Feminist Film Theory and Video Games

Lately I have been reading up on feminist film theory and thinking about how I can apply it to my research on video games. So here goes. Please bear with me as I try to make sense of what I am attempting to articulate.

One of the most important theorists in this field is Laura Mulvey who wrote an article in the 1970s entitled Visual Please and Narrative Cinema. In this article, she uses psychoanalysis to examine films and talks quite a bit about how early Hollywood films centered on the male gaze which asserts that the viewer is looking through the eyes of the male and women are merely objects to be consumed by the gaze. Mulvey has received criticism for this view since it has no place for a female gaze which would consume the male body as object. Obviously, film has changed much over the last 30 years, but I think her views have some merit when it comes to video games. Please understand that I have merely scratched the surface of this topic and hope to more informed posts down the line.

In my view, Mulvey's theory can easily be applied to video games. If you consider that in the vast majority of first-person shooters such as Doom, Quake, etc., the player is forced into the viewpoint of a male protagonist. There is no other choice. Yes, there are games such as Tomb Raider that break the mold, but isn't Lara Croft an object to be consumed by the male gaze as well? This is certainly fitting since the Tomb Raider games use a third-person perspective whereas the player can see both Lara and the action taking place.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas works in a similar fashion. Women are objects to be consumed either as prostitutes or as average citizens on the street who are there to be beaten and robbed. Their only worth is the money they might have once beaten to death. Violence is a way to solve problems in a male-dominated (and virtual) world. This is what I plan to write about for Dr. G's class. Any input or advice is appreciated. Signing off for tonight.