Game Studies Robert-Jan Schiphorst 3237370

Game Journalisms Male Gaze

Quite a bit has been written about how video games have a tendency to glorify masculinity and male gender roles, both within video game stories as within their presentation. A part of male prominence within video game culture that has yet to be fully explored is that of video game journalism. Game journalism is a field which is highly critiqued for its enthusiastic approach towards that which it covers and its dependency on good relations within the video game industry, which in turn raises obvious issues concerning conflicts of interest (Nieborg & Sihvonen 2009). However it seems that little has been written, or raised attention to, the dominant male perspective from which game journalism is presented. In this short essay two cases of masculine dominance within Dutch game journalism will be analyzed through Laura Mulvey's conceptualized "Male Gaze" in order to gain critical understanding of gendering practices within game journalism (Mulvey 1975).

The concept of the "male gaze" was introduced by Mulvey in the article "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" in 1975 to theorize the phallocentric perspective in popular (Hollywood) cinema (Mulvey 1975). Mulvey claimed that the male gaze positioned the man as the perspective from which the dominantly passive female was objectified, a claim easily enforced through a simple visual analysis of most Hollywood films. Primarily introduced for film studies, the concept of the male gaze can however also be implemented for other media studies and gender analyses of media objects. In this essay it will be used to examine two cases concerning game journalism in the Netherlands. Power Unlimited's E3 Coverage Every year in June the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is held in Los Angeles, this expo is regarded as one of the most important events within the game industry as the most important new game titles, or game consoles are introduced for the first time to the general public and the game press. It's important to note that E3 is rather notorious for using women as sexualized objects to put attention to the games that are shown on the expo, very similar to way most car shows feature women as eye candy as they pose next to the vehicles. At E3 these women are referred to as "boothbabes" as they try to lure passersby to enter the booth which they are promoting. It therefore becomes clear that not only video games themselves have tendency towards the male gaze but that the industry as a whole seems to embrace this perspective. The Dutch video game magazine and television show Power Unlimited / Gamekings do extensive coverage of E3 every year and focus on not only the games but also on the expo as a whole. The first case is a short video item uploaded to the Power Unlimited website, www.pu.nl, in which the different booths are compared to one another and a top 3 of the best booths of this year's E3 is compiled. When explaining the criteria for how the booths should be judged one of the presenters says: "[in Dutch](het tweede criterea:) booth babes, zijn ze er uberhaupt, zijn ze lekker, zijn ze [and what follows is a sound and gesture best described as motor boating]". A little later they describe what they liked at the booth that has become third in their top 3, immediatly addressing the booth babes: "(de booth babes) hebben leuke strakke hempjes, waarin alles goed naar voren komt, ze

hebben lekkere korte broekjes (...) ik word er gewoon een beetje 'wups' van". at the runnerup booth the focus again is put on the women: "er schijnt hier een hele lekkere booth babe rond te lopen, ik heb haar nog niet gezien (...) maar ze moet zo lekker zijn volgens Maarten, de jetsers kletsen nog door in je hoofd". At the booth which they proclaim as the winner their focus is again immediately put on the women, while the camera pans over a line of women, scantly clothed and with forced smiles, the presenter says: "de booth babes, er zijn iets van dertige, alle grote, maten en soorten" the other presenter eagerly jumps in to add: "lekker, ze zijn echt zo lekker". The way in which these women are shown, objectified and judged is such a striking example of what Mulvey describes as the split within "the pleasure in looking", the split being between the active/male and the passive/female. "In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness." (Mulvey 1975, 11) The way in which the women are discussed by the presenters seems not only due to the way that they objectify them themselves but also by the way in which these women are displayed. They are specifically placed there to be looked at and, one might even say, to be judged. Its seems that the people within the gaming industry tailor their marketing strategy towards the male dominated perspective, most game journalists unfortunately do not seem to mind and rather relish this sexualized approach. Continuing with the next case is another video item by Power Unlimited at E3 in which they do a short preview of the game Saints Row The Third. The item start with them entering a parking garage while driving a big black American SUV. The are there because the company behind Saints Row The Third, THQ, is promoting its game by giving out carwashes for game journalists. However, and not surprisingly, the cars are washed by scantily dressed women in bikini's. This is another case where it can be argued that the game journalists can't be held fully accountable for objectifying the women, as the women are obviously and explicitly put on display. It is however the way in which the two presenters talk about these women that is more that mildly offensive and certainly domineering. One of the presenters says: "Je kan je auto een dikke rimjob geven door allemaal lekkere wijven in verschrikkelijk strakke bikini broekjes". Moreover, it goes on showing the women as they wash the car and conveniently spill water over themselves while in the background music is being played that can best described as "melodic moaning". As both the presenters eventually start talking about the game it keeps cutting back to the women as they wash the car, jump up and down, and smile for the camera. Journalistic Responsibility For both cases it is important to note that the women that are shown never speak, they are merely shown. The passivity of the female seems thereby emphasized as only the men speak and pass judgment. But how should we assess what has been analyzed? It has been pointed out in the introduction that a lot has already been written about male dominance in video games. This short essay has shown that game journalism, or at least a part of game journalism, also emphasizes the male perspective. However, this is not solely through their own methodology or ideology because it seems largely fueled by the game industry itself. Nonetheless it is important to understand the influence game journalism has on the way in which games as a medium are perceived by the general public as David Nieborg points out in his article "Gamejournalistiek in Nederland" (Nieborg 2010). Should they therefore not reject the unequal gender roles placed before them by the industry, to

challenge it towards maturity and equality? Nieborg even emphasises this responsibility: "Het uitoefenen van het vak [journalism] brengt een zeker verantwoordelijkheid met zich mee. Met name naar lezers, luisteraars en kijkers toe." (Nieborg 2010, 212) The gaming press seems unaware or unwilling to take this somewhat inherent responsibility as it requires a more critical approach towards the game industry on which they are dependent. Moreover they seem unwilling to take responsibility as some apparently enjoy the masculine attitude powered by the industry as the cases discussed here have shown so explicitly. This attitude is of course not true for the entire game press, or even industry for that matter, but it seems to be dominant and even more troubling, it doesn't seem to go away. The co-dependence of game journalists and the game industry seems to halt the critical approach needed for change in not only the video games themselves but video game culture as a whole. It is therefore important that the increasing number of amateur game journalists, vocal through blogs and twitter, who are not as depended on the industry as their professional counterpart, take on the responsibility for a critical approach towards video game culture.

Literature Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Film Theory and Criticism : Introductory Readings. red. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York: Oxford UP, 1999: 833-44. Nieborg, David B. and Tanja Sihvonen. 2009. The New Gatekeepers? On the Occupational Ideology of Game Journalism. New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory. DiGRA. Brunel University, West London. http://www.gamespace.nl/content/NieborgSihvonen09_TheNewGatekeepers.pdf Nieborg, David B. 2010. Gamejournalistiek in Nederland. Professional Playground: Alles over Werken in de Game-industrie. Skylla Jansen and Micha van der Meer eds. Den Haag, Boom Uitgevers: 207233. Other Scources PU-TV - AFK: E3 2011: Saints Row: The Third http://www.pu.nl/pu-tv/E3_2011_Saints_Row_The_Third.aspx?id=252 PU-TV - AFK: Beste E3 stands 2011 http://www.pu.nl/pu-tv/Beste_E3_stands_2011.aspx?id=251