“Polygonal Perversion: Tomb Raider and the Feminine Identity in Video Games”

Matt Jones

Post Thirteen

“Polygonal Perversion: Tomb Raider and the Feminine Identity in Video Games”

Much like in cinema, there is an interesting study in the representation of the feminine in video games and it’s correlation to gender theory.

A)           Given the immense popularity of video games and the audience that they attract, a study into the representation of the feminine is very appropriate.  In the action-adventure genre of video games there has been very little in the way of representation of women as anything more than giggling princesses who need to be rescued and act as trophies.  However, flawed as it may be, Tomb Raider did a lot to change that.  Tomb Raider featured a female (Lara Croft) as the main playable character, and far from being a giggling princess, she was an intelligent and ass-kicking character.  

                Now, if the description could end there, there would be little issue to be had with the game.  However, sadly it doesn’t.   Besides being intelligent and tough, Lara Croft is also the personification of the dominant make ideal of beauty.  She is tall, slender and has a voluptuous bust.  Now, given that the target audience for such video games is primarily made up of adolescent boys and post-adolescent young men, it is not surprising that the developers would make Croft so...developed. 

                However, it seems to be more than just a company catering to its horny audience of breast-obsessed males.  According to Anne-Marie Schleiner’s essay “Does Lara Croft Wear Fake Polygons? Gender and Gender-Role Subversion in Computer Adventure Games” the game takes on the viewpoint of Laura Mulvey’s conceptualization of the Male Gaze.  The `eye of the player is drawn to the figure of Croft as she jumps, flips and attacks.  And due to the nature of the gameplay the gaze of the viewer is constantly on Croft, fixated and at times even fetishized.

                In a personal recollection of the video game, though I never played it very much, I remember the fabled “Nude Raider” code that allegedly existed.  As the legend told, a friend of a friend’s older brother’s cousin found the code and entered it and was greeted with the site of the adventures of Lara Croft without a top.  However, few were able to say they personally saw the code entered and the topless croft bounding across their screen.  However, as time went one it has been known that hacks have been made to the game but no such code existed on part of the original programmers.  However, this legend travelled through the locker rooms of the Junior High School and became a legend of mythic proportions. 

B.)          Given my subject for the readings I recalled a video I saw for the upcoming installment of the Tomb Raider franchise.

This video runs just over three minutes and is full of breathtaking animation.  It is orthodox in nature and contributes to the readings due to its featuring of the character of Lara Croft.    She looks largely the same, although better graphics are a given.  However, she notably seems to have under gone a breast reduction.

C)            I have a begun the final revision on my paper. 

“Voices of Misrepresentation: The Presence of Blackvoice Minstrelsy in Animation”

Matt Jones

Post Eleven

“Voices of Misrepresentation: The Presence of Blackvoice Minstrelsy in Animation”

While the tradition of Blackface Minstrelsy is not prevalent in its original form, Michael A. Chaney argues that the tradition continues through the appropriation of “blackness” in three prominent American animated series.

A)           While chapter 6, “Animation and Audiences”, in Understanding Animation by Paul Wells was an informative read, I am going to focus this blog post on Michael Chaney’s article “Coloring Whiteness and Blackvoice Minstrelsy: Representations of Race and Place in Static Shock, King of the Hill, and South Park”.   The history of Blackface Minstrelsy is a certainly a negative mark in American history, having the dubious misfortune of being one of the few purely American art forms.  Fortunately, the presentation of Steppin Fetchit and Amos and Andy have ceased in the modern era, however, according to Chaney, the concept still lives in animation in the forms of Blackvoice acting. 

                For Static Shock, a children’s animated program focusing on a black superhero, it is not the misrepresentation of African American culture that is the issue, but rather, the race-swapping that occurs.  Race-swapping, or the switching of racial tropes from an African-American to a Caucasian in order to appear as multicultural and non-racially divisive as possible.  However, Chaney believes that this is merely a condescending attempt to wash ones hands of still utilizing this stereotypical tropes and beliefs.  Furthermore, even when the stereotypical tropes are attributed to white characters, still some stereotypical, if not racist tropes still make their way into the series.  Virgil, the superhero’s alter ego is given the opportunity to join a street gang and handle a firearm, he refuses, however, after becoming the masked Static, he enlists the help of this same gang to assist him in cleaning up the streets.  This shows that in this animated series it is impossible for a black youth, even masked crime-fighters, to avoid involvement in a street gang. 

