CSP 1 & 2
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REPRESENTATION
REPRESENTATION THEORIES (QUOTES TO INCLUDE IN ESSAY)
‘Levelling up representation : Depictions of people of colour in a video game.’ :
– “the portrayals of Muslim/Arab/Middle Eastern people, who are often relegated to the role of terrorist.”
– “Despite many video game companies being based in East Asia, most games feature white protagonists.”
‘Why diversity matters in the modern video games industry’ :
– “The industry traditionally projects an image that is young, white, straight and male”
-“What often gets lost in the exhausting, furious online discourse around representation is real-world experience”
‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.’ :
-“The alternative cinema provides a space for cinema to be born which is both radical in a political and aesthetic sense”
– “The cinema offers a number of possible pleasures. One is scopophilia”
Feminist Frequency website :
– “Adventures in which women work to save men in peril are extremely rare”
15 definitions
- Male gaze- encourages the sexual politics of the gaze and suggests a sexualised way of looking that empowers men and objectifies women.
- Voyeurism – invasive of people’s private lives.
- Patriarchy- a society controlled by men.
- Positive and negative stereotypes- encourages a certain attitude on how we see things and how things are accepted on not accepted.
- Counter-types- representation that highlights the positive features of a person or group..
- Misrepresentation- false or misleading account of the nature of something.
- Selective representation- when groups of people/ things are represented/highlighted more then others.
- Dominant ideology- The ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs, and culture of the ruling class in a society.
- Constructed reality- the way we present ourselves to other people is shaped partly by our interactions with others, as well as by our life experiences.
- Hegemony- leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others.
- Audience positioning- the relationships between the audience and the text, how an audience receives, reads and responds to a text.
Identity:
- Fluidity of identity- having the ability to change how you see yourself, the world, and your actions.
- Constructed identity- the way that we construct our own identities through experiences, emotions, connections, and rejections. They constantly change.
- Negotiated identity-
- Collective identity- the shared definition of a group that derives from its members’ common interests, experiences, and solidarities.
Gender in my games cover
I produced a game about a shooting war with both a male and female character. However the male character is represented as being the main signifier, following typical stereotypes. This relates to Jean Kilbournes theory about men being objectified as well as women but in a more competent and strong way. Focussing on the masculinity in ways such as holding the gun in a powerful and confident positive ready for action at the edge of the cliff. He is a big, muscular build with less protective armour to portray the reactionary idea that men don’t need help.
On the other hand I believe that this is a negative representation of masculinity as it tries to create a radical image of how men should look (when this is unrealistic for the majority). I think it would have been better if my male character challenged this stereotypes and used a positive counter type to try and shape the way that men think of themselves and how they see women.
Whereas on the other side of the cliff where the female is positioned, she is seemed to be further away from the edge showing she is less capable and more likely to get in danger so has to stay at a safe distance. As shown in the feminist frequency videos about “damsel in distress”, a women’s main purpose in a game is to keep the plot going by the man needing to assist the woman.
Futhermore, usually the clothing which the female is wearing is tighter and more objectifying. In my game the female is wearing non-revealing clothing but more protection than the man still suggesting she is weaker but not sexualising her. Sexualising women in video games is unacceptable as it normalises dangerous attitudes towards women and increases the sexual violence threat towards them: “52% of Hispanic people studied believed there was a link between violent video games and real-world violence.”- Levelling up article.
CSP 1 & 2: tomb raider and metroid
CSP’S – METROID AND TOMB RAIDER
games cover statement of intent
I intend on creating a video game box based on the film Ghost Busters.
The main image will be a woman with the vacuum thing that sucks up the ghosts ready to attack. I will also have the female version of the male to show two different perspectives on the game. The background of the game will be around the houses of parliament in London to show possible players the widescale ideas of ground they have to cover to complete the game.
I intend on calling the game Busters of the ghosts as its a twist on the film Ghost busters therefore audiences can grasp the concept of what the game is actually about.
On the back of the games cover my main character will be in many different locations to show to potential buyers where a bouts you can play within the game and show different maps and weathers.
I will have the games company and the type of games box you can use for it, for example mine will be an Xbox one. Also ill have an age restriction clearly shown on all sides of the cover to emphasise to buyers that you have to be this certain age to play this game as it may include flashing lights and graphic images and isn’t suitable for younger children.
definitions
Semiotics
- Sign-something which can stand for something else
- Code– technical, written and symbolic tools which used to construct or suggest meaning in media forms.
- Convention– accepted ways of using media codes
- Dominant Signifier– the main representative.
- Anchorage-words with an image to provide context
Ferdinand de Saussure:
- Signifier-Any material thing that signifies something.
- Signified-The concept that a signifier refers to.
C S Pierce:
- Icon-physically resembles thing or idea
- Index-A sign that has a link to its object
- Symbol-Symbol, a sign that has an arbitrary or random link to its object
Roland Barthes:
- Signification-process of the construction of meaning from the signs
- Denotation-, first level analysis (what a reader can see on the page)
- Connotation-meanings or associations we have with the image
- Myth-naturalizes events turning history into nature
- Ideology-a world view about how society should function
- radical– something you wouldn’t expect / out of the ordinary
- reactionary-what you would expect/ follows stereotypes
paradign– a collection of similar signs
syntagm– the sequences in which signs work.
definitions
SEMIOTICS
sign- something which can stand for something else
code– written or symbolic tools used to suggest meaning in media forms.
convention- accepted ways of using media codes
dominant signifier- the main sign
anchorage- Words with an image to go along with the text which provides context
FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE
Signified-stands in for something else
signifier-thing or idea trying to be evoked
C S PIERCE
icon-a sign that looks like its object
index- a sign that has a link to its object
symbol-a sign that has a more random link to its object
ROLAND BARTHES
signification- structural levels of signification, meaning or representative
denotation-the most basic or literal meaning of a sign
connotation- signs that are used as signifiers for a secondary meaning
myth- naturalizes events, turning history into nature
ideology- codes that reinforce or are congruent with structures of power
radical- something that challenges dominant ideas
reactionary- something that confirms dominant ideas
Paradigm- a typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or model
Syntagm- a linguistic unit consisting of a set of linguistic forms (phonemes, words or phrases) that are in a sequential relationship to one another.
KEY Language
| Semiotics | |
| Sign | Something which can stand for something else |
| Code | Written or symbolic tools used to suggest meaning in media forms |
| Convention | Accepted ways of using media code |
| Dominant Signifier | The main representative |
| Anchorage | Words with an image to provide context |
| Ferdinand de Saussure | |
| Signifier | Stands in for something else |
| Signified | Idea being evoked by signifier |
| C S Pierce | |
| Icon | A sign that looks like its object |
| Index | A sign that has a link to its object |
| Symbol | A sign that has a more random link to its object |
| Roland Barthes | |
| Signification | Structural levels of signification, meaning or representation |
| Denotation | The most basic or literal meaning of a sign |
| Connotation | Signs that are used as signifiers for a secondary meaning |
| Myth | Naturalizes events, turning history into nature |
| Ideology | Codes that reinforce or are congruent with structures of power |
| Radical | Something that challenges dominant ideas |
| Reactionary | Something that confirms dominant ideas |
| Paradigm | A collection of similar signs |
| Syntagm | The sequence in which signs work |