“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.