Summary of "What's Wrong With The Gerudo? A Response To Octorok Reviews"
Overview
This video is a response to Octarock Reviews’ video “In Defense of the Gerudo”. It argues that Octarock misrepresents what critics are saying and then fails to perform close textual analysis of the games.
Using the Gerudo—especially their portrayal in Ocarina of Time—the response connects the debate to broader issues of orientalist tropes and how fantasy media produces “othering.”
1) Origin of the dispute: misframing and escalation
- The presenter says the controversy began when a Tumblr post about “Wild Era” fan content indirectly pointed at her, and Octarock Reviews entered the discussion claiming she “hates the Gerudo.”
- Octarock later released a long video defending the Gerudo; the presenter claims it was prompted by their earlier exchange.
- Core complaint: Octarock’s defense relies on a false premise—that critics are trying to remove/retcon the Gerudo from the series.
- The presenter argues Octarock provides no evidence for this.
- She also argues the criticism discussed was never centered on deletion.
2) What “Orientalism” means (and why Octarock allegedly gets it wrong)
The presenter defines Orientalism using Edward Said’s framework:
- Split the world into West/East, with the West assumed “rational” and the East “exotic/other.”
- Study and represent the East from the outside (without self-representation).
- Use those representations to justify domination or authority.
She contrasts Said’s academic meaning with what she describes as Octarock’s loose/inconsistent use of definitions—sometimes relying on a Britannica-style explanation tied to older scholarly discipline.
Her argument is that Octarock’s approach:
- collapses important distinctions,
- depends on word confusion and selective quoting,
- rather than careful application of media theory.
3) “Defense” fails because it relies on assumptions instead of game evidence
The presenter claims Octarock frames the Gerudo as tragic, misunderstood people whose desert environment “forces” theft—yet she argues this is largely fan fiction.
- In Ocarina of Time, the Gerudo are repeatedly called thieves, but the game does not provide detailed motivation or examples beyond characters like Ganondorf.
- She argues Octarock infers “necessary banditry” from tropes (desert + thieves), not textual support.
She also criticizes the implications of the worldbuilding:
- The desert has minimal/odd merchant presence, including a scammy vendor figure.
- She reads this as signaling less sophistication rather than realistic cultural depth.
4) The Gerudo are “Orientalist” even if Nintendo didn’t intend racism
Her stance is not that developers are “evil,” but that the portrayal leans on orientalist aesthetics and rhetoric that flatten cultures into readable “otherness.”
- Even if the Gerudo are not intended to represent a specific real-world group, she argues their design functions as a caricature using familiar visual codes to mark them as alien.
- A major example is Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time:
- He is characterized as an “Eastern despot”/absolute tyrant.
- The presenter connects this language to historical European “Oriental despotism” discourse (as discussed by Montesquieu and Said), arguing it’s the same rhetorical type orientalist critique targets.
5) Disagreement about “environmental determinism” and scarcity
- Octarock reportedly argues the desert makes survival scarce, justifying the Gerudo’s moral posture.
- The presenter challenges this:
- Deserts are not uniformly lifeless; people thrive in real desert regions.
- She argues scarcity logic is selectively applied—for instance, denying horses despite a Gerudo stallion and ignoring other desert transport features.
6) Critique of conflating Southwest Asia with “Islam” (and problematic sourcing)
The presenter argues Octarock repeatedly conflates Southwest Asia/North Africa with Islam, treating patriarchal patterns as though they uniquely define Islam.
- She claims Octarock uses a misleading or inappropriate example source: an Afghanistan/Taliban-linked depiction (introduced via a New Yorker reference) as if it represented “Islamic culture” broadly.
- She argues this is inaccurate and reinforces the orientalist “one monolith” view.
