Can Video Games Make You a Better Man?

On Sunday, season 2 of The Last of Us—based on the 2013 video game of the same name—premieres on HBO. The first season was a smash hit, earning HBO eight Emmys and some of its highest viewership numbers in decades. That show is part of an explosion of video-game-to-screen adaptations: The Witcher, Resident Evil, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect are just some of the recent or upcoming shows Hollywood has in the works.

But the word “gamer” still seems to conjure the worst kind of man-child dwelling in mom’s basement—a nightmare creature caked in Cheetos dust.

You see it everywhere, from online posts dunking on men who “waste their time” playing “insanely stupid and meaningless” games to punchlines about boyfriends glued to PS5s.