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Xena also has "female empowerment", if by that you mean dominatrix-ish females with giants boobs and ass killing dudes (and with the mandatory female arch enemy with giant boobs and ass)...
Well, I can feel how you love her for being the game of you childhood and everything, but for the rest of the world she was pretty much a digital porn actress badly portraying a archeologist...
And she is pretty much tits.
Cannot see video btw.
Because at least 'till the Zero Suit, Samus wasn't a slut...
Obviously you have no idea about female empowerment.
Most of what lara kills is from what attacks her however. The giant kraken ATTACKS lara a number of times before she kills it. So don't gimmie that crap lol.
My rant was more on her not being a role model which she is to thousands of woman.
Also, WHOAMG 10 MINUTE RANT!
90% of male characters run around and kill shit and people don't assume they are dumb do they? no.
90% of male characters run around and kill shit and people don't assume they are dumb do they? no.
End of the day she has been a massive influence on me and I know SO many other girls who agree she is a roll model.
Say other three intelligent video game characters in your opinion, I think we may have different standards... Oh, and I can understand your incontestable love for Lara Croft, I would get pissed if someone said shit about Gex...
... I think that Rev is looking at this from a very male perspective. Yes, Bayonetta is more "honest" in being a maturbatory figure, but the character doesn't seem to hold much appeal for women. Bayonetta so far seems to have few redeeming characteristics (without anyone having played the game)... particularly with the use of hair as a weapon (ouch!) and the disappearing clothes mechanic.
I tend to agree with atheistium regarding Lara Croft. She is a role model for women. Lara is a female heroine in a male dominated world, a woman who does not need "super powers", who doesn't need a man to be complete, who does what she wants to do - and yes, much of this is mindless killing, much like male characters do in games.
Women's childhood and literary hero's have typically been Cinderella or Snow White... waiting for a man to rescue them so that they can be complete. We moved on to Wonder Woman and characters such as Emma Peel... a giant leap forward, but they still had submissive elements and male characters who "helped" them battle evil. Lara needed no such assistance and was not interested in the male concept of simply battling evil... instead she is ruled by a more base instinct... want.
This is very simply a better role model for young girls and applies more to life and the business world. In "wanting" that CEO position, that job or that raise... yes, they may have to work hard, think smart (like some of those puzzles), destroy some shit along the way and overcome obstaclesy... and yes, they may have to get rid of others who also want or desire the same position. They may not have to kill them (one hopes not!), but they do have to think more like men in realizing that the corporate world is more a battleground than a popularity contest. We see a female hero who still retains her feminine qualities and shows bravery, power, confidence and strength of conviction in pursuing her own path - alone. We've come a long way since Cinderella!
I agree, it's ridiculous not to say that Lara isn't a role model. Games are marketed to males... yes, she has massive mammaries and that's what attracts a male audience for the game... but she also has qualities that women can relate to - much moreso than what I've seen of Bayonetta.
As a very male man doing man stuff I must say that in my macho opinion Bayonetta is a better female role model, by simply being the exact opposite of a role model, to me she's the girly Travis...
Are you kidding? Rev knows exactly what videogame characters feel like from a female prespective. He's practically a woman himself, he has a sister after all.
Also, women masturbate when they see Lara Croft too, don't they? I can't possibly imagine that the female reaction to Lara Croft could be anything different than the male perspective. Am I right? Cause if I'm not then I'm probably being very condescending to women to immediately assume that I understand what a role model is to them.
Let's see Rev talk about what constitutes a good role model for black people next.
Re: Nathan Drake: Rev Anthony has actually brought up in the past that he does take issue with Nathan Drake, and how he wisecracks about murdering hundreds of people, which is a pretty similar complaint he had about Lara Croft.
Are you kidding? You just said someone is practically a woman because he has a sister, where does that even begin to make any sense?
I think you're being incredibly condescending if you believe that Lara was as much of a sexual figure to women as she was to men.
Or am I missing your sarcasm?
I'm just playin' Mcsnow, perhaps my humor is a bit too subtle. I do agree with Atheistium on this matter and I have to ask what makes Rev an authority on female role models?
His beard.
Meh, she really is pretty stupid; thing is: she was the closest thing to a human being that our 20 years or older female gamers had...
Very well said about superficial males (I should know I'm one).
Pro tip; sarcasm doesn't convey well across the innernets, I'm a very sarcastic person IRL but try to not use it online because without tone of voice you can never tell if someone is being sarcastic. Sorry I don't mean to derail the main discussion.
As I said, you make a good point.
I won't agrue the fact that in terms of character she isn't much, but she was one of the first empowering female characters and I won't take that away from female gamers.
This.
Excellent Rant. You're awesome. I dig Rev's Rants also, but I think I tend to not agree with him when he rants on sexuality in games/gaming.
I think the Role Model moniker tends to skew into the realm of morality or notions of good vs. evil. However, Lara fits into this idea of Modelling a Role: empowered vs powerless in a situation. Smart vs Witless. Active and curious vs Passive and reactive.
Very well said.
Bitch.
LEAVE LARA ALONE!
Lara has a tone of amazing qualities, but on the other side her tits were purely added for male wankage. It's like the devs wanted a great character and tacked on the tits because they couldn't get funding for their game. Male characters have their flaws too, in a similar respect.
Lara is a role model, and she's great. Doesn't the next generation deserve a better one though?
Bitch.
For me, playing Tomb Raider often inspired me to keep up with my jogging and be more athletic, so Lara was a role model in that sense. Why is that not enough? Did she have to singlehandedly motivate me to feed the homeless and study quantum mechanics as well?
Do we need better female gaming role models? No. Do we need more women playing videogames? No. Wouldn't it be awesome if we had better female gaming role models? Yes. Wouldn't it be awesome if we had more ladies playing games? Hell yes. There is correlation beyond the exaggeration here, and even if something isn't exactly necessary that doesn't mean it's not worth fighting, or at least trolling the internets for.
Lara definitely has done more than enough, but she was designed in 1996! We all deserve a better representative for female characters in games. I think we can all agree it's not going to be Bayonetta.
In my opinion there have definitely been better female role models since Lara Croft came out (Jade from Beyond Good and Evil comes to mind). The faulty thinking and the problem I see with what Rev is saying about Lara Croft is that we have to essentially tear down Lara Croft as a role model in order to get better role models? I say no.
We don't have to say that Abraham Lincoln while freeing the slaves was still just a racist bastard in order to appreciate Rosa Parks as a civil rights role model. They're both symbols of a movement. They both have things to offer and they still inspire people which is what's most important when it comes to role models.
Lara Croft being a female role model in no way diminishes other female role models like Alyx Vance. They both bring something to the table.
Also, why is it that I hear mainly males talk about how good of a role model Alyx Vance is while it's mainly females that talk about how great a role model Lara Croft is? Is it some kind of gender gap or some other disconnect? If Alyx Vance doesn't actually inspire women then really how good is she as a role model?
You can have a perfectly crafted female character who ought to be the perfect female role model but if she doesn't actually inspire women then in practical terms she's not a good role model.