DTC #9

Nakamura says that a menu-driven concept of race on the internet "works by progressively narrowing down the choices of subject positions. . . [and] close off the possibility of alternate hybrid definitions of racial identity" (104). With that in mind, I begin clicking through PBS's website on race to see how it does or does not narrow down our definition of race.

The first thing I encounter is a list of facts about race I can click through, including information on the variety of races and how recent of an idea race is at all. At the very least, this establishes the concept that this website disagrees with the concept of rigid, narrowly-defined race.

The next section is an activity on sorting race. There are a few races listed, narrowing down where they can be sorted. Though there may end up being a twist, this certainly does narrow down race, giving us a menu of options. Of course, there is a twist. I'm told that I was very incorrect in identifying race by looks. That said, the races are still in just five groups. Self-identification or my decision based on looks, either way, we have a menu of races, and we're not including the fluid and hybrid designations Nakamura looks for.

The quiz on human diversity offers little relevant in terms of menus until the last question. The answer to question ten involves the fact that variation is primarily within, rather than between, races. This statement doesn't break previous menus but it does speak against the idea that races can be presented on menus at all.

Other sections of the site go on to detail how race is really something that barely exists at all. Though PBS early on gives us a menu of races, it's designed for a practice to expose our preconceived notions. The website doesn't present a more varied menu from there because they are busy making the argument that presenting race on a menu is impossible.

This is something I've often wondered, but it's reinforced right now: isn't the concept of race itself an unimportant notion we should be trying to eliminate? I don't mean that as some grand philosopher looking for world peace but simply from a practical and sensible standpoint.


Works Cited

1. Nakamura, Lisa. Menu Driven Identities: Making Race Happen Online. New York, NY: Routledge, 2002. 103-35. eBook.

DTC #8

As I understand it, "identity tourism" is the concept of taking on an identity different from one's own and trying it on for size without fully experiencing that identity. The term being similar to how we might tour Detroit (not sure why) and experience Detroit for a little while, but we won't be living there to be fully affected by the poverty or the harsh winters or the constant losing of the Lions; we're just tourists. In the case of identity tourism, we are touring the identity of a race or a gender, rather than a run-down Midwest city.

Nakamura says that identity tourism allows us "to indulge in a dream of crossing over racial boundaries temporarily and recreationally" (299). She even compares the activity of surfing in cyberspace as similar to the activity of touring. She later cautions that "one of the dangers of identity tourism" is that it can reduce unfamiliar identities to us (in my case white male) to "part of a costume or masquerade. . . a 'passing' fancy" (302).

When it comes to race, Nakamura coined the term "cybertype" to describe how the race and racism are conveyed on the Internet. She describes, "cybertyping is the process by which computer/human interfaces, the dynamics and economics of access, and the means by which users are able to express themselves online interacts with the 'cultural layer' or ideologies regarding race that they bring with them into cyberspace" (3).

Cybertyping in Street Fighter 2 takes place in the form of how the various races are represented in the game. Chun-li fits the stereotype of an Asian woman appealing to a male populace of gamers. She's definitely Asian, with her dress and hair and name, though her features are just caucasian enough to remain attractive to someone who doesn't want to go all the way Asian with his tastes. At the same time that she kicks but with her Chinese cries of "yah" and "hya," she remains gorgeous with an hourglass figure and ample top half. And when she wins, she jumps up and down in a cute, innocent way with giggles and waves. She just beat a person senseless!

Other characters, of course, are cybertyped as well. A blog post is too short to go in to all of them, but Dahlsim fits a stereotype of India, looking like a Ghandi-esque mystic with skinny, stretchable limbs. He fights in a place with a vague elephant religious symbol in the background and plenty of elephants in the background. It doesn't matter than the elephants look more African than Indian because we are cybertyping here. We're creating an image of the races being represented that the user can relate to, not an image meant to be accurate.

Identity tourism is present in both gender and racial terms. Again, playing as Chun-li, I have the opportunity to experiment with playing as a woman. I don't have to take on sexism or any other number of problems that face women when I play as Chun-li. I also don't have to deal with the reality that a woman would probably face an uphill battle in a competitive fighting ring with men. I am able to tour the role of fighting girl and then step out and be myself whenever I'm ready. I'm not yet sure what Blanca says about Brazilians. . .