                King of the Hill, Mike Judge’s follow-up to the successful Beavis and Butthead portrays life in the small Texas town of Arlen.  Chaney argues that it is the deterministic nature of the characters that drives the Blackvoice activity in the series.  As described by Chaney, the main character, Hank Hill, discovers that he was actually born in New York, rather than in Texas as was previously thought.  This completely changes his self perception as well as the perception that others have of him.  Chaney equates this with the view that fueled the pro-slavery movement in the United States: The place of one’s origin can be the most important factor in the ultimate worth of that person.  By not being an “official” Texan, Hank feels less than human and this opinion is shared by those around him. 

                South Park, the coarse, abrasive, offensive, and wildly popular animated series, contains a different problem as laid forth by Chaney.  Here it is the matter of exclusion that is the concern of Chaney.  A majority of the characters in South Park are voiced by the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker.  And although a majority of characters on the show are white, there was a notable exception.   The school’s chef, named, Chef, was voiced by musician Isaac Hayes.  Hayes was not given the opportunity to explore his vocal range in the manner that the creators were, but instead played essentially a more pronounced version of Hayes’ supposed identity.  This identity was even used as fodder for humor in one episode.  When Chef was marrying a white woman he sang a song with her.  This in and of itself was not unusual as Chef sang in virtually every episode in which he appeared.  What made this song unique was that the song was not sung by Isaac Hayes, but instead by Trey Parker, emphasizing Chef’s incorporation with whiteness.  This, combined with the exclusion of Isaac Hayes’ opportunity to voice another character is a major cause for concern for Chaney.

B.)          Given my subject for the readings this week I typed “Static Shock Racism into the search bar for YouTube.  I was immediately drawn to a video titled “Static Shock is Racist”. 

This video is short in terms of time, but heavy in terms of content to be explored.  The clip is short, so contextual information is lacking.  However, it is clear that Static is in Africa and he calls his friend to alert him to the fact that he feels free, unburdened and normal.  He states than in Africa he is no longer a black kid, but just a kid.  However, the area in which Static is flying over contains no African people but rather wild animals.  The inference clearly being that the only place in which an African American can be normal is in the wild of Africa, like the stereotypical savages of old.  This clip is an example of Orthodox animation and fits the standards defined by Paul Wells as such. 

C)            I have a rough draft of my final paper completed and have given it to a faculty member to review and comment on. 

Matt Jones

Post Ten

“Animated Nightmares: Jan Svankmajer and Stop-Motion Animation

Czech animator Jan Svankmajer is a brilliant animator, whose work is at the same time satirical, nightmarish, and wonderous.

A)           Rather than summarize the whole of Ch. 8 in Furniss’ Art in Motion, I have decided to focus on one portion of the reading.  I have admired the work of Jan Svankmajer for quite some time and I feel this is a perfect time to discuss his brilliant yet troubling work.

                Furniss describes Svankmajer’s work as horrorific, yet he never blatantly attempts to be so.  His films do not feature explicit gore, nor do they offer chilling glimpses into the world of the supernatural or the paranormal.  Instead, his films seem to delve into the horrifying landscapes of our nightmares, making them truly unsettling rather than simply scary as most horror films are.  For this reason I always consider Svankmajer at the forefront of horror directors for his ability to create images that unsettle the viewer to their very core. 

                However, horror is not the whole of Svankmajer’s oeuvre.  He was adept at creating symbolic texts that sublimate the dominant ideology of the communist regimes that ruled over his art.  His texts were not understood by his would-be censors, and thus he was able to cast his message out and reach a wide audience without being overtly against the regime. 

                Svankmajer’s major trait was his use of stop-motion animation on inanimate objects.  His reasoning being that objects have a longer memory than do humans. 

B.)          Given my subject for the fourth animation assignment, I did a youtube search for Batman: The Animated Series.  I found another interesting mashup.  Someone took the audio from the Dark Knight Rises Theatrical trailer and used footage from Batman: The Animated Series. 

This mashup is an example of developmental animation.  It features the trends of orthodox animation, but is experimental in its juxtaposition of subject matter. 

C)            I have a rough draft of my final paper completed. 

Ghost in the Shell Assignment

              Matt Jones

                  Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995) is a science fiction anime set in futuristic Japan.  The film centers on Section 9, a division of the Department of Home Affairs, and their attempts to locate a hacker referred to as “The Puppet Master”.  The protagonist is a female cyborg named Major Motoko Kusanagi.  The fact that she is a female in a primarily male operation lends itself to examination of the role of gender in the film as a thematic or stylistic choice. 

