“The Last of Us Part 2 is Schindler’s List”: The journalist’s recall caused a scandal, Neil Drackmann personally had to react

Although before the release The Last of Us: Part II there are still 5 days left, the discussion of the game is already moving into the hot phase.

Western journalist Jeff Cannate in his review, he compared the impressions of passing the game with watching the cult film “Schindler’s list“:

“In an industry where all games are John Wick, The Last of Us Part 2 is Schindler’s List. And like in this film, there were moments in the game when I was not sure if I could continue it “This is an unrelenting emotional stress that, I suppose, can make even the most sophisticated gamer feel empathy.”

Schindler’s List is a historical drama by Stephen Spielberg, which tells about the salvation of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust by German businessman and member of the NSNRP Oscar Schindler. By his analogy, Kannata wanted to show that among the many frivolous games there are very serious ones, and The Last of Us: Part II is just such. However, the mention of Schindler’s List provoked a scandal, since the film is dedicated to a very painful topic.

Cannata hastened to comment on the famous industrial journalist Jason Schreyer, a former editor of Kotaku, and now an employee of Bloomberg:

“The hyperbole is funny, but don’t you think that comparing the next zombie game with the Holocaust movie is beyond the scope?”

One user replied to Schreyer:

“He just compared the constant sense of fear inherent in both works, or at least I read his tweet like that. No need to react so sharply.”

What Schreyer wrote to:

“Oh, am I too sensitive? I would like to know the opinions of some members of my family, but they died in Auschwitz.”

The creator of The Last of Us, Neil Drakmann, personally connected to the discussion.:

“It’s quite clear to me that Jeff compared the emotional returns of these two works (without affecting the meaning or importance). I do not consider this a direct comparison of the Holocaust and our game (or an attempt to downplay the significance of this film).”

“I’m not trying to get into a dispute, but I feel obligated to respond to such statements because they lead to an escalation of anti-Semitism. I speak as a person who also lost many members of his family during the Holocaust. I hope for mutual respect.”

Schreyer wrote in response:

“Neil, I would be surprised if you didn’t respond positively in a branch that is too overexcited in relation to your game! For an outside observer, all this looks awkward and clumsy. Congratulations on the release of the game, I look forward to playing it.”

Drackmann responded:

“Your opinion is of great importance. Your public comments about Jeff cause a big wave of public hatred towards him, which, I am sure, was not your goal. But I have experienced a lot of such a hat in the past few weeks and wanted to speak out somehow. But how be that as it may, I think our game cannot be compared to Schindler’s List. “

Jeff Kannath summed up by writing the following:

“I got such a negative response when I talked about The Last of Us Part 2, that now I can’t even imagine what the developers will go through when people finally play it. The fact that this year’s most important game, is transgressive * and confrontational *, truly surprising. And even impressive. “

* Transgressive – including violation / desecration of an established moral or social framework. Confrontational * – conflict, aggressive towards anything.

The Last of Us Part 2 is coming out June 19th.

Read also: Review of The Last of Us: Part II from GameMAG.ru.

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