Earlier on this blog we may have touched on the recent Tropes Vs. Women in Video Games
controversy, and while I don’t believe we contributed a full post to it, it
felt as though everything that had to be said had been said. Now that the first two sections, both
touching on the Damsels in Distress trope, have been posted and the internet has
responded in its total manner of chaos blended with intellect, the truth is
really there. Is this really the product that every mean-hearted, trolling, and
down-right horrible post was scared of? And, yes, in my opinion they were
scared. They were scared that this project would somehow damage or break the
walls of the gaming community, the ‘gamer’ identity, and the realm of gaming
that has for so long presented itself as being open.
But, as discussed on a previous post about the 'Gamer' identity, the ‘Gamer’ label is in
itself exclusionary, and the realm of gaming does have walls. Did these trolls and harassers think that the
walls they spend so much time building and reinforcing were going to be so
easily broken by one web series about women in video games? I could only hope.
But no, those walls are strong, and the exclusionary, predominantly white
heterosexual male girders holding them up are not easily taken down.
Anita Sarkeesian’s first two released videos are tame, very much so. These
videos brim information, with detailed research into the history of the Damsel
in Distress, the history of video games, variety of the trope, a multitude of
both modern and more classic games, and how the Damsel in Distress trope was
transferred over to video games from earlier media. Anita appears to have taken great care in
ensuring that her videos can reach a wide audience. While I am sure that she is fully capable of
in-depth feminist discussion with the appropriate jargon, she presents herself
and the information in a wide-reaching manner.
This allows for an open audience and open discussion between its
viewers.
This makes it even less threatening in some ways, and more in others. The
videos are clear, concise, and intellectual and can be understood by all. Those
trolling harassers can see her side of the argument in full, plain view and
they can no longer fear that it will be feminist jargon, going over their heads
on purpose to alienate them from what is attacking them. There is no alienation, the video is all
access. So, this is less frightening. But then comes the more frightening.
Because everything is so clear Anita can get her points and her research
across quickly and efficiently. And for viewers like myself, it is a
frighteningly large amount of information on just one of the several tropes she will be exploring in her
series. The pure amount of information,
of games that conform to these tropes, is overwhelming. As a female gamer I now
spend a portion of time examining games as I play and enjoy them. But I did not
do so when I was younger or until just a few years ago. Just the massive amount of games I have
played that were on her list upset me (For the list, please visit this link for the Damsel
in Distress Video).
 |
| Check out all the example of a Damsel in Distress over at the Tropes vs. Women in Videos Games Tumblr. |
The trope of Damsel in Distress not only permeates a large number of games,
but it does so in such varying manners as to have subsets. She examines these subsets not only in how
they change gaming, but how they effect and have been effected by additional
types of media. And it is so common. These tropes are being used to pump out
low quality games with poor storytelling just to force feed the gamer mind. A Forbes contributor, Jen
Bosier, said it just as I wanted to, “This isn’t just demeaning to women, it’s demeaning to gamers
in general”.
I want
better games, for everyone. And that means creating in-depth stories that are
not demeaning for the
ever-expanding gaming community. These videos should in some small amount be
feared, they are airing out the video games community’s closet and showing the
world that, yes, things do need to change.
-K.
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