2:01 AM on 12.12.2006
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Faith
While surfing on my favorite blog to hate, Official Shrub.com, I came across this documentary, "Damsels, Vixens and Buff Guys: Sexism in Video Games", which looks at the stereotypes used in video games to depict both women and men.
I'm not adding my two cents in on this one, because we already know where I stand on stereotypes in gaming, though I don't have anything against big boobs on my female characters.
For anyone looking to find their manhood again after watching this, check out CTZ's Nerdcore gallery and all will be restored.
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Contest:
Seriously though, the way they present it, it sounds like their solution to this problem they've invented is to stop making games that have anything to do with rescuing/saving/fighting/everything because all they do is reinforce gender stereotypes. I think this calls for another STFUAJPG.
Faith has said it before, i'll repeat it. People want fantasy. Not reality. We have enough reality.
The whole doc is stupid, but I felt I had to post it in order for others to mock it as well.
Developers are slowly figuring it out, and as gaming gains popularity with women, more and more will make it into the industry. Jade from Beyond Good & Evil or Alex Roivas from Eternal Darkness come to mind as recent female characters that avoid the typical stereotypes.
We are lightyears behind literature and film in this regard and something needs to change if we expect videogames to be considered an entertainment form that is more than escapist fantasy. However, the glitz and glamour still rules the movie industry to some degree and romance novels will continue to proliferate, but I think these mediums have a greater percentage of serious efforts than does the videogame industry.
Also as for the being lightyears behinf literature and film. Way to be completely wrong. I'm a film major myself and i have studied the history of literature. Both mediums in there beginning years were considered windows into the sexuality of thier era. As the mediums grew so did the range. But this doesn't stop "dime store" romance novels (as you put them) or all out PORN (for your movie smut needs)
Sure there are "serious" books and films. There are also "serious" games. Video games are very close to over taking film as the prime entertainment. I'd hardly call this "light years behind"
The brain, you are just wrong. Sexiam may exist, but it exists only as a reflection of our era. You can't expect video games or ANY medium made by humans not to be impacted by the humans that make them.
/soapbox
Also, I'd like to point out that their footage of female protagonists in video games to show its increasing trend included that of Sora. Granted, the Sora/Riku relationship was a bit weird, but there was no need to call him a woman...
Anyway, my biggest gripe with the video is that they more or less blurred the line between gender distinction and gender stereotypes. Besides, would you prefer Miss Bodybuilder 2006 to take Kratos' place in the next God of War?
And about stereotypes...there is a comic (forget his name but he has been on Comedy Central) who was talking about stereotypes and if everyone tasted like food. "Blacks taste like chicken, and you hear about the chinese? They taste like CANDY!" Oh it was hilarious!
Walk into a MOVIE store and see if you aren't bombarded with sex, guns, violence, and breasts.
I'd EASILY go so far as to say that the vast of majority of media, be it literature, film, or interactive, is crap appealing to the masses. And unfortunately, even though you or I or anyone else here may be above it, the "masses" (hence the name) also happens to be the VAST MAJORITY of the populace.
As for saying that Games are lightyears behind literature and film, well that's pretty much a meaningless assertion in this argument. Given the age of literature (millenia), films (a century), and games (2-3 decades), interactive media has advanced leaps and bounds in a fraction of the time it's taken those other mediums.
For every Shadow of the Colossus, Schindler's List, and War and Peace we have as many or more Dead or Alives, Scary Movies, and Dan Brown novels. (Don't get me wrong, I like Brown's STORIES, but his writing is pretty bad.)
As long as there exists distributable media, those containing what you might call "unintellectual pursuits" will reign supreme with the public.
Take them with a grain of salt and continue supporting BETTER novels, films and games so that more may be made. I don't think anything more needs to be said on the subject really.