Topic: "Tropes vs Women in Video Games" Launches

[Neobelmont]

Oh the horror genre is a very diverse one, but the "promiscuous girls get killed" and "lone, usually virginal female survivor" tropes are big in the slasher sub-genre. Especially in the 80s when that sub-genre was hugely popular. The formula got mixed up a little during the short, awful self-aware slasher revival of the 90s that followed the success of "Scream" but it's usually fairly rigid. Something "Scream" itself commented on in a "ironically pointing it out" 90s kind of way.

I'd like to step in and say that I love horror movies and have since I was a little kid (though mostly I like old monster movies rather than more recent gore-fests that's a matter of personal taste) I'm not trying to condemn them here, just to examine them and the messages they send.

Eh I don't think this particular topic is turning away too many women Lely ;P

Yeah even if I do not watch the most horror I tend to like the classics, massive amounts of blood is not necessary to invoke fear, even with the vast genre I tend to not watch them    . But I tend to like some of the classic like the seventh seal I watched it along time ago and have not completed it yet but it was good. I guess I like thematically induced stories instead of pure gory stuff.

[Ratty]

Also, thought I'd post this follow-up to the blog post I linked earlier:

www.kentaiblog.com/2013/03/no-comment-sarkeesian.html

Another thought provoking post from that blog, good stuff. It's really too bad that Sarkeesian has decided to abstain from the dialog she claims to want to participate in, instead just turning it into a carefully crafted lecture to support her own views. This could damage the discourse in the gaming community at large and just reinforce stereotypes of feminists, while simply splitting the opinions into two camps instead of actually causing introspection and discussion.

[Laina]

Another thought provoking post from that blog, good stuff. It's really too bad that Sarkeesian has decided to abstain from the dialog she claims to want to participate in, instead just turning it into a carefully crafted lecture to support her own views. This could damage the discourse in the gaming community at large and just reinforce stereotypes of feminists, while simply splitting the opinions into two camps instead of actually causing introspection and discussion.

Word.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I love "The Cabin In The Woods" 'cuz it turns all those tropes upside down by deconstructing 'em.

[X]

I have to give it to Bob. Those two videos were done exceptionally well and really drove home what everyone's trying to say, especially when he talks about God in the first video. I haven't watched what's-her-name's vids, but now I don't think I really want to. I'm all for feminism so long as it's not fascist orientated. Isaac Asimov, aside from being a prolific sci-fi writer was also a feminist and a strong supporter of women.

[Laina]

I have to give it to Bob. Those two videos were done exceptionally well and really drove home what everyone's trying to say, especially when he talks about God in the first video. I haven't watched what's-her-name's vids, but now I don't think I really want to. I'm all for feminism so long as it's not fascist orientated. Isaac Asimov, aside from being a prolific sci-fi writer was also a feminist and a strong supporter of women.

You're really not missing anything. And I didn't know that about Mr. Asimov. I'm learning! Yay!

[Gunlord]

To be fair, not allowing comments on her videos is one thing I can't blame Ms. Sarkeesian too much for. Youtube comments are almost always horribad.

[Lelygax]

Yeah, it is, but when its a debate and she have been received donations, she should let it open. How the persons that donated can give their feedback and say what they think if she did that? She even disabled the option for rate her video Gunlord.

[Pfil]

I love "The Cabin In The Woods" 'cuz it turns all those tropes upside down by deconstructing 'em.

That is one of the most original horror movies I've seen in years. It's fantastic!
And Chris Hemsworth must be Hollywood's hottest property right now.

[TheouAegis]

The knife as a phallus -- I was expecting that to come up.

Yes, it's small, but the analogy of a bladed object to a phallus is almost as old as that of spears and pillars. It's a, um, anthropology thing, or something. The basic idea is this: Anything that's long and round or that can pierce is phallic in nature (makes you wonder about all those warmongers and gun collectors out there). A spear is obvious enough, but it also follows from that theory that a sword is phallic as well and in turn any type of blade. Now, slashing with a blade isn't very phallic, but stabbing is and all too often a sword or blade is depicted as being thrust into someone. Phallic nature. Consider the legend of how Japan came to be (no pun intended). Izunagi thrust his sword into the ocean repeatedly, turning up foam and that foam became the islands of Japan. Hell, just the description sounds sexual. Consider the legend of Michael guarding Eden. He's a giant, flaming sword. Personally, I think that's the story of the first STD. Think about it. Anyway, if you look at a lot of myths and legends, especially creation myths, if you replace objects in them with penises or vaginas, they start to make some sense. In the case of the slasher flick, it's a bit of a reversal. Life is created through sex; life, or rather peace and happiness, is destroyed through sex. Whether you agree with it or not, that's just what the idea is.

[Ratty]

So this happened.
Feminism versus FACTS (RE Damsel in distress)

For those not familiar with Thunderf00t he is one of the most popular "youtube atheists" who started springing up about 5 years or so ago with a little under 170,000 subscribers.

He's also an Islamaphobe and ethnocentrist who has demonstrated more than once that he has no qualifications to talk about social science, or even that he recognizes the validity of the social sciences. Thus we have the long rant in the video above where he mixes a discussion of recurring messages in popular culture with criticisms of real world actions. I. e. the whole part about Doctors "objectifying" patients and that caring about a loved one in real life should be criticized. (Though I wouldn't be surprised if you found a crackpot academic somewhere who would agree with that.) It's too bad that he does this on the cusp of making the valid observation that limited memory space/time constraints contributed to the widespread use of the Damsel in Distress as an instantly understandable and compelling set-up for a game.

He does make a good point about Double Dragon Neon though, which I didn't know. Interpreting strength strictly to mean physical strength might be a little nitpicky, but eh. He's popular enough that I won't be surprised if this video influences a lot of gamer's thinking on this subject.

[Lelygax]

I never heard of this guy but I agree with him except the fact he have been a little harsh with some responses.

[Inccubus]

Wow. Just wow. This chick has no credibility with me at all. And before anyone says anything, I am a feminist in so far as I believe in gender equality.
Yes, I called her a chick. I like that word and I don't get the negative connotation people have for it.
Oh, and her research failed to mention the two games Zelda starred in on the CD-i. Yeah, they were shitty games, but at least they exist. Surprised no one mentioned them. And I'm flabbergasted she made no mention of Metroid.

[Kale]

She obviously has an agenda, and common sense will interfere with it. Of course she wouldn't mention them!

[Lelygax]

Hey hey hey Inccubus, I believe in gender equality and she doesnt have credibility with me too, but wait. Its part 1, we need to watch part 2 to really know what she is reserving for it, because if you watch all the video you can clearly see that she doesnt used Super Princess Peach but mentioned and said that she is reserving it for talk later.

 While I dislike the fact that she asked for money that she simply didn't needed for these videos and the fact that she tries to be a sensasionalist girl elevating everything to deranged levels, I atleast still want to see what she has reserved to part 2. Maybe she should have some real points in this.