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Genre, Narrative & Representation. Representation. There are four strands to representation in GOW2: Masculinities Women Race Imulsion. Representation. Watch the IGN video ‘Welcome to Delta’ Try to make as many notes as possible about the characters (including the Stranded)
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Representation There are four strands to representation in GOW2: • Masculinities • Women • Race • Imulsion
Representation • Watch the IGN video ‘Welcome to Delta’ • Try to make as many notes as possible about the characters (including the Stranded) • Include information on: • Name • Appearance • Voice • Character traits
Masculinities “Popular masculinity involves ‘hardness’, ‘sporting prowess’, ‘coolness’... and being adept at ‘cussing’.” Stephen Frosh (2002)
Masculinities What are the signifiers of masculinity in these images? What sorts of men are being represented?
Masculinities Gritty, grizzled and serious-looking – real men who aren’t afraid to show it… Looking away, distant – mysteries to be solved
Masculinities The character of Coletrain is a former football quarterback, and behaves in a very stereotypical way. • List Cole’s behaviours in the game: • Arrogant & Aggressive • ‘Tackles’ enemies when we first see him • ‘Trash-Talks’ the Locust Queen • African-American dialect • Stereotypical black man
Women in Gears of War 2 Locust Queen What do these images of women have in common? Maria Anya
Women in Gears of War 2 The role of women: • Women do not fight – only men are Gears • Anya provides tactical support from a distance (she is in the Proppian role of Donor) • Maria is Dom’s Princess, to be rescued • The Locust Queen does not fight (Skorge fights for her) • Women are objectified in the game
Women in Gears of War 2 What happens when a woman is no longer beautiful? Discuss: the death of Maria at the hands of Dom
Representation of Race Dom Coletrain Write down three words to describe each of these characters How many of the words you wrote down are stereotypes? Dizzy Tai
Stereotypes in Gears of War 2 The angry black man: • Behaves more aggressively than any other character • ‘Trash Talks’ the Locust Queen • African-American ‘street dialect’ Coletrain Question: to whom is Cole designed to appeal?
Stereotypes in Gears of War 2 Dom The loyal sidekick: • Subordinate to Marcus • Will follow him anywhere (discuss...) • Feisty • Loyal • Passionate Dom is probably the least stereotypically represented of the minority races in Gears 2 What might the advantages be to representing Hispanics in this way?
Stereotypes in Gears of War 2 The warrior: • Tribal tattoos • Code of Honor • Very philosophical • Follows the ‘way of the warrior’ What might this character’s ultimate suicide say about this stereotype? Tai
Stereotypes in Gears of War 2 The Redneck: • Misogynist (“Just let me light up Bettie’s titties for ya!”) • Southern accent • Cowboy hat Dizzy What is the appeal in this character?
Imulsion • Imulsion is a naturally occurring material on Sera. • It comes from beneath the ground • It is a liquid • It is energetic (i.e. It can be used to power things) • It has a corrupting influence on living beings (both physically and figuratively) A Locust that has been exposed to Imulsion and has gone ‘Lambent’
An Allegory An allegory is where one thing stands in for another. What is: • Naturally occurring • Comes from under the ground • A liquid • Used for energy • Has a corrupting influence
Imulsion and the Pendulum Wars The Pendulum Wars took place before the events of Gears 1 & 2. “Over time, Imulsion speculation on the financial markets ran rampant and entire currencies and economies became linked to its value. This eventually resulted in a large economic collapse on the planet Sera as extremely low Imulsion prices crippled the financial sector. The economic crisis sparked military actions, and the few countries that possessed an abundance of Imulsion reserves soon found themselves at war with those nations who were not as fortunate, in a conflict known as the Pendulum Wars.” Gears of War Wikia
Imulsion and Oil This is a poster that can be found in Gears 2. It reads: ‘No Blood for Imulsion’ These are images of the ‘No Blood for Oil’ campaign that ran in opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq. What other evidence can you find for Gears 2 as an allegory of the invasion of Iraq?