[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.25,0:00:27.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Movement can be a powerful thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.67,0:00:29.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of us who play games can appreciate
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.67,0:00:32.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the importance of a well-timed jump in a platformer,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.10,0:00:34.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a skillful dodge in a fighting game,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.03,0:00:36.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but sometimes it’s the seemingly ordinary movements
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.67,0:00:38.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that actually tell us the most about a character.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.80,0:00:41.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The way they do simple things like walk, or sit down.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.58,0:00:43.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And like anything else about a character,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.67,0:00:46.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,movement can be used in ways that resist tired gender stereotypes,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.44,0:00:48.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or in ways that reinforce them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.86,0:00:51.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Bungie’s hugely successful online shooter Destiny,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.96,0:00:53.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,players start by creating their own character,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.75,0:00:57.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a Guardian who will fight to protect the last remnants of humanity.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.14,0:00:59.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As with character creation tools in other games,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.49,0:01:03.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this one lets you choose from different genders and races.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.03,0:01:06.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In most ways, Destiny treats its playable female characters
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.20,0:01:08.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,almost identically to how it treats its male characters;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.65,0:01:10.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for instance, the armor you acquire
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.17,0:01:12.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when playing as a female character isn’t sexualized,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.47,0:01:14.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but looks just as practical and stylish
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.74,0:01:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the gear equipped by male characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.12,0:01:20.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, there is one way in which the male and female characters
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.80,0:01:22.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are differentiated by gender,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.44,0:01:23.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it has to do with their movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.98,0:01:26.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Watch how a male guardian sits down,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.38,0:01:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,taking a load off after a long, hard day
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.36,0:01:29.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fighting the forces of pure evil.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.87,0:01:32.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s simple. It suggests confidence.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.58,0:01:34.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When a female character sits down, however,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.91,0:01:36.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it’s a completely different story.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.42,0:01:38.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She sits like a delicate flower. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.26,0:01:40.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is supposed to be a hardened space warrior
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.90,0:01:43.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet she is sitting around like she’s Ariel
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.09,0:01:44.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from The Little Mermaid.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.54,0:01:47.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A character’s animation and movement is just as much a part
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.07,0:01:49.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of who they are as their appearance and their clothing.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.36,0:01:51.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And like any other aspect of a character,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.14,0:01:52.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,game designers use movement
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.96,0:01:55.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to communicate information about them to the player.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.24,0:01:57.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This isn’t inherently a bad thing;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.04,0:01:59.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,expressive character animations are just a way for the game
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.93,0:02:02.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to contribute to our understanding of who a character is
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.09,0:02:03.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what defines them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.54,0:02:05.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How a character walks, jumps,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.21,0:02:07.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even how they sit down can tell us a lot about them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.47,0:02:11.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For instance, Ree-u Hayabusa’s precise and graceful movement
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.10,0:02:13.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,conveys that he is a highly trained ninja,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.48,0:02:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while the way Nathan Drake scrambles and fumbles
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.92,0:02:18.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in dangerous situations is meant to suggest
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.94,0:02:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he’s more of a relatable, ordinary guy
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.00,0:02:24.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who just keeps finding himself in extraordinary circumstances. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.45,0:02:28.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nathan: "[Laughing] We were almost in that!"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.61,0:02:30.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By contrast, the way that women move in games
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.67,0:02:33.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,isn’t just used to suggest their confidence or their skill
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.23,0:02:34.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or some other facet of their personality.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.78,0:02:38.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s very often used, in conjunction with other aspects of their design,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.43,0:02:40.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make them exude sexuality
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.22,0:02:42.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the entertainment of the presumed straight male player.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.09,0:02:46.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Catwoman from the Arkham series
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.21,0:02:49.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has a deeply exaggerated hip sway when she walks.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.18,0:02:52.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In combination with her clothing and the game’s camera angles,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.03,0:02:53.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of this is meant to drive
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.68,0:02:55.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the player’s focus to her highly sexualized butt.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.66,0:02:59.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Resident Evil: Revelations, Jill Valentine
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.36,0:03:01.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,somehow manages to wiggle her whole body while she runs.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.90,0:03:05.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Evie Frye is a character
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.68,0:03:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who avoids falling into many of the sexualizing traps
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.40,0:03:10.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that some playable female characters do.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.34,0:03:13.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But she still walks with an exaggerated hip sway. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.74,0:03:14.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Saints Row the Third,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.95,0:03:16.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can change your character’s gender at any time.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.98,0:03:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you go to the clinic and swap your gender from male to female,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.00,0:03:23.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you also come away with a newly sexualized walking animation,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.19,0:03:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though you’re literally supposed to be the same character.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.36,0:03:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Male heroes are allowed to simply walk like normal human beings,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.60,0:03:33.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in ways that are “average” or strong or graceful or goofy. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.31,0:03:38.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meanwhile, motion-captured animations for female characters
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.33,0:03:40.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often make them look as if they’re walking down a runway
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.60,0:03:42.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at a fashion show in stiletto heels,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.28,0:03:48.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even when the characters are actually in combat situations. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.40,0:03:52.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Watching these characters in-game movement animations,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.93,0:03:55.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you’d think that the director of the motion capture session
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.36,0:03:56.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,directed them to walk like a model
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.99,0:03:59.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,instead of a hardened space warrior or master thief
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.94,0:04:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or bioterrorism agent or crime boss or vampire or assassin.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.22,0:04:06.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, in the real world, people do walk
