j-e-f-f-e-r-s post=7.70668.699608 said:
Woah, let's not jump the shark here. She's a good character, but I wouldn't go so far as to call her one of the best examples of non-sexist portrayal in modern culture. While she has depth and all, she's still for all intents and purposes a male fantasy stereotype- a seductive, sexy femme fatale with a penchant for guns. Compared to other videogame characters, she could be a Germaine Greer creation, true, but she's no Ellen Ripley.
All this time and I never knew you were a chick.
Here's a heads-up: Max is a male fantasy stereotype too. A different kind of stereotype, sure, but the net result is the same thing. Max is vengeance, Max is justice, Max is the unbending blade of payback we all wish we could (and never will) be. Maybe we don't want to get in his pants, but we sure wish we could wear them. (Except for the whole butchered family/empty existence/descent into the abyss thing, I suppose.) If you want to argue that Mona isn't as well fleshed-out as Ripley - and I would disagree on that point, but let's not get into that - then I might be willing to roll with it except that we are, after all, talking about games. My point about Mona standing out in any medium isn't that she was as deep as characters in books or movies, but that she very clearly operates on the same level as Max or any other male, with no conditions attached.
I have to disagree here. True, videogames aren't really any worse than the trash that Hollywood keeps shovelling out in regards to sexism, but that isn't the problem. The problem is that while Hollywood has also created dozens of iconic pro-feminism characters, most gamers would struggle to think of 10 strong female characters out of thousands of games.
The first motion picture was made 120 years ago. Movies with sound have been around for over 80 years. In a direct apples-to-apples comparison, which is what you appear to be making, I would certainly hope that Hollywood has cranked out a few more identifiable strong female characters than the game industry. But on balance, don't you think the game industry is ahead? Which of course has as much to do with shifting societal attitudes as anything else, but I'd be quite happy to put our record against theirs.
And why do we need to "prove the EU's fears unfounded" anyway? If the EU parliament had any serious interest in addressing sexist roles in the media, it would address those mediums where it really is a problem. Did they say anything about maybe asking hip-hop types to tone down the whole "bitches and hoes" thing or whatever it is they're on about these days? No. This was a scattershot drive-by at the expense of the videogame industry, and I really don't think we need to dignify it with anything more than a yawn and perhaps an extended finger. (You can pick which one.)
Also, you forgot Cate Archer in your list. I'm very disappointed in you.
