The Food I Eat Isn’t Spoiled: A Freegan’s Thoughts on Misrepresentation, Greenwash, and Absurdity in The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
I understand that this pack is not yet released. I am basing my impressions on official marketing however, the recent livestream in particular, so I can only assume the content presented there to be accurate:
• Freegan sims are depicted as eating spoiled food, food that other sims, besides slob sims, would get ill from (nausea/vomiting.) I really hope that at least this is reconsidered and patched out as soon as possible, even before release, as it’s insulting and thoroughly inaccurate. Specifically in the footage we were shown, the food in question was crackers, crunchy, dry crackers emitting a green cloud.
• I can see how the free love N.A.P. similarly ridicules sex-positive people by associating them with streaking, something more often driven by sophomoric impulses than strong convictions. Sex-positivity is not a priority for me, so I don’t feel as qualified to comment on this but I’d be interested in commentary from those who might feel misrepresented by this.
• The host, SimGuruGeorge, and the gameplay shown suggested that increased energy production might justify environmental destruction. “There are positives to being this way (polluted.)” he said, suggesting there are other “positives” to the pack’s “industrial eco-footprint.” I was expecting promotion of “green” capitalist “solutions” (smog vacuum, anyone? wind? solar?) to environmental problems from a pack like this, but the team being so bold as to act as apologists for polluters comes as something of a surprise from a franchise that makes efforts to brand itself as woke. We got the gender update. We have Non-Simlish t-shirts scattered throughout CAS as the result of PR partnerships with various advocacy organizations. The insane trait became erratic, though it still retains a straitjacket icon, still a point of contention. “Pollution’s not all bad.” is not the message to be sending. In 2020, to suggest that business as usual is at all a viable approach to address climate change is not just an absurd but a damaging message. I could write much more on this but it would exceed the scope of these forums. That’s a topic for someone’s video essay.
• Sims recover some very risky items including a mattress/bed, and likely other upholstered and/or wooden furniture that in reality could harbor pests like bedbugs, termites, or roaches and should only be considered salvageable by people with the means and the patience to treat such infestations before the items are reused. Mattresses in particular are in my opinion a lost cause. Whereas the treatment of food recovery in this pack is marked by stigma and ignorance, the way furniture is dealt with seems irresponsible in its omission of real risks, also presumably through the ignorance of devs who buy most everything they acquire. Items like those in the game’s collections would have made better options to bring home than furniture. Metal/plastic furniture like the chairs and table from the first game wouldn’t carry the same risks, and I’m happy to see them.
• Lastly, maybe leastly, the word lifestyle in the title seems a poor choice, and not only because it is inconsistent with the City Living, Island Living, Tiny Living naming convention. In addition to having practiced freeganism for over a decade, I’m also queer, so I’ve had the word lifestyle weaponized against me in both contexts. As a result, the connotation isn’t too good. It’s got a history of being used in a dismissive and discrediting way, and while this is a subjective thing, I doubt I’m alone in my feelings towards it.
Yes, this is a game with vampires, mermaids, aliens, ghosts and all other manner of fantasy elements and I happen to be one of the players who enjoys them. However, more realistic content and themes tend to read as accurate representations to audiences, especially when presenting real life concepts that might be unfamiliar to much of an audience. There is a responsibility to research people you want to represent in your games, when those people exist in the real world and you are not part of the group you are representing, as the perceptions of them you are helping to spread will impact their lives. I can’t believe that any freegans were consulted regarding the implementation of the new trait. We would have made corrections to the wrong assumptions/insensitive jokes on display. There are plenty of good resources online and upon request I’d be happy to provide some links to where the team might have gotten better information.
The overall tone of the pack appears to trivialize the very serious issues around its theme. I hope moderators can appreciate that I am not introducing political discussion to this forum, the pack itself introduces the politics, and it insults and misrepresents how I live. I am not out of line in providing feedback that I am offended by how I’m being represented. The themes explored in this pack are inherently political, so it can’t be discussed in any meaningful way on your forums without some politics. The team chose to introduce the politics in making the pack. I’m sure they would have loved to have been able to make it completely neutral, whilst covering a theme the community has voted for in past surveys, but there was no way to do it with this subject matter. Trivializing a serious issue is itself a political stance.
The bad messaging in this pack is a real shame because I’m actually looking forward to the pack otherwise. I like what I’ve seen of the art design, the CAS, the build items. It is very appealing to me to be able to have my sims live more like I do, but having to overlook or mod out jokes at my expense that are based on either a poor understanding or a deliberate intent to straw-man or discredit, well, that kind of ruins that aspect of it. I’m glad I’ll be able to turn off the eco-footprint functionality to avoid the pollution-apologist messaging incorporated into that mechanic and I can probably avoid most of the “green” capitalism propaganda if I steer clear of the civil designer career, but it looks as if every time I want my sims to live like me, I’ll have to confront the devs’ implication that I eat rotten food and have poor hygiene.
EA Staff
