Posts on Current Forum | Archived Posts
|
|
|
||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
| Frequently Asked Forum Questions | |
|||
|
||||
|
|
|||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| Search Older Posts on This Forum: Posts on Current Forum | Archived Posts | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| Re: I don't really have any more to say except... | |
| Posted By: Brian Graham <bcgraham@gmail.com> | Date: 1/12/07 3:12 p.m. |
In Response To: Re: I don't really have any more to say except... (Cody Miller) : I don't think I'm ignoring everythign else Maranda has done, in fact, I think : the fact that she was such a strong woman only to end up being held : captive by Tartarus is particularly telling. usually, a man who is : descisive, confident etc will be praised, while a woman doing the same : thing will be scolded (such as being called a bitch). : My question of "why wouldn't sarge be the one captive, and Miranda the
: Why then are we not similarly outraged when Miranda is held helpless? She
: As for the marines held captive in Halo 1 and 2, their enprisonment is not
I think you're right but for the wrong reasons. Sarge is supposed to be a badass, but he's supposed to be a fun, comical badass. (This is in contrast to other "badass" characters who are not supposed to be light, comical characters, such as the Spec-Ops Commander, the Arbiter, and the Chief.) Miranda is supposed to be a dramatic character. Mixing these can create narrative chaos. Exposing the character of Sarge to real tragedy or drama might lead to too much character analysis and remove the fun aspects of him. (For example, Sarge might be seen as a tragic character using comedy as a coping mechanism if we pitied him.) Miranda's character, on the other hand, has been set up to be dramatically analyzed and opens the game with tragedy (receiving a medal on behalf of her war-hero father). Characters like Miranda are required — there must be a character in 'serious' danger if the Chief is being painted as a 'serious' hero. With no one to save, the Chief can't be a savior. But if we're saving characters who are making jokes and not being serious, it breaks immersion. That being said, the Sarge is a fully developed character. I know there are counterexamples to what I've established here ("People need heroes, Chief," speech, among others). But Sarge is mostly handled in a light, fun way, associated with gameplay; Miranda is handled in a heavy, serious way, associated with narrative and drama. My take on Sarge is different than yours in general, as I've illustrated. My characterization would differ from your, "Sarge is in charge, badass, cool, calm, and a cigar smoking fighting machine," to "Sarge is in charge, badass, exciteable, cigar-smoking hating machine."
| |
|
| Replies: |
The HBO Forum Archive is maintained with WebBBS 4.33. |