Blog Post 8 - Knapp

 I found the “Replaying Video Game History as a Mixtape of Black Feminist Thought” article interesting because on the surface, I suppose I never thought about how much the video game industry is tied to “whiteness and masculinity”. I also found the dissection as to why the author decided to frame their argument around the concept of a mixtape compelling because of the means in which artists used mixtapes to bypass traditional commercial mechanisms. I also enjoyed reading about the history of Black women and their part of video game history, in terms of Delores Williams and Delores Barrows and the two arcades they owned in the 80s, specifically regarding the impact their businesses had on their communities. 

“The arcade is the easiest business to run thatI’ve ever been involved in” because “it brings in a good return on each dollar invested”and “people don’t get tired of the games.” Williams went on to share some strategies for maintaining and acquiring arcade cabinets (a costly part of ownership) and revealed that her arcade generated enough profit to allow her to pursue other business ventures, such as opening an adjacent kosher deli and hosting reggae bands. Meanwhile, Barrows’s arcade functioned dually as a space for entertainment and a site for community gathering and social organizing. For Instance she hosted fundraising events to support local charities and after-school programs, and she even used the space to incentivize local children with perfect school attendance by rewarding them with free arcade time."