Posts

Showing posts from January, 2021

Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 3 - Representation

Textual analysis Re-watch some of the expansion pack trailers and answer the following questions: 1) How do the expansion pack (DLC) trailers reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies? The chic boutique represents capitalist ideologies and materialism. Teen updates target the specific audience 2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims FreePlay? More heterosexual relationships are shown - heteronormativity Most of the videos feature white characters- lack of diversity 3) What media theories can you apply to representations in The Sims FreePlay? masculine toxicity- Men are created to play a certain role Representation reading Read this Forbes article on gender and racism in The Sims franchise and answer the following questions: 1) How realistic does The Sims intend to be? Reflects the life in America in an ideal world. “We’re not really looking for realism, we’re looking more for believability,” 2) How has The Sims tried to create more realistic representations of ethnicit...

Videogames: Further feminist theory

1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’? Feminism is a movement which aims for equality for women – to be treated as equal to men socially, economically, and politically. patriarchy is male dominance in  society 2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’? She had identified a lack of diversity within the feminist movement, and argued that these diverse voices had been marginalised, being put outside the main body of feminism. 3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work? Feminism as a struggle to end patriarchal oppression - it should be a serious political commitment rather than a fashionable lifestyle choice. “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression” 4) What is intersectionality and what do hooks argue regarding this? The term intersectionality is used to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related sy...

Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 2 - Industries

Image
Regulation – PEGI Research the following  using the PEGI website . 1) What is the VSC and how does it link to UK law? Every PEGI 12, 16 and 18 games is assessed by a VSC examiner who also writes detailed information for parents about what the game contains. L inks to the UK law due to the incorporation of PEGI into the legal system. 2) Note down the key statistics on the homepage. 13938+ games rated. 15141+ apps rated. 1702 Number of Member Outlets. 30 years in operation. 3) What is the purpose of PEGI? Age ratings help parents or carers decide whether a particular game is suitable for their children. The ratings do this by indicating the minimum age at which we think a child should be allowed to play a game. The age ratings for games are 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18.  4) Click on the PEGI Rating tab in the top menu. What are the age ratings and what do they include?         5) Scroll down to look at the ‘How games are examined’ infographic. What is the PEGI proces...