                The first scene in which we see Motoko has her waiting outside a building, perched up high observing her targets.  She is seen crouched down, listening discussing the assignment with her squad.   When the time comes for her to complete her mission she disrobes, revealing an enhanced female body, covered in a skin tight, flesh-colored body suit which prominently displays her large breasts.  She then dives off the roof as the angle changes, looking up with her breasts filling a majority of the screen.  The scene shifts to the interior of the building as heavily armed police rush down the hallway and barge in on a small room lined with screens displaying an image of an aquarium.  An exchange occurs between the man in the room, a foreign ambassador and the head of the police operation, regarding a hacker’s desire to seek asylum in a foreign land.  Motoko’s voice is heard as the screens are shot out, and the ambassador is violently gunned down.  The police representative rushes to the window to see Motoko, clad in her skin-tight, flesh-colored suit falling from the building, with a grin on her face.  Seconds later she activates a thermal camouflage device and blends in with the cityscape as she falls. 

                This scene showcases Motoko as being two things: A very skilled agent and a very attractive female.  She is not only the stone-cold operative who carries out the mission with excellence, but she also does it with a huge does of sex appeal.  While it is refreshing to have a female heroine in Science Fiction who does more than her male counterparts, the message is very clear.  Motoko is the definition of perfection: she is smart, efficient, and most of all attractive.  Therefore, in order to measure up, the female viewer must find themselves not only as a tough-as-nails operative, but also a model-esque woman with physical traits that are impossible barring surgical intervention.  This fact is also hammered home by the fact that Motoko is a cyborg, scientifically and technologically enhanced in every conceivable way.  Her two main partners from Section 9 are the cyborg Batou and the human Ishikawa.  These two provide a stark contrast to Motoko, while both are shown as incredibly adept at their jobs their physicality is not shown on the same level as Motoko.  Batou, a cyborg has modified eyes and these are the only part of him that is discernibly enhanced other than his hulking frame, which is covered at all times, unlike Motoko whose curves are shown off throughout the film.  Ishikawa is shown as a human and is exceptional at a section populated by Cyborgs, the implication being a male can come closer to achieving this perfection naturally, whereas a female must have all the help available to her.  Much like Batou, Ishikawa remains modestly clothed throughout the film, his body hidden behind loose-fitting clothing. 

                If Motoko is to be viewed as a feminine hero, then one must make the assumption that there is no real opportunity for this in the real world.  Technological innovation not possible was the only way in which Motoko was able to achieve this perfection.  And if she is to be viewed simply as eye-candy, then it is an insult to the character and women in the real world.  If you are beautiful, smart, and good at your job, you will still be viewed as something nice to look at, nothing more.  Therefore, I believe that the film offers a poor exhibition of the function of gender.  

“Globalization in Animation: The Influence Between Japanese and American Animation”

Matt Jones

Post Nine

“Globalization in Animation: The Influence Between Japanese and American Animation”

While the trend of Globalization in media is nothing new, it can be exemplified in the convergence of animation between Japan and the United States.

A)           Luca Raffaelli in his essay comparing the animation of Disney, Warner Bros., and that produced in Japan offers examples of the similar aspects between them as well as key differences, as well as possible explanations for those differences. 

               

   Disney animation is typified by a reliance on sound to allow for an increased complexity and realism.  “Walt Disney realized that by investing a lot of money, artists, time, and effort he could revolutionize cartoons... Audiences will no longer merely laugh at their gags but, through them, will be moved, suffer, feel sympathy.”  (115)  Disney sought to do more than merely make his cartoons funny, he sought to make his cartoons relatable and as a result his creations, specifically Mickey Mouse became a beloved part of culture.  Disney characters were given a level of maturity and introspection that was missing from other animated characters.  Disney films offer a happy ending after the characters learn to work together against a common enemy.  The characters act serious, or as serious as they can in a film full of madcap adventures, and obeyed basic laws of physics (they may have fallen from great heights, but they still fell.

     

     In contrast, Warner Bros. cartoons featured characters who defied the laws of gravity and stopped in mid air.  The cartoons frequently drew attention to their artificiality by having a narrator or even characters address the audience, commenting on the cartoon that they inhabited.  And, as in the majority of animated films of the day, the films relied on conflict between characters to propel their story.  While Disney films had conflict in the form of an evil villain, the Warner Bros. cartoons relied on adversarial relationships between its main characters to set the story. 

    Finally, animated films produced in Japan feature characters who are orphans or without a family.  Technology  and children who must learn to obey the rules of society often play a major role. 

