Natalie Bookchin and Jason Rohrer
In the video game Grand Theft Auto, extreme sexism is utilized. The main male character is able to have sex with a prostitute, beat her up and then take his money back from her. This situation of males dominating social life is just a small sample (from a top-selling product) of the ubiquitous sexism that exists in video games. Sexism and patriarchy have also been prevalent in literature throughout much of history. Natalie Bookchin cleverly explores this through her interactive Web project entitled The Intruder. In her project, the narrative of the 1966 short story The Intruders is told. This is a story about using and murdering women, and in the Web project it is told through a sequence of ten game-like vignettes. The piece is a critical commentary as sexism from the narrative of the short story is made obvious. This is exemplified in one of the vignettes, which is structured as a version of the game Pong. In Natalie’s version though, the ball is substituted by a silhouette of a woman wearing a skirt, which is bounced back and forth. Players of the game are put into the confrontational position of “hitting women around.” This sequence reflects how the two male characters in the 1966 short story used and shared a woman. Women were displayed as subordinate to men. By displaying her critique in the form of a video game, links to the sexism in video game culture are made as well. This seemingly innocent medium, with it’s attention-consuming characteristics, also illustrates how easily a sexist situation can be inserted in the content while a player is distracted by the action of the game.
Bookchin’s The Intruders critiques the sexist and patriarchal ideologies which lay under the surface of much of our culture. Grand Theft Auto exemplifies the epitome of these cultural products which Natalie Bookchin seeks to intervene.
It is unfortunate that sexism and patriarchy are dominate themes in video games, let alone mass media in our contemporary society. But individual’s such as Jason Rohrer show that alternatives do exist. Jason’s video game Cultivation is based on conflict over land and plant resources. This theme is refreshingly a little more relavent to society today.
