Blog Post 6

I plan to expand my second project for project 3. I feel like the issue of gender in videogames, and the impact of videogames on different aspects of society is an interesting, and well researched, topic. I am choosing to to expand project 2 because I feel it will be easier to find both supportive and contradictory evidence for my topic, thus making a more thoughtful, well-rounded, and credible essay. Another reason I plan to expand on my second project is that I play video games a lot, and the issue of gender in video games is very interesting to me on a personal level. I feel there is a vast amount of room for expansion in my original paper, and I am looking forward to see what scholars and experts have to say on the subject.

Blog Post 5

I will be examining Fable 3 through the lens of Henry Jenkin’s essay. Jenkins essay draws comparisons to the ways in which traditional “play space” and the virtual “play space” of video games socialize children and reinforce or break down traditional gender roles. I feel it is important for children to be exposed to different forms of play, and different ways to problem solve. Assigning expectations to how a child plays based on the sex of the child is stifling. I found the notion that video games offer a shared space where boys and girls can both enjoy similar activities and interact with each other, instead of forming separate, gender based groups in a common space very interesting.

            I chose one of my favorite games to investigate through this lens, as I am very hopeful that Jenkins’ essay was on to something. I was very interested to see if I could find a game that was equally appealing to both genders, as well offer different types of activities, without labeling those activities as being for boys or girls.

            The sheer expansiveness of Fable 3 made it a prime candidate to be analyzed for this project. As I discussed in my last blog post, Fable 3 offers a vast variety of activities, which appeal to what Jenkins describes as “boy” and “girl” activities. In order to complete the game, you must battle enemies, but also build relationships. You must explore, but also make promises and solve mysteries. My proposed thesis is that Fable 3 is one of the few games that has been able to create a virtual and gender-neutral space for children to play.

Blog Post 4- Fable 3

For our second project, I will be examining Fable 3. Fable 3 is a wildly expansive role-playing game that, I believe, blends the traditional “boy spaces” and “girl spaces” found in video games. Though Fable 3 contains elements definitely not intended for children, but a child playing this game would learn many lessons about society.

            The first thing that sets the game apart is that you choose the gender of your character. Most adventure-based games will have a male main character, and most “girl” games, such as Cooking Mama, will have a female main character or mentor. By letting the player choose the gender, Fable eliminates the subliminal gender roles that can be attached to the contents of the game.

            The second area where Fable 3 blends gender spaces is its activities. The world is expansive. There is a main plot to the game, but there are also many side goals that the player may choose. A traditional “girl” game would focus on finding secrets and creating interpersonal relationships. A traditional “boy” game would focus on adventure and battle. Fable 3 offers opportunities to do both types of activities. However, in order to complete the story arc of the game, a player has to complete both “boy” and “girl” tasks. By doing this, Fable 3 is exposing players of both genders to different types of activities, and taking away the rigid separation of “boy” and “girl” games.  Another way Fable blends traditionally gender-based activities is by making the completion of a single quest reliant on both skill sets. In order to find a secret, which Jenkins describes as an activity girls gravitate to, they must explore the world and encounter enemies to battle, which is described as a male activity.

            The third area where Fable helps socialize players is that it provides consequences for actions. Breaking a promise, being rude, killing a villager, and stealing all effect how the rest of the NPC characters interact with the player. Villagers will talk either negatively or positively about a player as they walk through town, and if a player breaks the law, soldiers will attempt to arrest the player. If townspeople hate the character, prices on goods will be higher. Jenkins writes of boys rejecting the maternal influence as an integral part to achieving manhood. Fable 3 allows for such rebellion, but it also shows the social consequences.

             Fable 3 is important because it exposes people to different types of gendered play space, but in the end, it allows to player to choose what sort of play space they prefer. Video games such as Fable 3 are offering equal “play space” opportunities for players.

Post 3

Considering my images, and the discussion pertaining to those images in my last post, my main argument in my paper will be that liquor companies use the imagery of confident women in control in order to inspire women to buy their spirits.

Post 2- Advertising Aimed at Women

     This week, we discussed Kilbourne's essay " Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt", which in part analyzes the objectification and sexuality of women in advertising. For my blog post, I found three advertisements that are aimed at women, and objectify men. The first is an ad for Helmi Liquor:

 In this ad, three women can be seen to be playing a game of chess using men as the pieces. The women are in control, and the men are small and anonymous. The message this ad sends to women is that drinking Helmi liquors will make you make you confident and in control. The next ad is for Dolce and Gabana Gold Martini's.

In this ad, the men are props. They are giving the woman complete, undivided attention. The woman, however, is not making eye contact with any of the men. The message is that drinking this martini will make you absolutely irresistible to men. It is the same tactic beer commercials use to target men, only this time applied to women. The third advertisement is for Zu Shoes.

 Like the other two advertisements, the men are in multitude, for the most part faceless, and at the complete mercy of the women who are the focus of the ad. This woman leaves a wake of men behind her, and never looks back to notice. The message is similar to the other two ads, the product will make the woman powerful and irresistible.

While these advertisements use men as props, objects, and game pieces,  the message still implies that the end-goal of any woman is to attract a man. I find it interesting that the advertisers think the most effective way to appeal to women is to appeal to their ability to attract men. In the interest of fairness, however, the same tactics are used when advertising to men. There is a reason advertisers say, "sex sells".

Blog Post 1

What I hope to learn in this class is how to use proper research techniques to strengthen and improve the quality of my writing. It will also be helpful to be able to analyze the credibility and veracity of sources in research papers. A credible source lends weight to an argument, and it will be very useful to know how to find and define a truly credible source.