arkham sirens: representations of women in the arkhamverse (wrapup)
We’ve spent the last few weeks discussing the big name women in the Arkham universe and looked at both the positive, and the negative, of their portrayals from the feminist perspective of the author, as well as through the lens of a longtime, hardcore Batman fan.
We’ve seen women who are strong and competent, women whose bodies are used as visual ‘treats’ by the camera, and women who’ve run the gamut in between. Hopefully previous posts brought some new insight into not only how this particular franchise handles the female character therein, but how the medium of video games- and media at large- slides all around the scale of feminist representation.
It all comes down to one question: What constitutes a strong female character?
A consensus seems nearly impossible to come by. Is she physically strong, don’t-need-no-man, with the ability to destroy every enemy in her path? Is she mentally fit, always competent and her gender is irrelevant? Is she masculine or feminine? Can she be a wizard, a warrior or a villain? If she has a love interest does it automatically make her ‘weak’, or what of behaviors that are considered more traditionally ‘girly’? If she is rescued by a man does it negate her agency and worth? If she ties herself to the opposite gender is she a respectable character? Can she be sexy, and can the story (and camera) treat her as such?
When it comes down to it we can discuss the positive, and problematic, elements of women’s portrayal and come to different conclusions:
Poison Ivy: Assured, cold, alien being who is attractive to both genders and well-written and powerful or Heavily idealized version of a femme fatale whose dialogue is nothing but innuendo whose design is clearly for the targeted hetero male audience or A mixture of the two above; a powerful and confident woman- if she can even be considered a woman anymore- who is attractive and uses her sexuality as a weapon but also is a frequent target for male gaze camera shots that sometimes reduce her effectiveness as a villain?
Barbara Gordon: Intelligent, well-written and rounded person who is an example of overcoming crushing odds with resilience and understanding or a voice who serves no role until she finally gets a physical appearance where she is placed in peril almost immediately for the entire duration of the story thus undoing any good done with her previously or A character who was handled well and treated with respect, though her role in the final title could have been done better, but wasn’t that much of a detriment as it at least led to a few really good moments for her personal development.
Truth is often a blend of the two that depends on the character in question, though different people will have different priorities. At the very least we can all admit that the team tried to do well with it’s women, but most certainly hit a few bumps in the road along the way. The handling of the mook’s behavior of Catwoman between City and Knight is proof the team tried to fix mishandling as dictated by the gaming community.
How well they did is a matter of personal opinion, but no matter where your opinion falls it is an interesting- and indeed quite important- topic of discussion as we are in an age where feminist criticism, especially of our beloved video game medium, is met with vitriol, threats of violence and sexual aggression, and even actual violence or sexual aggression. Critics like Anita Sarkeesian are targeted frequently by people who simply…what? Disagree with them?
The fact that someone feels so threatened by the mere exchange of ideas about representation or media criticism (and criticism does not = hate/disdain) that they would need to treat someone so terribly shows how important a discussion this can be.
The fact that people feel strongly enough about the representation of someone, be it their gender/race/sexuality or another, also shows that the exchange of ideas is conversation worth having. If nothing else, it is a chance to use our minds and come to understand the thoughts and feelings of those different from us.
For those who have stuck with the Arkham Sirens posts thus far, I thank you. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. Feel free to send them out to anyone you think would enjoy being involved in the conversation, because it’s one that needs to happen, and will continue to go on in the future.
Overall, how would you say the women of the Arkham franchise were handled?
We’ve seen women who are strong and competent, women whose bodies are used as visual ‘treats’ by the camera, and women who’ve run the gamut in between. Hopefully previous posts brought some new insight into not only how this particular franchise handles the female character therein, but how the medium of video games- and media at large- slides all around the scale of feminist representation.
It all comes down to one question: What constitutes a strong female character?
A consensus seems nearly impossible to come by. Is she physically strong, don’t-need-no-man, with the ability to destroy every enemy in her path? Is she mentally fit, always competent and her gender is irrelevant? Is she masculine or feminine? Can she be a wizard, a warrior or a villain? If she has a love interest does it automatically make her ‘weak’, or what of behaviors that are considered more traditionally ‘girly’? If she is rescued by a man does it negate her agency and worth? If she ties herself to the opposite gender is she a respectable character? Can she be sexy, and can the story (and camera) treat her as such?
When it comes down to it we can discuss the positive, and problematic, elements of women’s portrayal and come to different conclusions:
Poison Ivy: Assured, cold, alien being who is attractive to both genders and well-written and powerful or Heavily idealized version of a femme fatale whose dialogue is nothing but innuendo whose design is clearly for the targeted hetero male audience or A mixture of the two above; a powerful and confident woman- if she can even be considered a woman anymore- who is attractive and uses her sexuality as a weapon but also is a frequent target for male gaze camera shots that sometimes reduce her effectiveness as a villain?
Barbara Gordon: Intelligent, well-written and rounded person who is an example of overcoming crushing odds with resilience and understanding or a voice who serves no role until she finally gets a physical appearance where she is placed in peril almost immediately for the entire duration of the story thus undoing any good done with her previously or A character who was handled well and treated with respect, though her role in the final title could have been done better, but wasn’t that much of a detriment as it at least led to a few really good moments for her personal development.
Truth is often a blend of the two that depends on the character in question, though different people will have different priorities. At the very least we can all admit that the team tried to do well with it’s women, but most certainly hit a few bumps in the road along the way. The handling of the mook’s behavior of Catwoman between City and Knight is proof the team tried to fix mishandling as dictated by the gaming community.
How well they did is a matter of personal opinion, but no matter where your opinion falls it is an interesting- and indeed quite important- topic of discussion as we are in an age where feminist criticism, especially of our beloved video game medium, is met with vitriol, threats of violence and sexual aggression, and even actual violence or sexual aggression. Critics like Anita Sarkeesian are targeted frequently by people who simply…what? Disagree with them?
The fact that someone feels so threatened by the mere exchange of ideas about representation or media criticism (and criticism does not = hate/disdain) that they would need to treat someone so terribly shows how important a discussion this can be.
The fact that people feel strongly enough about the representation of someone, be it their gender/race/sexuality or another, also shows that the exchange of ideas is conversation worth having. If nothing else, it is a chance to use our minds and come to understand the thoughts and feelings of those different from us.
For those who have stuck with the Arkham Sirens posts thus far, I thank you. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. Feel free to send them out to anyone you think would enjoy being involved in the conversation, because it’s one that needs to happen, and will continue to go on in the future.
Overall, how would you say the women of the Arkham franchise were handled?