            

    In Brian Ruh’s essay, “Early Japanese Animation in the United States”, the author traces the history of Japanese animation and it’s exportation to the United States.  Early Japanese animation was heavily influenced by the animation that was being produced in America and in turn it was then exported to America.  The first Japanese animated film to be broadcast in the United States was shown on September 7^th, 1965 on WNEW.  The broadcast was altered with a narration that explained an accident as the result of a technologically advanced highway.  This was not present in the original show, as the Japanese culture was not afraid of technology, instead, the embraced it.  This could be a reason why so much of the animation produced in Japan heavily features futuristic technologies. 

                 

B.)          I watched a video that was kind of fun for this week.  It was a “mashup” containing the audio from the trailer for the Cohen Brothers film The Men Who Stare at Goats (Cohen Brothers, 2009) along with scenes from the anime series Full Metal Alchemist.  This mashup was created as a student’s final project. 

The video is actually very well done, as the character’s mouths are synced with the audio.  There is no real substance in the video, however, in light of the readings this week regarding the copting of animation between the United States and Japan.  

C)            To be completely honest, nothing was furthered regarding my paper this week.  Between an increased workload and an illness, my paper has remained at a stalemate.  

“Aesthetics in Animation: Sound in Motion in the Animated Film”

Matt Jones

Post Eight

“Aesthetics in Animation: Sound in Motion in the Animated Film”

Animation is torn between two aesthetic approaches, full and limited and each provide an opportunity for expression.

A)           The readings this week focused on the two distinct aesthetic approaches in animation, full and limited.  Full animation is focused on movement, with a minimum of recycled animation, whereas, limited animation reuses animations and is more reliant on sound and dialogue.  The reuse of animation is known as “cycling”, this process can be exhibited in animation produced for television, such as those from Hanna-Barbara.  As two characters chase after one another, their movements are looped and shown against a backdrop that is scrolling behind them on another loop. Full animation emphasizes the movements of the characters, going to great lengths to create a unique and original animation for every movement.  Characters move through the axes of the frame, gaining an almost three-dimensional quality to them.  Limited animation also makes use of camera movement which can mask the lack of movement exhibited by the characters.  Limited animation is reliant on sound as evidenced in Gerald McBoing-Boing (UPA, 1950), and dialogue as evidenced in The Simpsons.  However, the term “limited” is perhaps misused in this situation according to Furniss, as it denotes that something is missing or of a lesser degree of quality.  This is simply not the case; it simply has a reliance on different aspect than does full animation. 

The reading goes on to describe the formation of the UPA, formed by artists who left Disney following the strike.  As the studio was formed by unionized animators many films produced by UPA had a strong liberal lean to the.  As another differentiation between the UPA and Disney was the UPA’s focus on developing films that featured Human characters as opposed to anthropomorphized animal characters.  Although focused on theatrical releases at the inception, UPA turned its attention to animation made for television.  Television animation exploded with cartoons produced by the Hanna-Barbara studios, creating characters such as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, etc.  One result of this cost-effective production was the movement of certain animation tasks to low-cost laborers in other countries. 

In the other reading, the animated show Ren and Stimpy is discussed.  The creator, John Kricfalusi was an admitted Animatophile or someone with a fondness and appreciation of animation.  The show was hailed by genius by some and derided as juvenile, gross-out humor by others. Despite frequent run-ins with Nickelodeon, the show became immensely popular and successful.  In my opinion, as well as that of the author, Kricfalusi was a master at deconstructing American society using the tropes found in the animated films that came before, whether it is the hosts of children’s programming or the superhero archetype featured in the Superman cartoons of the 1940s.

B.)          Given the reading for this week I decided to examine Gerald McBoing-Boing’s symphony (UPA, 1953)

This short features the eponymous Gerald McBoing-Boing, a child incapable of speech other than sound effects played for humor.  The film definitely falls under the category of limited animation.  Backgrounds are reused as are character’s movements.  Gerald is hired to perform sound effects for a radio program and much of the humor is derived from the sound featured in the film coming from Gerald. Eventually he is asked to perform a symphony from his vocal articulations.  The film is reliant not on the movement or physical interaction of characters, but is instead derived from the soundtrack and voice work.  The movement is not realistic, nor are the drawings, however as previously stated, this is not the purpose of the film. 

C)            I have begun the actual writing of the paper after compiling my notes.   

Animation Assignment #3

This is my third animation assignment.  It is a short video of a car parallel parking, getting run over by a tank and ending in a tribute to Monty Python and Looney Tunes.