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I selected to critically analyze the video game series called Uncharted because it incorporates this week’s reading and class discussion.
There is no shortage of male representation in the video game industry, the protagonist always being featured as a warrior, hero, thief, etc. In Of Men and Machines: Images of Masculinity in Boys’ Toys, Wendy states that masculine representation is centered around being heavily muscled, square-jawed, and armed to the teeth. These are but some of the features that are depict in Nathan Drake’s character. The male characters in Uncharted draw from the dominated narration of hyper-masculine tropes. He has an easy going style while paired with a gun holster that future exudes the stereotypical masculine ideal of strength, violence and Male representation in video games emphasizes the proximity that males have to technology and how technology has been approached from a gender perspective (Varney, p159). Young boys will continue to gravitate toward such video games when they see a role model that embodies their ideals. Meanwhile, young girls will only be discouraged because they are not represented in technology. Therefore, I feel that Uncharted is approaching this from an interesting standpoint by moving away from the typical female character. The main female lead throughout the series is Elena Fisher, in a way she is the “female version of Drake” rather then the “damsel in distress”. She is tough, confident, and smart, and does not need her male counterpart saving her; on a few occasions she is the one saving him from life threatening situations. They have also gone beyond having the female sidekick, which Elaina is, with Uncharted The Lost Legacy. Rather then having the typical male lead, they gave us two women of color that are able to handle themselves in the male dominated world of Uncharted. Yes they are women but they aren’t over-sexualized in appearance, rather than wearing impractical sexualized clothes they wear climate and situation appropriate outfits. Damsels in Discourse discuss how toys are used as a way of steering children into anticipated identities that are associated with their gender, and Uncharted is beginning to demonstrate this. They are treated as individuals with their own identities and nobody decides what they can or cannot do. It gives female gamers the chance to be represented and connect with the characters they are playing as. This is only the beginning when it comes to gradually broadening the roles for both genders, especially in Western societies (Varney, 153).
“The Three Pigs” is a different take on what everyone knows to be the story of the three little pigs. Here we have characters interacting with other fables, as well as characters that have the ability to defy their predetermined story. The pigs, the dragon and the cat show that they can go beyond the boundaries of what they know. These are character that we know only as having one story, however, David Wiesner gives them the opportunity to defy the original story that society has imposed on them. This postmodern version of a classic story demonstrates how pop culture can be used as a critical literacy because it is not just a reading of the world but also a re-writing (Morrell, p241). Just because you know the story does not mean you cannot change it. Who decides that that is the only version that should be told? Why not a different ending?
From this story readers are able to go beyond the simply understanding and decoding the text and images. This unique retelling requires that the reader alter their perspective and begs questions such as who’s in control of the story, and do the pigs get a say. In an uncommon way the audience begins to address social issues, missing voice/ perspectives that are rarely addressed in their society. A class discussion can center on who determines your story/identity. The students can think about who they are what they want to be, what does society expect from them, why do the expectations vary and so forth. From here they are able to understand the power relations in society, they are taught to critically participate in and use literacy to change dominant power structure and liberate those who have been oppressed (Morrell, p 241). Once students are able to recognize their own worth and who they want to be, will they be able to attack these power structures that guide society. The intention behind bring critical literacies into the curriculum is so that readers can be encouraged to take on an active role in analyzing different forms of literacies. “Educators can prepare curricula that simultaneously increase academic literacies while also reaching into the worlds of students, facilitating empowered identities among them, and making connections between their local practices and global concepts of education and social justice” (Morrell, p 235). Why not just take the pressure off of big topics such as social justice, power structure and identity by approaching it from a story? Through pop culture and different forms of literature students are able to bring in their prior knowledge, interests and voices, which will engage them in their learning. They stop being observers and transform in contributors. Stack and Kelley have demonstrated how media and society influence each other; media depicts society while society enacts what the media portrays. As educators we need to also reflect upon “the way media influences how adults come to understand children and youth” (p8). There is a mentality that it is only younger people need to be protected by the influence of media but that is not the case. What we interact with can have serious repercussions on how we treat others and ourselves. If we take media and pop culture as the foundation of the realities around us then the generation that follows will follow the same footsteps and nothing will change.
