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Video Games and Avatars: Is society ruining our self image?

Presentation by: Maya Ann Rhodes. Video Games and Avatars: Is society ruining our self image?.

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Video Games and Avatars: Is society ruining our self image?

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  1. Presentation by: Maya Ann Rhodes Video Games and Avatars:Is society ruining our self image?

  2. Society has tricked people into believing that beauty is a standard that everyone must follow. Anyone who is not “beautiful” enough is condemned to live a life without acknowledgement from their peers. The influence of the media has had a huge impact on the self image of the American people. The impact of this influence is prevalent in the video game community, where a person is likely to create an avatar that is physically attractive, rather than similar to that person’s true characteristics. This is due to the pressure of media, the portrayal of the perfect woman/man in movies and tv shows, etc. Introduction/Main Arguement

  3. My Avatar (Second Life) What does my avatar tell you about me? What are some of the differences between myself and my avatar? What do avatars look like?

  4. The Swedish Bed’s Blog (One of my primary secondary sources) Features everyday gamers and their avatars http://theswedishbed.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/who-is-hiding-behind-videogames-avatars/ The author of this blog claims that the gamers featured here create avatars based on what they aspire to be, rather than what society thinks they should be. A different Perspective

  5. Avatars are not just ways for people to make themselves feel beautiful. Humanity has it’s limitations, something that is not always portrayed in video games. Most games allow their players to become things that they are not. (Animals, elves, dragons, warriors, super heroes, etc.) In a way, video games can help facilitate a sense of adventure, and can become a distraction from life. Counterargument

  6. The main secondary source that will be used in my paper is actually a semi-scholarly article called “Big Breasts and Bad Guys: Depictions of Gender and Race in Video Games”, which is a great article (not just because of the title) but because it supports my primary counterargument. The authors of this article seem to see the depiction of gender and race in video games as creativity and personal desirability, rather than influence from the media. Can be used for either main or counter arguments. Secondary sources

  7. Others may argue that video games promote creativity, and can serve as an outlet for a person’s imagination. Examples include: Men who create female avatars, to perhaps exemplify their ideal life partner, or children creating avatars based on what they want to be when they grow up. The reason why some video game players don’t create avatars that look like themselves doesn’t necessarily mean that they have been negatively influenced by society. Counterargument 2 (con’t)

  8. Lets make this fun. If any of you were to create an avatar of your own, what would your avatar look like? Describe some prominent characteristics (hair color, eye color, race, gender, body type, etc) What does this say about you? Finally…

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