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.12,0:04:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a sway of the hips when wearing high heels.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.32,0:04:10.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we want to get really technical about it,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.28,0:04:13.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this slight hip sway occurs in order to maintain balance.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.06,0:04:15.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This in and of itself is not a problem,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.34,0:04:17.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(other than generally being deeply uncomfortable),
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.70,0:04:19.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it raises an important question:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.58,0:04:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why are these female characters in combat roles wearing high heels!?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.86,0:04:25.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With all the fighting, running, and climbing these women have to do,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.93,0:04:28.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dressing them in heels is clearly a decision
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.02,0:04:31.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rooted in sexualized aesthetic pleasure rather than believability. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.87,0:04:34.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, animating so many female characters in games
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.82,0:04:37.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to fit into this very gendered, sexualizing walk pattern
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.52,0:04:39.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is an example of one of the ways
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.37,0:04:41.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the male gaze manifests in video games. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.42,0:04:44.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The term male gaze was coined in 1975
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.01,0:04:46.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by feminist film critic Laura Mulvey
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.01,0:04:48.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and refers to the tendency for the visual arts to assume,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.29,0:04:51.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and be structured around, a presumed masculine viewer,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.64,0:04:52.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or in this case, player.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.68,0:04:54.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The male gaze manifests when the camera
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.74,0:04:55.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,takes on the perspective of
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.79,0:04:58.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a stereotypical heterosexual man.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.63,0:05:00.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,An indisputable example of this is when the camera
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.65,0:05:03.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lingers, caresses, or pans across a woman’s body--
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.35,0:05:06.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,although it’s not always that obvious.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.25,0:05:08.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In games, it can be as simple as the in-game camera
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.37,0:05:11.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,resting so that a character’s butt or breasts or both are centerline,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.75,0:05:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it can be cutscenes that rest on a woman’s butt,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.90,0:05:21.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it can be clothing that they are wearing or the way they talk,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.50,0:05:23.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or it can be as basic as the way
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.30,0:05:25.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a female character moves around the game world. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.71,0:05:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The male gaze reinforces the notion that the man looks,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.36,0:05:29.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the woman is looked at.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.64,0:05:31.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or as art critic John Berger explains
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.57,0:05:34.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the 1972 book Ways of Seeing,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.30,0:05:37.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“men act and women appear. Men look at women.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.58,0:05:39.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Women watch themselves being looked at.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.14,0:05:42.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This determines not only most relations between men and women
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.47,0:05:45.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also the relation of women to themselves.”\N
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.04,0:05:48.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To be clear, the male gaze is not a hard and fast rule;
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.11,0:05:49.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it’s a theoretical concept that is meant
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.99,0:05:51.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help us understand the sometimes subtle
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.74,0:05:54.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and nuanced ways in which our culture influences media,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.35,0:05:57.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the way that media, in turn, can shape and reinforce
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.39,0:05:59.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,existing gender dynamics in our culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.43,0:06:01.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The male gaze is also not in any way limited
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.48,0:06:03.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to men or heterosexual people.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.20,0:06:05.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Almost all of us internalize
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.42,0:06:08.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sometimes identify with the male gaze to some extent.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.12,0:06:10.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eradicating the male gaze is not as simple as
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.38,0:06:13.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,introducing an inversed female gaze that sexualizes men, either.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.41,0:06:16.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not just because equal opportunity sexual objectification
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.62,0:06:19.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,isn't the answer, but also, because it isn’t actually equal.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.38,0:06:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One reinforces preexisting oppressive ideas about women
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.24,0:06:26.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are real and damaging to women in their everyday lives,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.24,0:06:27.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the other does not reinforce anything. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.76,0:06:29.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nor are the two interchangeable.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.69,0:06:33.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, when the satirical website The Hawkeye Initiative
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.14,0:06:35.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reimagines male characters in sexualized poses
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.59,0:06:37.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are common for female characters,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.38,0:06:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it isn't using the “female gaze.”
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.20,0:06:41.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is just the male gaze, applied to men.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.61,0:06:45.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When male characters are depicted as shirtless or wearing little clothing-
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.25,0:06:48.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the character sometimes dubbed "Hot Ryu" from Street Fighter V-
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.34,0:06:50.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their lack of clothing demonstrates their power and strength,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.89,0:06:53.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather than depicting them as erotic playthings
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.57,0:06:56.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or reducing them to sexualized body parts. \N
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.97,0:06:58.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The same is true when it comes to movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.68,0:07:01.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Male characters get to move in ways that emphasize
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.09,0:07:03.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all sorts of characteristics and personality traits,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.78,0:07:06.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there’s a whole world of untapped potential
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.01,0:07:07.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for representations of female characters
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.82,0:07:10.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who aren’t animated in ways that frame them as sex objects,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.60,0:07:13.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but who get to just be stealthy or strong,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.03,0:07:15.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,swift or imposing, clumsy or graceful.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.81,0:07:17.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The way Ellie moves in The Last of Us
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.38,0:07:19.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,communicates a sense of tension and danger,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.87,0:07:22.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,demonstrating what it’s like when female characters
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.22,0:07:24.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are animated in ways that emphasize their personality
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.51,0:07:27.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and emotional state rather than serving to sexually objectify them.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.88,0:07:30.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The path towards equality and liberation
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.74,0:07:34.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,does not lie in equally reducing men and women to objectified parts, \N
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.34,0:07:37.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in treating people of all genders and with all types of bodies
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.77,0:07:40.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as full and complete human beings.\N