You'd better believe it sister! I'm writing about Lara Croft, the Grand Theft Auto series, and even a bit about Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Why?
I've studied film before, and media theories don't need a genius to be applied to gaming. It is, afterall a massive part of our culture. In my essay, I discuss the pros and cons of Lara Croft being a role model to young girls.
It turns out that Lara Croft is actually a really good role model! Aside from her comically oversized breasts, she's independent, fit, adventurous and brave. She don't rely on no-one but herself!
I'm comparing Lara to other female game characters and alongside this, discussing feminist theories, female representation and fetishism. Why do we fetishise women? Why do both men and women accept the scantily-clad, big-boobed female character without question? Yes, Isabella Valentine (below), I am talking about you!
Now here's a round of trivia to round off your evening.
Trivia #1
There's another really cool part to this discussion. Freud wrote about Fetishism, and explained that the reason why men fetishise women is because Woman, the castrated form of a man, is a scary thing to get their head around. Due to their anxiety about the castrated woman, the only way they can deal with our existence is by making us become a fetish; a weird sexual thing. Second to this, another way to deal with their anxiety is for them to see us as an object of beauty, to be appreciated. I guess it makes sense. We are in a male world after all, or maybe Freud was just a perve like the rest of 'em. :p
Trivia #2
As soon as Lara's assets were made smaller (which was done in order to appeal more to female gamers) in 2005, shares in the game plummeted and sales did all the same. What does this all mean?
All the best,
Louisa Brooks
*A Dissertation is when you basically write a book, and it is required in order to get a BA hons Degree. My Dissertation word count needs to be 6000 words - the longest essay I have ever had to write!
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