#Blog 8

[cafeyote]

me and gang at the haunted house

[digimediasourcesandsignificance]

Blog 8: Diversity, Inclusion, and Gender: Women in Gaming

As the previously video games have looked up for the depictions of the women which marginalize and the reductively which represent them, like the “damsel in distress” or the oversexed heroines. As earlier, the Tomb Raider implications have illustrated the trends exactly, with the Lara Croft not just only serving as the iconic adventure but as the male gaze as well as. But, of course, these days the game has evolved to portray the women as the more layered and complex, and The Last of Us Part II is a great example. The main character, Ellie, is portrayed as an incredibly complicated, very human, flawed, complex person caught, mired in themes of love, grief, and revenge. She makes the experience of the player more than gender so players can relate to her humanity and struggles (Haraway, 1988; Butler, 1999).

This aligns with feminist media theory that constructs media depictions of women since it is dominated by patriarchy, criticizes these traditional portrayals of women, and demands for the broadcast of markets of representations that are reflective of real-world diversity. Which is what The Last of Us Part II does: not just Ellie but other strong female characters like Dina and Abby. A remarkable and defiant breaking of stereotypes — emotional vulnerability, physical strength, and agency — are highlighted in these women. This also resonates with Mulvey's (1975) concept of the "male gaze," emphasizing how these characters subvert objectification by demonstrating their autonomy and narrative significance.

These depictions also go beyond representation and are part of those larger cultural discourses that normalize in the gaming world the presence of their strong, multifaceted women. Still, the game's reception shines a light on longstanding tensions surrounding deep-rooted prejudices flowing through the gaming community that many people within the audience don't feel comfortable with the game's progressive renders. But The Last of Us Part II and games like it begin to pull this work forward by allowing equitable storytelling to happen — telling space for authentic representation of diverse gender identities and experiences (Gill, 2007)

Conclusion:

Having said that, this analysis which demonstrates the ability of media to recompose gender narratives is particularly useful and relevant. From my analysis of The Last of Us Part II, I have seen how multilayered and realistic depictions of women can move beyond caricatures and allow for more profound emotional engagement with audiences. Learning feminist theories i.e. Haraway, Butler and Mulvey, how media constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed gendered representations have helped deepen my understanding of gender representations and its representation in media during media studies. This reflective assessment underlines the necessity to challenge cultural narratives and probe interconnections with socio-political contexts that dictate the media representations. This is the part where I get to take this new understanding and apply it somehow. I can apply these learnings by having a more critical lens when it comes to the creating and understanding of media artefacts, and to ensure that stories I am consuming or telling are inclusive, or are at least good faith attempts to be inclusive. Furthermore, knowing how progressive storytelling elicits resistance and growth in audiences gives me the tools necessary to engage in and meaningfully shape cultural dialogues. I use this knowledge to fight for equality— representation in media as a practice for real and important storytelling.

References:

Butler, J. (1999) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. 2nd edn. New York: Routledge.

Gill, R. (2007) Gender and the Media. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Haraway, D. (1988) ‘Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective’, Feminist Studies, 14(3), pp. 575–599.

Mulvey, L. (1975) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, Screen, 16(3), pp. 6–18.

[do-you-know-this-queer-character]

Do you know this queer character?

Castiel is Queer and Agender or Genderfluid, and uses varying pronouns based on presentation!

[newttxt]

this was my outfit for the @punk-captain-art-collab, so what was i going to do? NOT draw all three of them? ☺️

[gimmick-blog-bracket]

Round 8: The Final Round

(Poll 1 of 1)

@dear-ao3

“not really a gimmick blog so it'd be extra funny if they win”

@theshitpostcalligrapher

“an OG tumblr cryptid ”

[myxozoan]

ok gumby

[hellsitegenetics]

When I followed you earlier today and then realized this blog wasn't even two days old it made me feel like I invested in a startup.

Do you think if you did the lyrics for Fireflies by Owl City, your database would give us fireflies? (Will also accept owls. And there's a line about sheep too).

String identified:

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Closest match: Sepia lycidas genome assembly, chromosome: 36 Common name: Kisslip cuttlefish

[alooxis]

the PARALLELS!!!!!

[anshudma]

Blog 8: Phlappy Bat

Phlappy Bat is the second version of the original game Phlappy Turtle. Inherited from Cameron’s previous group, we took the opportunity to update the game for our final project. The game starts off with a flying bat in a cave, and it is the player's job to help the bat move through the different obstacles present throughout the cave. The main mechanic used in Phlappy Bat is flying with the spacebar and movement with arrow keys or wasd. The obstacles vary between crystals, and moving between platforms to land on. In the current game, we have three different levels. The game starts off with a tutorial teaching the player how to play, and has two levels of varying difficulty. When playtesting we discovered that players struggled with navigating where to go after the tutorial. In order to fix this, we currently have new features implemented in the game. We have an updated tutorial screen, new music, a health system, new menus and new assets. The tutorial and menu screens help lead players through the cave. The health system helps players have more of a chance to get through the obstacles. The new music is spookier than our last update which was more playful. For assets we have different colored caves for the backgrounds, ghost enemies, more obstacles, and start and end screens. We hope to include a few more updates before we release a final game. Together, once updated completely, Phlappy Bat will be a complete game bringing together all our team's efforts in programming and asset creating.

