Deep thoughts on Fat Princess, part I
So I was scanning the headlines and what did I see? "Feminists cry foul over Fat Princess." (Article provided in its entirety below.)
You know I'm going to read something that begins with "Feminists cry foul," for I am immensely fond of feminists crying foul.
Interesting hook for the story, guiding people to think that feminists are the only people who would be, or should be, offended by its subject (what about fat princesses? what about fat activists? what about fat people? what about people who are terrified of becoming fat? what about thin people? what about polite people? men who ride scooters? People in general? Does Ben Silverman care about their delicate sensibilities? Harrumph). Must admit I admire skillful propaganda technique--kudos to you, B.S.
This article fascinates me.
It scares me too, for obvious reasons, which I'll articulate later for the uninitiated. But before I get my silky (Fat) (Princess) panties in a twist, I need to know so much more about the game that is the focus of this article.
Let's put on our deconstruction caps.
We'll work with the information we have through B.S.'s filter. (Sorry to foul up your formatting, B.S., but it's my journal and I'll bold if I want to.)
She's plump, powerful and ready to cause more controversy than "SuperSize Me."
Heh. Nothing wrong with those three attributes.
"...you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake..."
Which is the most alarming portion of this idea? There's a smorgasbord of options:
Locking her away?
Morphing into the Other?
Transforming the once-thin from their (sometimes) precariously maintained state?
Evoking one of the most pervasive nightmares our collective unconsciousness can concoct?
Force-feeding? (And--this is important--by whose hand?)
The taboo of plumpness, roundness, curved folds of flesh, in other words...FAT?
The forbidden and fetishy quality of cake (hmm...that does make me hungry)
The taboo of a woman so large, so heavy, so immensely present--that one's (male?) enemies cannot dislodge her?
O black hole of huge fatness!! O inexorable sucking pull of the vagina!! Better hold on tight, my tiny ones...you too will be assimilated back into Momma.
End Part I.
Feminists cry foul over Fat Princess
Does Sony's cartoony castle game cross the line?
By Ben Silverman
She's plump, powerful and ready to cause more controversy than "SuperSize Me."
She's Fat Princess, the star of Sony's upcoming video game of the same name. Debuting at last week's E3 expo, the colorful Fat Princess is a capture-the-flag game with a twist: you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake, thereby increasing her girth and making her harder for your enemies to haul back to home base.
According to popular gaming blog Joystiq, two feminist gaming sites have already voiced their displeasure with the weighty issue.
VIEW SCREENS
Feminist Gamer's "Mighty Ponygirl" rings in diplomatically, suggesting a new way to play the game altogether.
"Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest. The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry," she said, before adding, "Oh, but that's not as "cute" as cake and fat chicks. Right."
Over at Shakesville, however, writer Melissa McEwan cuts to the chase, telling Sony she's "positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative ***holes."
Sony has yet to issue an official response, although Joystiq did receive a particularly informative update from James Green, Fat Princess' lead art director, who clued gamers in on the origins of the game:
"Does it make it better or worse that the concept artist (who designed the look, characters, everything) is a girl?"
Hmmm...hope the game's detractors don't mind eating a bit of crow.
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You know I'm going to read something that begins with "Feminists cry foul," for I am immensely fond of feminists crying foul.
Interesting hook for the story, guiding people to think that feminists are the only people who would be, or should be, offended by its subject (what about fat princesses? what about fat activists? what about fat people? what about people who are terrified of becoming fat? what about thin people? what about polite people? men who ride scooters? People in general? Does Ben Silverman care about their delicate sensibilities? Harrumph). Must admit I admire skillful propaganda technique--kudos to you, B.S.
This article fascinates me.
It scares me too, for obvious reasons, which I'll articulate later for the uninitiated. But before I get my silky (Fat) (Princess) panties in a twist, I need to know so much more about the game that is the focus of this article.
Let's put on our deconstruction caps.
We'll work with the information we have through B.S.'s filter. (Sorry to foul up your formatting, B.S., but it's my journal and I'll bold if I want to.)
She's plump, powerful and ready to cause more controversy than "SuperSize Me."
Heh. Nothing wrong with those three attributes.
"...you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake..."
Which is the most alarming portion of this idea? There's a smorgasbord of options:
Locking her away?
Morphing into the Other?
Transforming the once-thin from their (sometimes) precariously maintained state?
Evoking one of the most pervasive nightmares our collective unconsciousness can concoct?
Force-feeding? (And--this is important--by whose hand?)
The taboo of plumpness, roundness, curved folds of flesh, in other words...FAT?
The forbidden and fetishy quality of cake (hmm...that does make me hungry)
The taboo of a woman so large, so heavy, so immensely present--that one's (male?) enemies cannot dislodge her?
O black hole of huge fatness!! O inexorable sucking pull of the vagina!! Better hold on tight, my tiny ones...you too will be assimilated back into Momma.
End Part I.
Feminists cry foul over Fat Princess
Does Sony's cartoony castle game cross the line?
By Ben Silverman
She's plump, powerful and ready to cause more controversy than "SuperSize Me."
She's Fat Princess, the star of Sony's upcoming video game of the same name. Debuting at last week's E3 expo, the colorful Fat Princess is a capture-the-flag game with a twist: you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake, thereby increasing her girth and making her harder for your enemies to haul back to home base.
According to popular gaming blog Joystiq, two feminist gaming sites have already voiced their displeasure with the weighty issue.
VIEW SCREENS
Feminist Gamer's "Mighty Ponygirl" rings in diplomatically, suggesting a new way to play the game altogether.
"Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest. The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry," she said, before adding, "Oh, but that's not as "cute" as cake and fat chicks. Right."
Over at Shakesville, however, writer Melissa McEwan cuts to the chase, telling Sony she's "positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative ***holes."
Sony has yet to issue an official response, although Joystiq did receive a particularly informative update from James Green, Fat Princess' lead art director, who clued gamers in on the origins of the game:
"Does it make it better or worse that the concept artist (who designed the look, characters, everything) is a girl?"
Hmmm...hope the game's detractors don't mind eating a bit of crow.
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