a quiet place

Levi Walters | Reporter

In the series’ 25-year history, it has covered (and often satirized) a breadth of topics, including but not limited to: racism, misogyny, imperialism, capitalism, the Red Scare, and, most interestingly to me, sexuality. Released in 1998, Fallout 2 would become one of the first major RPGs to acknowledge gay relationships. The player character, able to choose their own gender and sexuality, could romantically engage with whomever they wanted, creating opportunities for straight or gay relationships within the game. One storyline even results in the player getting entangled in a gay shotgun wedding, the first ever in a video game.

Fallout 2’s representation of queer people, even in its unusual apocalyptic environment, made waves in the gaming industry. From that point on, each new addition to the series has multiplied the amount of queer characters, making Fallout a sort of beacon for representation not easily found in other releases. By offering these options for self-expression, Fallout became more than just a video game, it became an avenue of self expression for people from all walks of life.

One of the many critiques of the thriller genre of movies is the faultiness of the cheesy jumpscares, also that there is very little writing done or, on the other hand, too much. However, A Quiet Place is THE exception. A Quiet Place completely erases the confines of the thriller genre, providing heartwarming humor, all while still being frightening. The silence, which should not be mistaken for lack of writing, is the main thing that drives the plot which makes it truly different than anything ever seen before. The apocalypse (which forced them into silence) has already began when the movie starts, leaving no place for the audience later in the movie to miss the talking, while also challenging the writer and director to make use of the silent scene work and adding in any details that can’t be said but is important for the audience to understand what is going on.

The characters were all explored in depth while simultaneously progressing with the horror of the post-apocalyptic storyline. One character’s existence in specific was well thought out and brilliantly done. Reagan is a deaf teenager and the oldest of the Abbott family, dealing with the guilt of losing her brother while adapting with her