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[sTeLioSco]

Anita Sarkeesian, the controversial feminist critic whose plans to produce a crowdfunded video series about female tropes in video games led to someone creating a video game all about punching her in the face, is almost ready to show her work.

Sarkeesian quietly launched a Tumblr called "Bits of Tropes Vs. Women in Games" this week. It shows images from one of the tropes she's certain to explore in the series: the damsel in distress.

The site's "about" page states that the image collection is "a work in progress and not meant as a complete comprehensive list but hopefully it can help to demonstrate the scope and history of this problematic trope. Plus, you might just find some interesting bits of classic video game nostalgia here."

Sarkeesian tells Kotaku that she's aiming to launch the project's first video very soon.

"The new Tropes vs Women videos are currently in production and we are shooting for the first video to be released in February," she said in an e-mail. "Due to all the unexpected extra Kickstarter funding we were able to greatly expand the scope, scale and production values of the project which is exciting but also means we've had to rework our timetable."

Sarkeesian's "Tropes Vs. Women in Games" Kickstarter was funded with more than $150,000 last spring. She had initially planned to release videos in 2012. The absence of those videos has fueled some doubts about the project. But if Sarkeesian's new timeline sticks, we won't have to wait long to see how this much-anticipated video series turns out.

http://kotaku.com/5980335/anita-sar...-come-out-next-month-but-her-tumblrs-live-now

Bits of Tropes vs Women in Video Games
http://tropesversuswomen.tumblr.com/

 

[Strife91]

Imagine the incoming shitstorm.

 

[aasoncott]

Words can't express how much I want her to prove all her critics wrong. Nobody deserves the shitstorm she went through.

Knock 'em dead, Anita.

 

[cj_iwakura]

She's made very good videos in the past. I advise anyone ready to go rabid on her to watch one of her previous works first.


Aw yeah, Night Trap!

Better set the record straight. That game's hilariously minimal in its violence.

 

[Platy]

Can we stop the threads saying it will never come now ?

edit :

Words can't express how much I want her to prove all her critics wrong. Nobody deserves the shitstorm she went through.

Knock 'em dead, Anita.

Most of then are the kind of people that would not understand feminism even if Judith Butler tapdanced on their faces

 

[Guevara]

Can we stop the threads saying it will never come now ?

Surely not until it actually comes out?

 

[Deified Data]

I have no desire to weigh in on this subject, but it sure is fun to observe.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Wow, she's digging deep.

Totally Rad?!

 

[GrandHarrier]

Her tumblr is full of repeats of the same character. I'm not sure that really counts? But it's kind of hilarious. Basically, anytime a female ever needs help, ever, she seems to be counting it as a damsel in distress. In many cases the entire point of the game is to rescue the damsel in distress so by removing it, you... don't have a game? And since feminism is about gender equality we can't have a male in distress, so... no more games where you save people ever?

Look forward to the explanation in her video.

 

[BearPawB]

Words can't express how much I want her to prove all her critics wrong. Nobody deserves the shitstorm she went through.

Knock 'em dead, Anita.

White Knights ahoy.

I hope her videos are of high quality, and actually make reasoned arguments. There is something to how both genders are treated in games, and there is an interesting video series that could be bred from this topic.

I just have zero faith she's the one to be able to do that

 

[sTeLioSco]

Her tumblr is full of repeats of the same character. I'm not sure that really counts? But it's kind of hilarious. Basically, anytime a female ever needs help, ever, she seems to be counting it as a damsel in distress. In many cases the entire point of the game is to rescue the damsel in distress so by removing it, you... don't have a game? And since feminism is about gender equality we can't have a male in distress, so... no more games where you save people ever?

Look forward to the explanation in her video.

from article:
Sarkeesian quietly launched a Tumblr called "Bits of Tropes Vs. Women in Games" this week. It shows images from one of the tropes she's certain to explore in the series: the damsel in distress.

 

[Strife91]

Her tumblr is full of repeats of the same character. I'm not sure that really counts? But it's kind of hilarious. Basically, anytime a female ever needs help, ever, she seems to be counting it as a damsel in distress. In many cases the entire point of the game is to rescue the damsel in distress so by removing it, you... don't have a game? And since feminism is about gender equality we can't have a male in distress, so... no more games where you save people ever?

Look forward to the explanation in her video.

This.

Her arguments are pretty far-fetched as well.

 

[Samurai-Don]

Can I chose to ignore everything she says, since I have a sneaky feeling that she just going spout some rubbish and how male gamers like me should feel bad.

If my gender is going to be insulted then I would much rather hear it from my socks than from random woman.

Of course there is a 99.9% that I could be wrong.

 

[Vamphuntr]

The comments on the Kotaku page are quite something. Some are really not nice.

Hopefully she does a better job than her Bayonetta video and actually play the games she will comment on. Good luck to her, no one deserved to be harassed online for something like that.

