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.
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