ABSTRACT
Jerreat-Poole’s chapter in this volume describes moments of redemption, of catharsis, where players enjoy the power of destruction and subversion, the messy and ambivalent performance of feminist violence as a form of pleasure. I can identify. There are few games that change the power dynamics of the existing social order. Jerreat-Poole’s subversive in-game actions, admitting pleasure at smashing up a virtual school, reminds me of the cathartic experimental fiction film Born in Flames (1983) by filmmaker Lizzie Borden. In the film, feminists battle racism, classism, sexism and heterosexism, crossing difference in an intersectional union that transforms into an extremist group. The characters took direct action against the patriarchy and specifically the media systems that represented and promoted inequities.