The same, obviously, goes for race and culture. Not only do I get to play as Chun-li (or whoever else) without facing racism that would come with being Chinese, but I get to tour representations of the various fighters' locales. As mentioned, there's "India" for Dahlsim. Chun-li fights in an overcrowded land of street vendors and bike riders. We get to tour these locals without exposure to accuracy or real dangers, and also without exposure to beauties.

Works Cited

1. Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity and Identity on the Internet. New York, NY: Routledge, 2002. Print. Oct. 19, 2010.
   
2. Nakamura, Lisa. "Race in/for Cyberspace: Idenity Tourism and Racial Passing on the Internet." The Cybercultures Reader. Ed. David Bell and Barbara M. Kennedy. New York, NY: Routledge, 2007. Print.

DTC #7

Due to the limitations of the NES, particularly early in its life span, Super Mario Bros. 2 (at least the American version which is just an alteration of Doki Doki Panic, rather than the REAL SMB2) represents the "simple abstract graphics" that Schleiner alludes to at the beginning of her essay, rather than the more refined 3D subjects like Lara Croft (222). In 8-bits, it's hard to give a girl a huge bust, a tiny waste and many other concepts of femininity that may be seen as dangerously stereotypical. There is no "female Frankenstein" to Toadstool, a.k.a. Peach in a sense we'd think of today, but while Mario presents a fat character for the user to play with, Peach is nice and thin; as thin as she should see and still be visible (223). This may simply be who the characters are, but if you make Peach fat, would the user accept that as okay? Even with primitive technology, I would imagine developers don't expect their target audience wants to be playing as a fat woman, to say nothing of how that may be seen as a derogatory joke at Peach's expense. But while there's nothing inherently wrong with having Peach in good shape, the problem comes instead with Mario, who is fat and okay. Men can be fat and happy and successful here, women cannot. Nintendo is not necessarily creating this image and, again, they're poorly-detailed 8-bit characters, but it is reflecting a standard we tend to have of our genders in society. Of course, Peach is also in a decidedly female pink dress, to reinforce that she is, in fact, a girl.

There may be something to Peach as Drag Queen, as well. In Schleiner's words, "rigid gender roles are broken down, allowing [male] players to experiment with "wearing" a feminine identity" (223). Back in these days, female main characters were rare. Metroid allowed users to play as the heroine Samus, but then they didn't even know their character was a girl until the ending (where, if they beat it fast enough, they got to see their ground breaking female hero in her bikini with her hair down). Metroid, from the same time, was significant for the female, even if you didn't know it, and SMB2 allowed you to be a female knowingly from a start. You don't have the detailed avatar of Tomb Raider here, but I certainly wouldn't rule out the appeal of some to play as an alternate gender for the novelty and experimentation of it.

I think the most significant gender make up here, however, is Princess Toadstool as Positive Role Model (Schleiner, 224). As mentioned in the previous paragraph, long before Lara Croft was presenting a heroine who women could look at in a positive light and positively be drawn in to games through, Peach was the best character in Super Mario Bros. 2. Much as Croft is not a stereotypical bimbo, Peach is not a stereotypical damsel in distress. After being saved in the previous game, she is now the choice of almost any gamer short of experienced players who have mastered the timing on Luigi's jump. While Mario is plain and boring with simple jumps, Peach can hover in a way that makes battles easier to conquer, enemies easier to avoid, gaps easier to cross and towers easier to scale. Anything our hero Mario can do, Peach can do better! While physical stereotypes are small and lost in the poor graphics, the fact that beating the game and saving the day with the girl instead of the classic hero stands out huge and helps make Peach a pretty memorable heroine and an important role model in video gaming history.

We could do a separate blog on her voice and casual dress in later games at a different time. . .



Works Cited

1. Schleiner, Ann-Marie. "Does Lara Croft Wear Fake Polygons? Gender and Gender-Role Subversion in Computer Adventure Games." MIT Press 34.3 (2001): 221-26. Web. 7 Oct 2010. .
2. Super Mario Bros. 2. Nintendo, 1988.