturbing content still the right course of action even if it means that more people will learn about and then buy the game? Of course there is no way to know the ramifications of the decision to speak out against this video game, but it is wise to know the potential consequences of your actions before you decide to proceed with whatever you feel compelled to do. Ultimately, I feel that despite possible negative ramifications, it is our responsibility as feminists and as citizens to speak out against products that both unabashedly and subtly degrade women.
http://rmdglobal.net/stockholm/