7) Visual design critique across multiple game eras (especially Reiju and “exotic belly dancer” coding)
Expanding beyond Ocarina of Time, the presenter analyzes newer Gerudo—especially Breath of the Wild-era characters like Riju/Vai:
- She argues outfit elements (midriff-baring, jewelry, motifs) draw from recognizable Egyptian/South Asian/other stereotypes without consistent or accurate research.
- She disputes some of Octarock’s claims about weapon/cultural origin (e.g., the “scimitar” discussion), arguing the designs appear mismatched and tokenized rather than grounded.
Overall claim: modern designs improved compared to Ocarina of Time, but still follow a pattern that is:
- stereotype-heavy,
- “ethnic-cliché blending,”
- and not carefully researched.
8) The “Japanese creators” defense doesn’t absolve orientalist structure
Octarock’s recurring defense is that Japanese creators can’t be orientalist in Said’s framework (or that it’s “their own other”). The presenter argues:
- Orientalism is not impossible for Japanese people; it’s about representational logic and power/knowledge structures.
- Zelda has long used Western medieval fantasy conventions, so “it’s Japanese so it’s fine” is irrelevant.
She also highlights portrayal differences:
- Hylians are individualized and treated as default humans.
- Gerudo are often presented as generic outsiders with fewer unique character models and more uniform “othering.”
9) Sexuality and “text-as-fanfiction” claims (serious critique)
The presenter alleges Octarock makes extreme, non-supported claims about Gerudo kidnapping/using men for reproduction and sexualizes the characters to explore Link’s sexuality—despite not finding that logic explicitly in Ocarina of Time dialogue.
She frames this as especially problematic because it:
- turns game lore into explicit sexual fantasy,
- then uses “internal consistency” (described via diogenetic/thermian-style dismissal logic) to evade critique.
10) Octarock’s “diversity” framing is portrayed as tone-deaf or dismissive
Octarock apparently argues the Gerudo are “beloved” and provide diversity against “European-looking” defaults. The presenter counters that Octarock:
- treats diversity as something that needs justification,
- and uses phrasing she reads as implying discomfort with Black people appearing in fantasy genres (described as a “black person in the genre” complaint).
She concludes this reflects a reactionary worldview rather than genuine critical engagement.
11) Presenter’s solution: not removal—revision, research, and better design
The presenter insists the goal isn’t censorship or deleting the Gerudo.
She proposes practical improvements:
- remove certain outfit choices (e.g., pointed shoes/crop tops, as she argues from desert realism and practicality),
- base designs on one grounded culture,
- do proper research,
- consult artists/designers from the cultures being borrowed from,
- treat Southwest Asia/North Africa groups as capable of self-representation rather than reducing them to stereotypes.
She also notes progress in newer titles (Wild Era onward, and even Echoes of Wisdom), while still calling for further refinement.
12) Meta-message: anti-harassment and anti-anti-intellectualism
The presenter repeatedly emphasizes: do not harass Octarock Reviews.
She portrays the dispute as part of a larger struggle against anti-intellectualism, arguing that criticism of art through race/gender/media theory is valid and longstanding—not a modern “culture war” fad. She also claims Octarock’s video aims to make social criticism impossible and portray critics as unreasonable.
Presenters / contributors (as named in the subtitles)
- SkittyBitty (main presenter)
- Octarock Reviews (target of the response)
- Ceallism (collaboration / “contribution to this essay,” credited at the end)
- Boobly (referenced as a friend/participant in the earlier Twitter dispute)
- Edward Said (theorist whose work is used)
- Rachel Hutchinson (referenced regarding red hair/otherness)
- Lawrence Herfs (quoted regarding Gerudo as “uber other” and blended gazes)
- Montesquieu (referenced for “Oriental despotism” discourse)
- Dan Olson (referenced for “diogenetic/thermian” concept)
- Lawrence Hurst and Byron J. Kimball (academic papers cited/referenced)
- Ibn Sina and Al-Khwarizmi (mentioned as examples of scholarship; not contributors to the video itself)
Category
News and Commentary
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