[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:00.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Your face is too dark
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.70,0:00:16.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for our sensors to calibrate."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.34,0:00:39.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for our sensors to read."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.59,0:00:30.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Bitch, I'm black and I'm proud."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.39,0:00:30.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Tell your sensors to calibrate that."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.78,0:00:31.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I have no reference for "black."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.05,0:00:31.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Whoa. Of course you don't."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.30,0:00:10.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In our hyper-connected world,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.95,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where most of us carry around handheld devices
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that keep us connected to the world at all times,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and tech companies monitor our behavior
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and purchasing habits constantly,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a game in which you harness that technological web
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to disrupt the schemes of powerful corporations
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,makes perfect sense.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But with 2014's Watch Dogs,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ubisoft failed to turn this premise
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a compelling game.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Watch Dogs 2 makes some meaningful improvements
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on its predecessor.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It gives us a more memorable hero
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and supporting cast,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a San Francisco that exudes a
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bit more more personality
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than the first games' setting did.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unfortunately, Watch Dogs 2 still fails
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where it matters most:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trotting out a series of crushingly-repetitive
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,missions that never come close to making you feel
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a hacker extraordinaire.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nearly every main story mission
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has you infiltrating some heavily-guarded facility
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or another, in order to steal something,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or hack something,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and once you find a strategy that works for you,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's very easy to fall into a pattern of approaching
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of these missions in more or less the same way.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Your character, Marcus Holloway,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can't take much punishment,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the environments are filled with enemies
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who will immediately fall for more reinforcements
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at any sign of trouble --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so you're discouraged from relying on the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all-out, guns-blazing approach.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This makes sense in a game that wants you
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use your hacker abilities to tackle
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the situations you're faced with,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but because failure in this game can be
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so punishing,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and send you back so far,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I tended to complete most missions
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by using the same tactic;
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the core of my strategy was hanging back,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hacking into the building's security systems,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,picking off the enemies who could call
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for reinforcements one-by-one,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by forging criminal records and having police
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come in and arrest or kill them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was passive and often tedious,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it got the job done.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, sometimes it's a strength
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when a game punishes you for failure.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In games with precise combat,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the prospect of a significant setback
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can raise the stakes,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,encouraging you to master the mechanics,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and making your victories all the more rewarding.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Watch Dogs 2 is no such game.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is no Dark Souls.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a by-the-numbers, open world game
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with mediocre gun play and systems that interact
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so erratically, that all you can do is try to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,manage them well enough to complete
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your objective and get out alive.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As shabby as the mission design is,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the game deserves some credit for its
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,obviously well-intentioned efforts to acknowledge
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the existence of structural racism.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At one point, the young black protagonist, Marcus,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,discusses the racial profiling tactics that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tagged him as a criminal risk.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And his brother-in-arms, Horatio,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whose day job is at the Google stand-in, "Nudle,"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comments frankly on the racism and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,condencension he experiences as one of the only
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people of color in an
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,overwhelmingly-white company.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You haven't experienced
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,corporate life until you're the only brother
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a meeting and have to represent
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of blackdom."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Jesus!"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The presence of Miranda, a black trans
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,councilwoman who does what she can
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help Marcus and his colleagues
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the hacker collective known as "DedSec"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is also welcome.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the other hand,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Latinx people in Watch Dogs 2 are
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,primarily represented as the most clichéd
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of gang members imaginable.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As important as it us that games give us heroes
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and supporting characters that break from
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the long-established molds,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's more to great characterization than
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,simply ticking off a few boxes
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on a diversity checklist.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Watch Dogs 2 falls short here.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Its characters relate to each other more in
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,geek, sci-fi references and cheesy one-liners,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than in anything that actually reveals to us
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who they are,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or what makes them tick.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's hard to get invested in their struggle
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their relationships with each other.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Come on, Wesley Crusher! Launch waits!"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Bitch, please. I'm clearly Sisko."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Jake Sisko?"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"CAPTAIN Sisko."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The San Francisco setting of Watch Dogs 2
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is recognizable but doesn't feel authentic --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,despite being packed with landmarks
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and familiar landmarks,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including San Francisco's greatest treasure
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the sea lions down at Pier 39.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's great to see Pride flags flying in
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,certain parts of the city,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Watch Dogs 2 makes no effort
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to minimize or deny SF's queer community.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But for all that, the game's concerns
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feel oddly detached from the real issues
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that face San Francisco today.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Graffiti that reads
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"ARTISTS USED TO LIVE HERE"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,poignantly speaks to the fact that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,entire communities are being driven out of the city
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as tech companies make life here unsustainable
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for so many.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the occasional passerby may make mention
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the gentrification that's taking place:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Super gentrification! It's wretched!"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So why isn't DedSec using its power
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to stand up for marginalized communities?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why isn't DedSec fighting for affordable housing,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and against the police injustice
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that specifically targets people of color?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why not confront the things that are really happening here?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The things that really matter?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The people who call San Francisco home?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps the strangest thing of all
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about Watch Dogs 2, though,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is its uneasy relationship with power.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ostensibly, DedSec is all about
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,waking up the populace,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,getting them to understand
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how power is abused by politicians,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tech companies, and government agencies
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to limit people's freedom
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to act and think for themselves.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what DedSec never does,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is turn that questioning lens on its own use
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and abuse, of power.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was never lost on me that,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,playing as a young black man
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who had been profiled as a likely criminal
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of his race,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I then harnessed the power of techonology
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to force criminal records for dozens and dozens
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of innocent people,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and watched them get marched off
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the cops themselves.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But hey, what was I gonna do?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had a mission to complete.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We will not stand idle while that happens."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"DedSec is given you truth.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do what you will."