Mixing it up some more

[bellatrys]

I'm not the only one out here doing this now - here's kkglinka's redo spoofing a recent Catwoman cover, and I've seen a couple takes on the Tigra Beatdown* and a couple others, which even in rough form have (along with a grisly/implausible real Red Sonja cover which still doesn't come near the usual objectification/eroticization of violence against

Comments

[ext_59120]

I thought I'd posted about heavenly sword(s) but I guess I only commented on it. Anyway the thing that pisses me off the most about her, is that she falls into a whole bundle of cliches, yet still has potential, but it's not used.

Spoilory for the game:

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So she's the chosen child from some prophecy (hey I did write about this, but in relation to prophecies) that seems to have no real origin. And there's absolute shite to be had when she's born "A Worthless Girl'. Then her father changes his mind about killing her as a baby, but she grows up as her clan's scapegoat.

Then in the game she does all this shite, endures all this muck to fulfill the goal of her people. But fullfilling said goal is slowly killing her.

Then she has the bag guy in her clutches (serious bad dude - Andy Serkis in Bizzaro World) but she doesn't final move him. He gets to live, while she dies. And as she's fricking dying, she tells folk/her father that she doesn't believe she was every their reborn Heavenly Warrior anyway and that she was a failure.

My enthusiasm for 'Heroic Female Saves The World' went splat so hard it was like Barney sat on it.

Also, because it's a "martial arts drama in the guise of a game" , a movie that lets in on some of the action, it's filled with cut scenes and may actually have predetermination for said character, since reviewers have mention that a player's button pressing doesn't always relate to what the character does in a fight.

So misogyny bingo + cliches + cut scenes that take away the chance to enjoy making her fight -your- way + heroine that doesn't believe she's the special one and some man will come along who'll do the job better but who dies for it ANYWAY = HUGE. Ass. Fail. For. Me.

PS

[ext_59120]

If you go to the game's website. You'll see all I'm talking about in prequel animation episodes. Plus hear the behind the scenes vignettes where her body actor (and possibly also voice actress) is happy that she's a kick ass female in a skimpy costume.

Though truthfully she might just be happy that it's a female protagonist even if she's in a skimpy costume. But it still irked me.

http://www.heavenlysword.com/

oh wow. boooo/hisss

[bellatrys]

And yeah it could have been way cool, IFF they'd only let themselves think outside the gender role box beyond "chick w/a big fucking sword" - you can do all kinds of messing around with the prophecy tropes like we were talking about, you can subvert them and be self-referential to the cliches like the Evil Overlord LIst, but that's not it. It *would* be cool to have someone be supposed to be the Chosen One, only not - and end up doing it anyway. ("I chose *myself*" - how badass would that be, to have your Heroine say?) And why on earth would she let him go? if she's goddamn Samus with a sword, how come she doesn't get to kill the Final Boss? Oh right, girls can't be winners.

Grr, now I'm all angry too - it's really pathetic that a game like Tomb Raider is actually a *better* example of female power fantasy than this, what, ten years later? More than that now, I think--

*headdesk*

[nenya_kanadka]

Yargh. Way to hit all the Mary Sue fanfiction notes in your original story, guys! And of COURSE she has to die tragickally for the love of Legolas some random reason... Good grief.

Re: *headdesk*

[ext_59120]

Dude, you saying Mary Sue reminded me.

The game opens with her dying. And then all the stuff you do is basically relieving her memories as she tries to get back to the point where she dies. Then she dies, comes back, wins but doesn't kill the boss, then dies again (in a kind of acendy thing ala SG1).

Dude, it's in Wikipedia.