 

[Road of Ease]

Great! I may not agree with her all the time, but her cause is fair and her later videos are much better than the first ones. I really like the "Straw Feminist" and Lego videos.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

What is this all about? This woman doesn't like how women are represented in games so shes making a series of documentaries about it?

 

[Coffee Dog]

This thing better have some serious production values - She was given $150,000 and it's been nearly a year to the release her first video. If it's just her talking to the camera with a powerpoint presentation then she's a scammer.

 

[pargonta]

most of those games in the tumblr are part of the long established "fairy tale" or "hero's journey" strand of fiction, where the damsel in distress is not out of place. i hope her anger is against the trope, and not the games themselves in that regard, unless in the games it is senseless and extremely out of place.

can't wait to watch! as i am a passionate critical thinker about fiction, media, and games, i will continue to be critical of her viewpoints to see how they match up with the viewpoints of others and myself.

 

[PsionBolt]

Good. I'd rather this 'may' was a 'will', but what're you gonna do.

 

[sTeLioSco]

What is this all about? This woman doesn't like how women are represented in games so shes making a series of documentaries about it?

with money donated to kickstarter by both men and women.

 

[see5harp]

Maybe she'll spend $25,000 on a boob job, wait for her views to increase 10 fold and then say "told you so."

 

[Zen_Arcade]

from article:
Sarkeesian quietly launched a Tumblr called "Bits of Tropes Vs. Women in Games" this week. It shows images from one of the tropes she's certain to explore in the series: the damsel in distress.

I think he's referring about how she had decades of video games for her to make her point but she lists the same character from the same series about three times.

 

[jimi_dini]

And since feminism is about gender equality we can't have a male in distress, so... no more games where you save people ever?

gender equality.

That's why we are supposed to get male in distress games only for the next 30 years to get to an equal ratio. And after that, the industry will be required to put out male/female in distress games in an exact 50:50 ratio.

 

[Moral Panic]

Her Bayonetta video was appalling so I hope her next one is better. I think that the subject matter is good, I just don't think she is capable of doing it justice.

 

[GrandHarrier]

from article:
Sarkeesian quietly launched a Tumblr called "Bits of Tropes Vs. Women in Games" this week. It shows images from one of the tropes she's certain to explore in the series: the damsel in distress.

My point is she is padding out the tumblr with numerous repeats of the same character in the same scenario. Spoilers: Anytime Dirk Daring rescues Daphne in a Dragon's Lair game its the same thing. So listing the various incarnations just makes a small list seem bigger.

I think he's referring about how she had decades of video games for her to make her point but she lists the same character from the same series about three times.

Yeah, this.

 

[Draft]

It's really hilarious how much money she got.

 

[Lambtron]

White Knights ahoy.

That phrase doesn't mean what you think it means.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I think the likes of Cadash and Night Trap being in that list balances out Dragon's Lair and Ninja Gaiden repeats.

 

[Omikaru]

What is this all about? This woman doesn't like how women are represented in games so shes making a series of documentaries about it?

She started up a Kickstarter, aiming to only get around $6,000 to do some low-budget and low-scope documentaries covering some tropes about women in videogames. Men and women then pledged upwards of $150,000 to her Kickstarter, so she expanded the scope of the series and this subsequently caused a delay. Because of said delay, all the misogynists so desperate for her to fail have come out of the woodwork and accused her of running away with people's cash. Yesterday some people on Reddit kicked up another stink about her not releasing the documentary yet, so I assume that this announcement is in part a reaction to that.

I've never seen any of her previous work, and I never backed her Kickstarter because I was broke at the time, but I'm certainly interested to see her take on the issue. I hope she does a good job.

 

[rvy]

Is Bayonetta still a single mother?

 

[Coffee Dog]

It's really hilarious how much money she got.

It's because people donated out of a sense of "ending misogyny" rather than realizing they just gave someone 150k to make youtube videos. Her backers are probably going to be angry as fuck if it's anything short of documentary quality.

She started up a Kickstarter, aiming to only get around $6,000 to do some low-budget and low-scope documentaries covering some tropes about women in videogames. Men and women then pledged upwards of $150,000 to her Kickstarter, so she expanded the scope of the series and this subsequently caused a delay. Because of said delay, all the misogynists so desperate for her to fail have come out of the woodwork and accused her of running away with people's cash. Yesterday some people on Reddit kicked up another stink about her not releasing the documentary yet, so I assume that this announcement is in part a reaction to that.

I've never seen any of her previous work, and I never backed her Kickstarter because I was broke at the time, but I'm certainly interested to see her take on the issue. I hope she does a good job.

You don't have to be a mysoginist to ask for some progress after a year of waiting, you realize. You may just not be entirely trustworthy of some random person on kickstarter.

 

[cj_iwakura]

She started up a Kickstarter, aiming to only get around $6,000 to do some low-budget and low-scope documentaries covering some tropes about women in videogames. Men and women then pledged upwards of $150,000 to her Kickstarter, so she expanded the scope of the series and this subsequently caused a delay. Because of said delay, all the misogynists so desperate for her to fail have come out of the woodwork and accused her of running away with people's cash. Yesterday some people on Reddit kicked up another stink about her not releasing the documentary yet, so I assume that this announcement is in part a reaction to that.