On a personal level, throughout my educational years math has always played a critical part in my life especially when I decided to pursue math. When I had decided to pursue my math studies in university there were those that were surprised and felt the need to say to me “are you sure” and “it won’t be easy”. But my male counterpart received positive reinforcement, such as “you’ll do great”. If I did not have a strong sense of who I am and what I want, I could have taken my studies in a different direction. The reality is that men outnumber women in STEM fields and 2 reasons for this could be that society has considered STEM careers to be “unfeminine” and that females feel that they lack confidence in their ability, no matter how capable they may be. As well there is an unconscious bias amongst our society that math and science are “male” fields while the humanities are more suitable for “females”. It is these stereotypes that prevent young girls from pursuing math and science. It comes down to there being a lack of female role models in these fields and media has reinforced this representation. It has been discussed that media and pop culture play a powerful role when it comes to female empowerment. With respect to my example there needs to be more visibility when it comes women accomplishing and pursuing STEM studies/ careers. As well, we need to move away from the stereotype that a girl can only pursue STEM careers if she was a geeky girl. We must face and change these misrepresentations is to urge the creation of counter narratives. This is noticeable in shows such as Felicity Smoak from Arrow, Raven from The 100, and Amy from Big Bang Theory, all of which are strong, intelligent, feminine, respectable and relatable. Such female characters will help challenge gender stereotypes by normalizing women in scientific and technical fields. Only when “marginalized groups invent and circulate oppositional interpretations of their needs and interests, in strategic resistance to the power if dominant groups and institution whose ideologies are accepted as common sense in wider public spheres” (p10). 1. Stack, M., & Kelley, D.M. (2006). Popular media, education, and resistance. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(1), 5-26. Critical EssayThe autonomous model views reading and writing as neutral processes that focuses on creating a literate society, it believes that there is a universal set of skill that needs to be taught with regards to decoding and encoding print texts (p.6). It states that there is one way of doing things and that this is the only way it should be done. But that goes against everything that is happening in the world. Thus we have to begin with altering the way we define literacy. With the developments in digital technology we are no longer literate in just print text but also “visual, oral, gestural, linguistic, musical, kinesthetic and digital” (p.6).
Alverman states that the theory at the center of New Literacy Studies is the “social semiotic theory of multimodality which attempts to explain how people recruit various resources (or signs) to represent ideas they wish to communicate through a variety of modes across a range of media” (pg6-7). Essentially, it is about providing opportunities where people can communicate with each other in a form that is comfortable to them. Therefore, New Literacy Studies is about promoting numerous forms of literacy that help up us navigate and communicate with others and the world. There is no longer one way but countless ways of interacting with what is around you. What has educational value? This is always on the mind of educators. It is not surprising that print-based text have been deemed as having a greater transfer value (greater educational worth) than nonprint texts (p. 14). For example, the Ontario Literacy Test solely determines whether students can convey their arguments and ideas via reading and writing only. However, we could find value from popular culture when working with students in the classroom. We need to acknowledge the interest of our students and incorporate. It provides them with the chance to connect with what they are learning. But it is not just about showing a movie or creating a remix assignment. There needs to be more. Take the time in class to discuss the various forms of texts that they are surrounded by. When assigning a remix assignment discuss with students to examine sources, what the underlining meaning is, copyright and so forth. Thus allowing remix practices to have educational worth because when they go out in the world they will be ready to be curious, ask question and support their position. NLS gives students with different learning styles the opportunity to succeed in and outside the classroom. It allows for student voice to be integrated into the classroom in a form that is not foreign or uncomfortable to them. One could say that by integrating NLS into the classroom we are able to demonstrate to our students that literacy is constantly changing and evolving. That through linguistic diversity we are able to embrace multimodal forms of expression and representation, and learn from each other. If it is our responsibility to provide our students with the tools to interact with the world then I see no reason why should not bring the outside world into the classroom. |
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