Mature Content – Being a Father in a Man’s World

Mature Content – Being a Father in a Man’s World

Are video games, and their audiences, finally coming of age? The recent trend of fatherhood as a core theme within big-budget blockbuster video games could suggest as much. But is the exploration of these themes a by-product of older consumers, or a result of deep seated misogyny? We take a look.

Video Games being taken seriously – it is something the majority long for – whether that be for games to be seen as art, or to simply ‘legitimise’ our favourite pass time.  In order for this dream to come to fruition the medium needs to take itself seriously, to attempt braver and more ambitious stories, and to develop better and more nuanced characters.

Discussion of character motivation within more traditional mediums such as film, literature and theatre often involves asking the question ‘why?’ Why is a protagonist or villain driven to do what they do? What is their motivation, not only for minor actions but for their entire journey or life philosophy? Take the simple example of Star Wars; Luke Skywalker doesn’t want to grow up to be a farmer, and is driven by stories of his father’s death and the allure of rescuing a princess to set out on an adventure. While alternatively Han Solo is in need of money to pay off his debtors, and wants to make a quick buck to do so. These motivations tell us a huge amount about the character, at times telling us more than their demeanour, appearance, choice of words or any other sign. They allow us to understand the character, and to relate to them, telling us where they come from and where they are going – it sets up a character-arc.

Video games are unique in their creation of fictional characters when compared with these other forms. Within games this motivation often serves an additional purpose, to create a conflict or an objective for the player to pursue.

Let’s look to a similarly simplistic example: with Super Mario Bros the narrative and character motivation is easy to identify – Mario goes on an adventure to save Princess Toadstool. Mario’s motivations can either be accredited to a sense of moral obligation due to being one of her subjects, or maybe a romantic connection. The idea of a hero saving a princess from a monster, in this case the dragon-esque Bowser, is an age-old plot device familiar to gamers from a multitude of cultural backgrounds. It allows us to understand our mission with little to no exposition or complex backstory needed; save the princess, win the game. Although an obvious motivation, it does not allow us to understand Mario any better, nor does it set up a character arc to be developed. It simply provides conflict in need of resolution, which gives the player an objective and a reason to play the game.

Mario - The absurd hero; forever onwards against insurmountable odds

Mario – The absurd hero; forever onwards against insurmountable odds

Of course, this is not a criticism of Super Mario Bros. It did not earn its prestige and popularity on its plot and character development. Super Mario Bros. was, much like many of its contemporaries, an exercise in gameplay and design far removed from attempts to tell a complex story. It was a product of its time.

The medium has (for the most part) come a long way since 1985, as has its core audience. Unfortunately, this ‘damsel in distress’ trope is still evident in many games today. Arguably both Dante’s Inferno and The Darkness are both guilty of this. In a potentially similar vein, Stephen Totilo over at Kotaku observes a ‘Daddening’ of Video games, observing an increase in titles dealing with themes of fatherhood, especially from the perspective of the player character as father. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Bioshock 2, Bioshock Infinite, Heavy Rain, The Walking Dead and most recently The Last of Us have all placed emphasis on what it is to be a father. But as Totilo suggests, could this be a cheap trick to push for audience investment. As far as character motivation is concerned, there are some emotional shortcuts that can be made in order to garner immediate recognition of ‘stakes’ and ‘emotional weight’ in a story; romantic involvement, familial relationship and revenge are all relatively easy ‘go to’ plot points for player investments. Furthermore, all of the above mentioned games aside from Heavy Rain feature a young girl or daughter, as opposed to a son. So is the rescuing and protection of these children anything more than a cheap attempt at simply appropriating emotional investment through the use of the widely understood father-daughter relationship as narrative shorthand for “YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT THIS”? Are they really any different to the ‘damsel’ trope used in God of War or Mario?

This is Jason from Heavy Rain, the only son mentioned in this article. He isn't really all that relevant, I just wanted to make reference to "PRESS X TO JASON" moments from Heavy Rain. JASON? JASON! JASON!

This is Jason from Heavy Rain, the only son mentioned in this article. He isn’t really all that relevant, I just wanted to make reference to “PRESS X TO JASON” moments from Heavy Rain. JASON? JASON! JASON!

In the critically acclaimed The Last of Us, you play as father figure Joel. Joel’s biological daughter is killed in front of him during the opening scenes of the game. Although masterfully done and tasteful, these scenes have provoked some criticism. Chris Sullentrop of the New York Times has criticised the game as being made “by men, for men about men”. Sullentrop quotes Anita Sarkeesian’s excellent “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games”, talking about the cliché of the ‘woman in refrigerators’ and how it is used by The Last of Us to develop simplistic emotional baggage at the expense of violently objectified women. If you haven’t had a chance to checkout Sakeesian’s videos yet, make sure you take the time out to do so after you are finished here.

