After discussing the racism and sexism of Resident Evil 5 in
the lecture, I was rather shocked with myself. I couldn’t believe that I’d
played through the game without even considering how euro/male-centric the
representations were. Our discussion of privilege in tutorial helped me to
understand why I had been so blind. Privilege is often invisible. As Marshall
Mcluhan says, “one thing about which fish know exactly nothing is water, since
they have no anti-environment which would enable them to perceive the element
they live in.” I am a white male and video games are nearly always made with my
demographic in mind. I had not really been aware of how I’d always been the
centre of the universe in video games I experienced. I think this is because
when I play, I love to get really immersed in the game world in a way that I
don’t get with film. I’m awake now however.
Some might not consider the game sexist. We must not forget the power of interpretation. People bring in different contexts when they encounter a text. A texts meaning is fixed in the act of reading. So while Sheva was clearly crafted with sexist ideologies in mind, it is possible that not everyone will view her as a damaging representation. Like Lara Croft, Sheva was designed as an object for male voyeurism. Players can even unlock more revealing clothes for her. However, as blogger Cara Ellison explained, Lara Croft’s appearance meant very little to her as a young female player. Lara Croft was instead inspirational for her as an example of independence, strength and bravery. There is a key difference between Lara and Sheva. In Tomb Raider, you are Lara while in Resident Evil, you control Chris. You interact with Sheva through Chris in story mode. You chose which gun she should carry and take/give her ammo, health-herbs and other items. You can order her to attack or cover you. In other words, you indirectly control her through your male avatar. So although she is undoubtedly a strong character, unlike Lara she is largely dependent on a man.Eugene . F. Provenzo Jr observes
how video games encourage dependence in women and dominant gender roles in
males and Resident Evil 5 is no exception. The game could have avoided this by
allowing you to play as Sheva in story mode as well as multiplayer. So yeah,
Resident Evil is pretty damn sexist.
If you're looking at talking about racism in your assignment, Edward Said's Orientalism would be pretty useful :)
Lloyd Thomason (2691650)
word count- 423
This week I contributed to 'Gender and Sexuality- I disagree'
Some might not consider the game sexist. We must not forget the power of interpretation. People bring in different contexts when they encounter a text. A texts meaning is fixed in the act of reading. So while Sheva was clearly crafted with sexist ideologies in mind, it is possible that not everyone will view her as a damaging representation. Like Lara Croft, Sheva was designed as an object for male voyeurism. Players can even unlock more revealing clothes for her. However, as blogger Cara Ellison explained, Lara Croft’s appearance meant very little to her as a young female player. Lara Croft was instead inspirational for her as an example of independence, strength and bravery. There is a key difference between Lara and Sheva. In Tomb Raider, you are Lara while in Resident Evil, you control Chris. You interact with Sheva through Chris in story mode. You chose which gun she should carry and take/give her ammo, health-herbs and other items. You can order her to attack or cover you. In other words, you indirectly control her through your male avatar. So although she is undoubtedly a strong character, unlike Lara she is largely dependent on a man.
If you're looking at talking about racism in your assignment, Edward Said's Orientalism would be pretty useful :)
Lloyd Thomason (2691650)
word count- 423
This week I contributed to 'Gender and Sexuality- I disagree'
While I do I agree with your point on sexism being present in the game, obvious through the unlockable costumes for Sheva that are most definitely aimed at straight males, I must point a few things out in defense of the game, I think that not all sexiest applications of Sheva as a character was intentional, but rather logical.
ReplyDeleteChris is the main character because he is returning character from a series with a long history, he links loyal players to a rebooted franchise. You will often find loyal players up in arms when they introduce new characters to a series with already iconic characters attached.(one example I can think of how pissed off people were at first when they had to play as "Raiden" instead of "Solid Snake" during bits of Metal Gear Solid 2 .
Also Sheva can be played in splitscreen co-op as well as a bonus unlockable after the games completion. I remember using her with a bow and arrow that has no crosshair but does major damage, it would have been nice to have the option to play her from the get go but you know how these types of games want you to play the game over and over to unlock more stuff in an attempt to incite players to hopefully buy more DLC. I think this is something they thought of when they made Resident Evil 6, although all returning Resident Evil characters are paired with a fresh face as a partner, players have the option to choose who they wish to play as.