[chuckwon]

streets are saying that Misha stood on a convention stage today and said "If the CW hadn’t been so homophobic, Dean and Cas would’ve been balls deep for sure.”

now I know Misha’s said many noteworthy and occasionally unhinged things on stages in his time and he phrased this in the most chaotic manner possible

but I'm just here to say that I think what's noteworthy here is him explicitly calling The CW — the network itself — the homophobic obstacle to destiel

it IS a Big Deal because overall the censorship really just isn’t talked about, as we all know

but finally, there it is

[friendsimulator]

"Why did you blaze this"

For the bit??? Let me live

[kingzombear]

Ragapom week is over but I still liked the Day 4: Picnic sketch I did so I finished it 😔✌️

She's laying it on pretty thick, Pomni 💘

[loolilyumm]

I’m alive and here is my proof

[novy2sirius]

LIFE PATH PURPOSES © novy2sirius

· HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR LIFE PATH NUMBER

· LIFE PATH 2 EXPLANATION

ᯓ life path 1: to be a leader, to work hard for things you want in life, to become your most confident self (not egotistical though), to create new things, to be independent, to be aggressive (not a bully but you have to be the first to stand up for something, say something, or do something often)

ᯓ life path 3: to find a creative outlet and communicate an important message to the world, to write, to make people laugh, to be social and use your charm to improve your life by making connections

ᯓ life path 4: to work really hard and become financially stable, to have a good routine and be disciplined, to be the best worker in their workplace, to be stubborn in order to get the things they want

ᯓ life path 5: to travel a lot, to improve physical health, to learn how to constantly change for the better, to embrace your freedoms, to use your social skills/charm to receive opportunities, to use your beauty to receive opportunities, to take risks, to control your lustful desires

ᯓ life path 6: to have a family, to be a loyal friend and family member, to be loving toward others, to be responsible, to nurture others to the best of your ability, to live a simple life and fall in love with the simple things, to get married

ᯓ life path 7: to teach others, to becoming more spiritually intelligent with age, to learn to embrace how independent you are, to pay attention to your intuition, simply to continuously learn and gain knowledge, to make an impact on the technological world

ᯓ life path 8: to be able to live a righteous life while being in a position of power, to avoid creating negative karma for yourself, to bounce back from hard times, to be a leader, to be materialistic (but not cocky about wealth)

ᯓ life path 9: to break any toxic cycles that were learned in your childhood, to become a powerful manifestor, to surround yourself with positive and successful people since you easily adapt to your surroundings, to use your emotions to create art, to perform

ᯓ life path 11: to pay close attention to your intuition, to control your emotional energy, to use your charisma to get farther in life, to find love

ᯓ life path 22: to share your wisdom with the world, to achieve lots of things, to manifest your dream life, to be a leader, to be your most confident self

ᯓ life path 33: to influence and teach others, to change negative public opinions, to become more spiritually evolved, to be family oriented/have a family, to learn how to handle your high vibration

[botanicalsword]

Relationship ✧ Why Is It Difficult for You to Fall in Love?

You find it difficult to fall in love often grapple with the challenge of being vulnerable. 

You are unable to engage in relationships that do not resonate with their authentic feelings - This inability to connect on a deeper level means that you cannot settle for mere companionship; they seek a a meaningful / emotional connection

✧

Moon in the 1st House - Their existence is deeply rooted in their inner feelings - find it impossible to engage in relationships that don’t resonate with their true feelings / They cannot be with someone they don’t genuinely love

Moon in the 5th House - They are perpetually in search of the thrill and essence of romance - Difficulty in Opening Up Emotionally / struggle to engage in relationships that don’t align with their true emotions

Moon in the 7th House - They tend to invest themselves wholeheartedly in a relationship or marriage - often losing sight of their own identity - finding a partner who truly understands them is essential; otherwise, their kindness may be misplaced / they need a passionate and exhilarating connection that make them hesitant to settle down - as they fear that a stable relationship might lack the spark they so desperately desire / the constant search for the next great love story can leave them feeling unfulfilled 

Strong Sun and Mars energy - represent the qualities they admire in partners 

Strong Sun and Mars energy - High Standards / have high expectations / a heightened set of criteria for their potential partners

Empty 5th / 7th house - fewer opportunities for love and romance

Saturn in 5th / 7th House - a lack of romantic opportunities - making it challenging to establish a stable, lasting relationship

5th / 7th house ruler - Saturn - Limiting romantic encounters / possibilities 

Capricorn / Aquarius in 5th / 7th house 

5th / 7th house ruler / ruling planet conjunct Saturn

Venus-Saturn ( conjunction / opposition / square ) - suppression by Saturn / fewer romantic encounters

Neptune in 5th / 7th House - setbacks with unsuitable partners 

Pluto in 5th / 7th House - setbacks with unsuitable partners 

7th House Ruler in 10th House - strong desire for powerful partners - making it difficult for them to find anyone who meets their standards / they often feel that those they encounter fall far short of their expectations

7th House ruler in 12th House - hidden affair / elusive matters 

✧

>> Relationship ✧ What is the long-term focus in this connection ✧ Composite Chart vs Davison Chart

>> Relationship • Observations on Marks chart

✧ >> Back to Masterlist ✧ Explicit Content

Quick Access to : ❥ Astro / Asteroid Indicators ❥ Synastry / Composite Chart Observations ❥ House Stellium Observations ❥ Astro basic info / Brief reads ❥ Asteroid database ❥ Personal studies ✧ spiritual journal

Exclusive access : Patreon

/ instagram : @le.sinex / @botanicalsword

[starrazors]

challenge yourself in this experience that’s designed to be replayed over and over and over and over and over and over and