I've never seen any of her previous work, and I never backed her Kickstarter because I was broke at the time, but I'm certainly interested to see her take on the issue. I hope she does a good job.

Here's a good one:

Lego & Gender

She does her research, and is very well spoken.

 

[Foffy]

She's made very good videos in the past. I advise anyone ready to go rabid on her to watch one of her previous works first.

You didn't see her Bayonetta video, huh?

 

[JoeInky]

Not expecting these videos to be any good given her track record, hopefully she's spent money on teaching herself how to make better arguments.

I still think everyone saying how brave she is for all the hate shit is stupid, she obviously expected that to happen and without it she wouldn't have even gotten half as much money.

 

[Sentenza]

This.

Her arguments are pretty far-fetched as well.

Well, I'm not hostile to her or anything like that, but this was true even for many old videos she made, so I'm not sure why people should expect anything different here.

I mean, we are talking about the same woman who made a video ranting that "All I want for Christmas is you" was a "creepy song about passive submission to the male" or something like that.

 

[Whompa]

 

[Draft]

It's because people donated out of a sense of "ending misogyny" rather than realizing they just gave someone 150k to make youtube videos. Her backers are probably going to be angry as fuck if it's anything short of documentary quality.

I know, that's what makes it so funny. I don't begrudge her a single penny, either. People want to give some liberal arts grad student type $20 of their hard earned money so she can post Princess Peach on Tumblr? This is America and that's alright with me.

 

[rosaceadude2112]

It's cool how her garden variety media criticism earned her a small fortune and let her all but martyr herself to talk about "tropes".

 

[sleepykyo]

She's made very good videos in the past. I advise anyone ready to go rabid on her to watch one of her previous works first.


Aw yeah, Night Trap!

Better set the record straight. That game's hilariously minimal in its violence.

So the Bayonetta video was just an anomaly? The Twilight short as well?

Looking at the tumblr. Gonna need a moment. Decades of damsels in distress. Jessica from Final Fight really made an impression on her.

 

[Nert]

Can I chose to ignore everything she says, since I have a sneaky feeling that she just going spout some rubbish and how male gamers like me should feel bad.

If my gender is going to be insulted then I would much rather hear it from my socks than from random woman.

Whether or not you end up agreeing with her arguments when her videos are released, this is not how you should interpret feminism in general. The argument being made is NOT "men are bad and should feel bad" (Zoidberg voice). The broad point that will likely be made is that WOMEN are usually portrayed negatively in this cultural medium due to a reliance on cliched gender stereotypes.

Again: it's possible to discuss issues facing women without the story being male guilt.

This thing better have some serious production values - She was given $150,000 and it's been nearly a year to the release her first video. If it's just her talking to the camera with a powerpoint presentation then she's a scammer.

The problem with all of the "scammer" critiques is that she never asked for as much money as she received. It would, of course, be nice if the extra money was used to expand the scope of the project (and that seems to be her plan here), but nothing about Kickstarter's rules demand that she does more than she originally promised to do with the money.

I still think everyone saying how brave she is for all the hate shit is stupid, she obviously expected that to happen and without it she wouldn't have even gotten half as much money.

If the base level expectation for this topic being brought up at all is "aggressive outrage," then that's a story worth pursuing in and of itself.

 

[cj_iwakura]

You didn't see her Bayonetta video, huh?

I didn't know there was one.

 

[Jenga]

And here I thought this was all a big joke /v/ made up to get mad

the defenders and aggressors in this are all very, very amusing

 

[prwxv3]

Can't wait to lurk /v/ for the shitstorm.

 

[PedroPanache]

I'm hoping for lots of CGI. Put that excess money to good use.

 

[dukeoflegs]

I've always viewed the damsel as an allegory for what you are actually saving. Mario saves the princess not because she is a woman but what she represents in that world, peace.
I really want to see what Anita brings to the table, I think there is a lot of discussion that can happen, at the same time I want to see her views on strong female characters in videogames. It's really easy to find weak female characters versus strong male characters.

 

[shinobi602]

Is anyone really expecting some new info or something earth shattering from this, honestly?

I mean:

It shows images from one of the tropes she's certain to explore in the series: the damsel in distress.

Oh SHIT, we've never heard of this stereotype before!

 

[GrizzNKev]

She talks big. Let's see it happen, then.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Is anyone really expecting some new info or something earth shattering from this, honestly?

I mean:



Oh SHIT, we've never heard of this stereotype before!

I expect a rational breakdown of tropes in gaming and how they can be improved on and maybe eliminated, like in the Lego video.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I didn't know there was one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbihPTgAql4

 

[Avallon]

She goes to Kotaku of all sites? I'm really skeptical of this woman.