At a very early age, girls and boys
are encouraged to be different from one another and that idea of segregation of
gender stays true today in our society through toys and activities. (Rudman 2015) Being a kid in the 90s,
you most often only had two choices in videogames to rent/buy, side-scrolling
platformers/adventure (Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Sonic) and as violent as
you can be shooters and fighting/beat em’ up games (Mortal Kombat, Resident
Evil, Wolfenstein). During this period, there were no rating on videogames and
almost no restrictions on what could be created so why was it that there seemed
to be more variety of crappy controllers and home consoles but we had very
little variety when it came to the kind of games we could play? (Baseel, 2014) This is due to the target
audience at the time being young males. (Baseel,
2014)
Most advertisement
at the time were in gaming magazines and they were cringe worthy. (Tom, 2017) There were crude sexual innuendos,
gross factors, or aggression on almost every page. (Tom, 2017) It is almost impossible to believe these games and
consoles were created with children in mind. I believe that videogames and
their advertisements were and still are used as a way to gendering toys and
activities while also creating the general theme of gender that boys are
physical toughness, leadership, and assertiveness. (Rudman 2015)
I
feel as though my photograph is able to capture how videogames help create a
general theme for boys. The photo taken is of all of my teenage brother’s videogames. The photo itself represents
the general idea of entertainment and advertisement associated with gaming
towards a targeted audience of young males. (All of the games are shooters,
beat em’ up, or sports) I used camera angle to represent society’s approval and
devotion to such violence and absurd advertisements. That men should be
aggressive towards each other and participate in physical activities for
entertainment. I has also used the lighting to show how oblivious we are to how
these ads and videogames help create segregation of gender and general themes
of gender through toys and which the ways they are advertised and continue to
do so today.
Works Cited
Rudman, Laurie A., et al. "The Two Cultures of
Childhood." The Social Psychology of Gender: How Power and Intimacy Shape
Gender Relations. The Guilford Press, 2015, 59-63.
Baseel, Casey. “The Wacky World of Video Game Advertising in
the '80s and '90s.” SoraNews24, 24 Apr. 2014,
soranews24.com/2014/04/24/the-wacky-world-of-video-game-advertising-in-the-80s-and-90s/.
Tom. “Classic Video Game Ads From The 90s.” TVOvermind,
TVOvermind, 1 Oct. 2017, www.tvovermind.com/classic-video-game-ads-90s/.
Screenshot in photo:
Rolfe, James “Video Game Magazines - Angry Video Game Nerd” Youtube.com,
Cinemassacre Productions, March. 13th, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPKqp3H8xic.
1 comment:
In response to the article "Toy's and Activities" I would like to add that almost all main characters featured in the violent video games listed where male. The association of child and hero, fighter or defender displays an unrealistic ideal that young males adopt as acceptable behaviors. From an early age, I began playing war games online with people all around the world. The exposure to the bloody, violent, killing desensitized me to that which others might find repulsive. Being a boy it was acceptable for me to grow up playing these games online and acting them out in person with nerf guns which progressed to airsoft then paintball and eventually real guns. At the age of 15, I was collecting knives and lighters. At the time it felt like the right thing to do and I received positive reinforcement from my peers. My mom didn't like it but my dad dismissed her concerns by assuring her that it was just a typical boy phase. What many fail to understand is where the desire to feel powerful and destructive comes from. By raising boys one way and raising girls a completely different way we are creating an invisible wall between us. Those on one side are to primarily use and like blue, brown, red, black & green. Those on the other side are to primarily use and like the colors pink, yellow & purple. What is the basis for this system we have created? That which is normal is that which others do most often. The average. The expected.
Written by Nick
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