For those of you new to the idea, this talk of refrigerators refers to Gail Simone’s observations on the untimely and often brutal demise met by female comic book characters in order to progress or develop a male character’s narrative arc. The original name for the term originates from when Kyle Raynor, the 90s Green Lantern, found his then girlfriend cut up and stuffed in a refrigerator.[If you are interested in the original list of female characters that are brutalised, depowered and humiliated within comic books, then take a look here.]

This particular storyline was a product of the shift towards a 'dark age' of comic books, where violence and edginess were the order of the day

This particular storyline was a product of the shift towards a ‘dark age’ of comic books, where violence and edginess were the order of the day

Although the death of Joel’s daughter is a major contributing factor towards his motivations and development as a character, it at least somewhat more nuanced than the traditional woman within a refrigerator. Differing to the narratives of God of War or Max Payne, Joel’s (and thus the player’s) driving force in the post-pandemic world is not a revenge mission born from his daughter’s untimely death. Instead, we begin ‘surviving’ as Joel 20 years later, with his daughter’s death serving as tragic backdrop to Joel’s survival story. Is the brutalisation and disempowerment of a female character instrumental in the development of the male protagonist? Well, to an extent, yes. But Joel’s journey, both physically and emotionally is vitally important in coming to understand and appreciate the female lead Ellie as a character. I would argue that it is as much Ellie’s story as it is Joel’s; with their character arcs being intrinsically linked. Thus, Joel’s loss and bitterness as a result are important to the development of Ellie as a character also.

This begs the question: why would the writers over at Naughty Dog chose to position the primary view point of The Last of Us’ narrative from the perspective of a male character? For a start, male protagonists out number females ones approximately 100 to 1 (guess work, but no doubt true), likely a result of a still largely male user base alongside fearful publishers scared on how they will market a woman as playable to men.  Unfortunately, when we do get the occasional ‘strong’ female lead, such as Lara Croft, they are placed within sexually vulnerable or violent situation in order to once again draw upon narrative shorthand for tension and trauma; nothing says ‘danger’ like a good  ‘rape’ scene, right? Is this lazy story telling? Yes, but it is unfortunately to be expected of mass media products produced within a still largely patriarchal society, even from a video game such as Tomb Raider, which was written by a woman. It is difficult to criticise video games for not exploring themes such as motherhood when the majority of Hollywood cinema, professional wrestling and international sports (to name but a few instances of male-centric media) are all presented through the male gaze, with little consideration to female audiences and thematic concerns. It is quite frankly disgusting that Jean-Max Morris struggled to find funding for Remember Me, based solely on the fact that the protagonist was going to have a vagina.

The now infamous attempted rape in Tomb Raider was handled a lot better than the press initially gave credit for. Unfortunately, although the inclusion of such a scene may be fitting or even realistic in certain circumstances, the fact that exists within a landscape dominated by female disempowerment is worrying. On the upside, Lara does get her revenge by blowing the man's face off. That is feminism in action, right?

The now infamous attempted rape in Tomb Raider was handled a lot better than the press initially gave credit for. Unfortunately, although the inclusion of such a scene may be fitting or even realistic in certain circumstances, the fact that it exists within a landscape dominated by depictions of female disempowerment is worrying. On the upside, Lara does get her revenge by blowing the man’s face off. That is feminism in action, right?

Maybe we shouldn’t be encouraging the story tellers within the industry to run before they can walk. But this ‘Daddening’ of recent action titles suggests some interesting developments within the industry, that perhaps game designers and writers are aware that the teenaged gamers of yesteryear are now grown men and fathers. Of course, now they are grown men, they probably wouldn’t find it awkward to play as a female lead that isn’t hyper-sexualised. The recent Tomb Raider and The Last of Us are a step in the right direction.

Of course I could be being too pessimistic, with this ‘Daddening’ serving as a herald of good things to come; with more narrative space to be explored by video games of all shapes and sizes. Alternatively, it could spell doom and gloom, with the industry still resorting to lazy story telling that makes use of misogynistic narrative tropes to cash in on easy ‘emotional investment’ from its primarily male audience. Jim Sterling recently spoke out about a strange and quite frankly creepy movement away from female protagonists in video games, observing the readiness to use women as tools and objects that can later be hidden away out of sight, and not developed as the character or personality of a game. He is right, the games industry is currently suffering from serious gender issues, issues that need to be recognised and discouraged however we can. Perhaps video game communities would be more evenly populated by both men and women if publishers spent as much time and effort marketing to both genders. At present time we are at a crossroads, and in front of us we have a Catch-22; not ‘many’ women play games, because the games aren’t considerate of their viewpoint or concerns, however, why would a developer care about a women’s perspective if they don’t play their games? It is a dangerous position to be in, and if the industry and medium is to progress and be respected, it needs to overcome it and soon.

***DISCLAIMER: I am aware that of course women play video games. Unfortunately, the number is still disproportionate to the male user base. One day, I hope for this to change.***

[GARD]
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