BA3 - Contextual studies

For contextual studies we have to work in groups and present a 10 minute presentation to do with a topic looking at Eastern and Western games.  I am working with David, Aubry and Adam and together we are looking at stereotypes and racism in characters characterization and personas in Eastern and Western games (this is a working title!).  The points we want to cover are looking at stereotypical men and women from the west, stereotypical men and women from the east, looking at how westerners are portrayed in western and eastern games, how easterners are portrayed in western and eastern games, looking into that culture to see why they are portrayed in certain ways and to see if common stereotypical traits in westerners and easterners are found in games and what the public think of westerners and easterners.

We are going to look more specifically at Americans and the Japanese as looking at all westerners and easterners is far too large and general and there are many stereotypes for every race, country and culture.

When looking into games for how characters are portrayed, we need to keep in mind if the games are being released internationally or to only one or several selected countries as, depending on the audience the characters could appear different/not as strong stereotypes in order for the game to sell well.

The topic i am covering is looking at Stereotypical eastern males and females and to look into why they are portrayed the way they are by looking at their culture and finding examples in games.

For some eastern made games that display stereotypical eastern qualities i am going to look at soul caliber, Catherine, and Final Fantasy.

the Final Fantasy series is interesting, as the games do have western looking characters and some western characterization/personas e.g. Final Fantasy 7's Cloud, but others display very eastern qualities e.g. Final Fantasy 13's Snow.


Some stereotypical western qualities are :

• Dumb blonde tan girls that love to go shopping
• Drink a lot
• like wrestling and Nascar

Some stereotypical eastern qualities are:

• quiet glass wearing geniuses
• all good at maths
• can dance or do martial arts
• parents are insanely strict
• eat cats/dogs
• the women are submissive
• they have cool hair

Information from:
http://www.slantedmagazine.com/geek/are-you-a-stereotypical-asian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDjgfWAL5UQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Y9oALKb88
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJTFCQkiqhw


For the cultural aspect as to what brought about/stimulates the stereotype views i have decided to look at anime/manga as that is a major and influential part of their culture and there are many games hevily influenced by the anime/manga art style and character development. I have also decided to look at the eastern film Enter The Dragon and the western film The Fast and Furious : Tokyo Drift. Even though Enter the Dragon was a Chinese film and not Japanese, it is still a highly influential film and supports the western view of easterners being able to do martial arts.  It also hosts western characters and how easterners portray western men and women.  For The Fast and Furious  : Tokyo Drift it is heavily based in the east and it shows a westerners views to how easterners act and behave.

I have also been looking into Japans history and how that has framed their culture today.  Gender inequality changed over time.  In the twelfth century women could inherit and manage their own property in their name.  But later on equality had declined and only in 1986 the Equal Employment Opportunity Law came for women to have equal job opportunities.

The term "good wife, wise mother" is a term that many women followed in their daily lifes and still do as they are expected to be stay at home mothers looking after the house by doing chores and going on to managed the houses budget, the families life style, education, careers and thus were blamed for the families problems.

This could explain why women are portrayed as both submissive and feminist characters; they are expected to be stay at home mothers looking after the children and seeking enjoyment and fulfillment from looking after the house (submissive) but also have independence and responsibility as to how the children should be brought up, the household budget and the families life style (feminist).  A more feminist character would also seem appealing as they would seem strong and independent, different from what society expects from young women.

Source:
http://www.gojapango.com/culture/japanese_women.html


Looking at games made by the east to look western i have decided to look at Silent Hill 2, and Metal Wolf Chaos.  Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror game created to be released internationally and is loved by both easterners and westerners alike. Metal Wolf Chaos on the other hand was made only to be released in the east and for westerners makes no sense what so ever with how the characters act and how they are portraid.

Take a look for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEIi3X9NCMU

The game is based in America and you play the American President with a mission to restore freedom to America as the evil vice president took over America and took away the peoples freedom. Only your PA and massive Mech suit are able to save the day.

Even though this is based in America with Western characters, it is still very eastern with the characterisation of the characters (especially the villan) and shows how the easterners perceive Americans.