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Tag Archives: Khadeja Merenkov

Polygamer #56: Live at GaymerX East

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Ken Gagne

GaymerX, the world’s only annual video game and geek culture convention for the LGBT+ community and its allies, has arrived on the East Coast! After four successful events in California and one in Australia, the first GaymerX East was held in New York City the weekend of November 11–13.

I attended GXE, as did many other Polygamer alumni. I invited three of them to participate in a panel about their work in gaming diversity, how they stay inspired and motivated, and how they define success. Joining me in this discussion were GaymerX founder Matt Conn (episodes #01 & #32); ethnographer and voice actor Khadeja Merenkov (episodes #05 & #10; and undergraduate community organizer Francesca Carletto-Leon (#33).

Stream the audio recording of this panel below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, Castbox, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive, and stay after the credits for a bonus discussion about the viability of the upcoming Nintendo Switch console.

https://media.blubrry.com/polygamer/p/www.polygamer.net/wp-content/uploads/podcast/pg56-gaymerx_east.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07:07 — 31.6MB) | Embed

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: Francesca Carletto-Leon, GaymerX, GaymerX East, GXE, Khadeja Merenkov, Matt Conn, New York City, NYC |

Polygamer #05: Khadeja Merenkov on Cultural Gatekeepers & White Privilege

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Ken Gagne

I recently attended a talk by Boston-based voice actor and ethnographer Khadeja Merenkov about the need to use cultural artifacts accurately and respectfully in video games. Don’t just use a mosque because you like mosques, she advocated; recognize what those objects represent to the culture they come from. I hadn’t previously considered that the inspirations one draws from when creating a fictional game or story need to be taken in context. I asked her onto Polygamer to talk more about how different (non-American) cultures and peoples are portrayed in games. Our discussion ranged from President Obama to Jake Gyllenhaal to Star Trek‘s Captain Sisko.

Watch the video below, or download the audio edition from iTunes or Stitcher.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

  • Introduction
    • Let’s Play Destiny (PS4)
    • AlterConf
    • Ashe Dryden on Less Than or Equal
    • Women as Background Decoration: Part 2 – Tropes vs Women in Video Games, by Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency
    • Isometric on GamerGate
    • Indie Investigations interviews Read Only Memories’ Matt Conn
  • Interview
    • Khadeja Merenkov on Twitter
    • Codename Cygnus & Children of Liberty
    • ‘Indieology’: Indies in the Boston Area
    • Boston Indies Lightning Talk: Khadeja Merenkov
    • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang"
    • Peggy McIntosh’s "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"
    • Khadeja’s AlterConf profile
    • Women in Games Boston
    • The Complete Djinn Story
    • Jagged Alliance 2 by Darius Kazemi on Kickstarter
    • Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal by Zach Weinersmith

Polygamer explores issues of equality and diversity in the gaming industry. New episodes air every other Wednesday on YouTube and in iTunes and Stitcher.

https://media.blubrry.com/polygamer/p/www.polygamer.net/wp-content/uploads/podcast/pg05-khadeja_merenkov.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 58:07 — 30.3MB) | Embed

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: cultural, culture, Deep Space Nine, gatekeeper, gatekeeping, Jake Gyllenhaal, Khadeja Merenkov, Prince of Persia, privilege, Star Trek, voice acting, voice actor |

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