Defense of feminism and stereotypes hurt men videos

 

 

This afternoon, I caught two videos analyzing video games. The first one is about a gentleman defending Sarkeesian’s arguments about how women are portrayed in gaming. (If you haven’t checked out her work-in-progress videos on women in gaming, check it out.) The main problem that the gentleman addresses is how the criticizer fails to recognize that the trope of the damsel in distress is frequently used and that it doesn’t apply to every single video game. For every strong woman in gaming who could be considered human, there are five more that fall into the trap known as “the damsel.”

 

Then there’s the second video that supplements this. Yeah, I like the male power fantasy as much as the next guy. And I’ll be the first one to admit that the concept of “male chivalry” does influence my thoughts. Yet games like God of War drive me nuts because there is no growth in it. By the end, men like Kratos learned nothing and continue on their power hungry ways as if nothing has happened to them. They don’t soften and become more human. The example PBS Game/Show uses is Ico. And as much as Ico is an archetypal story, young Ico displays more emotion than most characters half and twice his age. He shows fear and courage in the face of his obstacles. Yes, saving Yorda is his “job.” It doesn’t mean he can’t be as afraid as her.

Thus, we have this awesome media that can explore different narratives. Hence the purpose of the previous postings about Tower Jam.

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