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Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2
Posted By: Leisandir <joecooperstein@hotmail.com>Date: 11/8/11 10:39 p.m.

In Response To: Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2 (Dragonclaws)


: While Halo is technically rated M, it’s aimed at a younger audience and
: arguably video games face tougher restrictions than movies, which pushes
: sexuality down to implication. Human Weakness does describe the Gravemind
: as “all tendrils and dark cavities”, which has a certain sexual sound to
: it. We know the Flood is based on the Xenomorph in its basic parasitic
: biology, so it follows that the Gravemind might also be an embodiment of
: rape.

The Xenomorph is "an embodiment of rape" because of its visual rendering and method of reproduction. It forcibly impregnates the victim, then consumes it from the inside. The Flood, on the other hand, is a zombie virus. It works exactly like the modern concept of the zombie: once infected, an individual loses control and becomes a vector. I have never seen Left4Dead described as a rape analogue, and I don't think I ever will, because it isn't.

: While the Gravemind has generally been considered an ‘it’ in terms of
: pronouns, in Human Weakness Cortana corrects that initial assumption and
: asserts the masculine ‘he’. Despite being a hive mind, the Gravemind has a
: masculine identity. So, the Gravemind is a masculine entity composed of
: phallic tentacles violating the being of a feminine entity. You see what
: I’m getting at, here?

: Additionally, Cortana makes repeated references to rejecting the Gravemind’s
: devil-like temptation as if rejecting a man trying to date her. While
: first observing his ugliness, she narrates, “This blob wasn’t going to get
: a date anytime soon.” When the Gravemind matches one of her quips with a
: reference to his vast knowledge, she snarks, “Wit as well as looks. How
: can a girl resist?” When he describes her unflatteringly, she urges him to
: “be a gentleman”. When he tempts her, she jokes that she goes “for the
: athletic type” and “nothing personal”. When he describes consuming other
: AIs, she says she’s “not like the other girls”. Finally, when he says his
: line about them being “two corpses in one grave”, she tries and fails to
: say that she’s not the type of girl to share a grave with just anybody. It
: is clear that his aggression is associated with sexual advances.

Cortana's lines here are typical of her. She jokes around with the Chief and Johnson using similar language, but there's nothing sexual there. I find the idea of Cortana and Gravemind having any kind of sexual intercourse absurd, and I think she does too, which is the point of those lines. She's clearly not implying that that is a possibility, she's throwing into relief the fact that the Gravemind is an asexual beast and that she is a bodiless computer.

: The Gravemind also engages in misogynistic behavior. While sticking his
: tentacles in her data, he inflicts pain to her in ways associated with
: violence against women, slapping her face and pulling her hair. When she
: reneges on her agreement to answer his questions, he angrily compares her
: to flirting with him like an “organic female”. This evokes the image of a
: rapist angry with his victim for supposedly teasing him. The Gravemind
: thus functions as a quintessential figure of masculine evil.

Because men cannot be slapped or have their hair pulled? I'll give you the "organic female" line, but the rest of this, I don't get.

Message Index



Replies:

Feminist analysis of Halo 2ElzarTheBam 11/4/11 6:28 a.m.
     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Overdoziz 11/4/11 6:41 a.m.
     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2davidfuchs 11/4/11 7:21 a.m.
           Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/4/11 9:03 a.m.
                 Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Vagueness 11/4/11 9:54 a.m.
                       Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/4/11 10:26 a.m.
                             Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Quirel 11/4/11 12:12 p.m.
                                   Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Vagueness 11/4/11 2:35 p.m.
                                         Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/4/11 3:21 p.m.
                             Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2=sw=warlord 11/4/11 8:53 p.m.
                                   Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/4/11 8:56 p.m.
                                         Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Overdoziz 11/5/11 6:39 p.m.
                                               Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2SonofMacPhisto 11/5/11 7:10 p.m.
                                                     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Vagueness 11/5/11 7:47 p.m.
                                                     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Overdoziz 11/5/11 8:52 p.m.
                 Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/7/11 9:10 p.m.
                       Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/7/11 9:48 p.m.
                             Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/8/11 12:24 a.m.
                                   Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2SonofMacPhisto 11/8/11 10:14 a.m.
                                         Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/8/11 4:29 p.m.
     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Vagueness 11/4/11 9:49 a.m.
           Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Louis Wu 11/4/11 10:50 a.m.
                 Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/4/11 10:53 a.m.
                       Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Louis Wu 11/4/11 11:30 a.m.
                             Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Overdoziz 11/4/11 12:11 p.m.
                                   Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/4/11 12:43 p.m.
                                   Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2scarab 11/4/11 1:08 p.m.
                                         Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Beckx 11/4/11 1:12 p.m.
                                         Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Overdoziz 11/4/11 1:19 p.m.
                             Also:Overdoziz 11/4/11 12:14 p.m.
                             Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/4/11 12:40 p.m.
                 Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Vagueness 11/4/11 11:47 a.m.
           Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/7/11 9:40 p.m.
     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2BanditORR 11/4/11 10:00 a.m.
           Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Mid7night 11/4/11 12:18 p.m.
                 Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Ibeechu 11/4/11 4:28 p.m.
                       ell oh ell i broke the forum *NM*Ibeechu 11/4/11 4:30 p.m.
                             That's what you get, insulting Freud! *NM*SonofMacPhisto 11/4/11 4:43 p.m.
                       Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Battuta 11/4/11 5:14 p.m.
                 Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Jillybean 11/4/11 4:49 p.m.
                       Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Miguel Chavez 11/4/11 4:52 p.m.
           Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/8/11 5:40 p.m.
                 Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Vagueness 11/8/11 6:35 p.m.
                       Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/8/11 7:03 p.m.
                             Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Leviathan 11/8/11 7:07 p.m.
                             Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Quirel 11/8/11 11:49 p.m.
                                   Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/9/11 12:34 a.m.
                 Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Leisandir 11/8/11 10:39 p.m.
                       Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Jillybean 11/9/11 1:35 p.m.
                             Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/9/11 1:51 p.m.
                                   Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Jillybean 11/9/11 2:03 p.m.
                                         Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Quirel 11/9/11 9:16 p.m.
                                         Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2General Vagueness 11/13/11 6:25 p.m.
     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Jillybean 11/4/11 5:42 p.m.
           also...Jillybean 11/4/11 6:00 p.m.
                 Re: also...General Vagueness 11/4/11 7:26 p.m.
                       Re: also...Jillybean 11/4/11 7:37 p.m.
                             Re: also...Ibeechu 11/4/11 7:53 p.m.
                                   Re: also...Jillybean 11/4/11 8:05 p.m.
                                         Re: also...General Battuta 11/4/11 8:22 p.m.
                                         Re: also...Ibeechu 11/4/11 10:22 p.m.
                                               Re: also...General Battuta 11/5/11 9:55 a.m.
                                                     Re: also...SonofMacPhisto 11/5/11 10:47 a.m.
                                                     HOLD THE PHONEJillybean 11/5/11 1:56 p.m.
                                                           Re: HOLD THE PHONEQuirel 11/5/11 3:12 p.m.
                                                                 Re: HOLD THE PHONEJillybean 11/5/11 3:27 p.m.
                                                                       Re: HOLD THE PHONEGeneral Battuta 11/5/11 3:39 p.m.
                                                     Re: also...BanditORR 11/5/11 6:27 p.m.
                                                           Re: also...SonofMacPhisto 11/5/11 7:07 p.m.
                                                                 Re: also...BanditORR 11/5/11 9:22 p.m.
                                                                       I don't want to get into this too muchLeisandir 11/6/11 8:26 a.m.
                                                                             Re: I don't want to get into this too muchGeneral Vagueness 11/6/11 8:44 a.m.
                                                                                   Re: I don't want to get into this too muchLeisandir 11/6/11 6:30 p.m.
                                                                                         Re: I don't want to get into this too muchGeneral Vagueness 11/7/11 9:03 a.m.
                                                                             Re: I don't want to get into this too muchJillybean 11/6/11 12:20 p.m.
                                                                             Re: I don't want to get into this too muchVandle Valsher 11/6/11 4:38 p.m.
                                                                             I think I'll simply say...DHalo 11/6/11 6:58 p.m.
                                                                                   Re: I think I'll simply say...Leisandir 11/6/11 9:52 p.m.
                                                                                         My final words on the topic ... for the momentJillybean 11/7/11 12:31 p.m.
                                                                                               Also, ignore the fact I sound like Cody here *NM*Jillybean 11/7/11 12:36 p.m.
                                                                                               Re: My final words on the topic ... for the momentGeneral Vagueness 11/7/11 1:12 p.m.
                                                                                                     Re: My final words on the topic ... for the momentJillybean 11/7/11 1:50 p.m.
                                                                                                           Re: My final words on the topic ... for the momentGeneral Vagueness 11/7/11 3:05 p.m.
                                                                                                                 Re: My final words on the topic ... for the momentQuirel 11/7/11 7:50 p.m.
                                                                                                                       Tab explosion *NM*Jillybean 11/8/11 11:36 a.m.
                                                                       Re: also...SonofMacPhisto 11/7/11 10:14 a.m.
                                                           Re: also...General Battuta 11/7/11 6:51 p.m.
                                                                 (this is for BanditOrr)General Battuta 11/7/11 6:52 p.m.
                                                     Re: also...General Vagueness 11/5/11 7:19 p.m.
                                               Re: also...Jillybean 11/5/11 2:04 p.m.
                                                     Re: also...BanditORR 11/5/11 6:35 p.m.
                                         Re: also...General Vagueness 11/5/11 6:17 p.m.
                             Re: also...Overdoziz 11/5/11 5:19 a.m.
           Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Overdoziz 11/4/11 7:04 p.m.
           Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/7/11 2:15 p.m.
     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Dragonclaws 11/7/11 2:24 p.m.
     Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2The Loot 11/7/11 9:31 p.m.
           Re: Feminist analysis of Halo 2Quirel 11/7/11 10:53 p.m.



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