Tag: Throwback Thursday

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bikiniarmorbattledamage:

@spiraldrawsstuff submitted:

I saw this on twitter and thought it relevant to your blog.

There’s so much in this casting call that we’ve talked about indirectly before:

And this was a movie where I was kind of kind of excited about because it had Gamora in it!

– wincenworks

It’s one of those cases that disappoints, but doesn’t surprise me. Especially since with the first movie, not unlike with Avengers, they reduced female team member count to one, despite there being more women in the comics.

For all the praise Marvel Cinematic Univese gets, it still has a really hard time letting go of tired tropes and conventions, like the Smurfette Principle and Men Are Strong, Women Are Pretty.

And we should be always pointing that out, for as long as it remains the status quo.

~Ozzie

As the follow up to last week’s throwback, it’s worth remembering that the general differences between men and women in mainstream media are most certainly not the result of “how things are”.

Major studios hire casting teams to generate calls like this and then carefully curate everyone who gets to be in front of a camera.  Sometimes this is for specific effects (making 5′9″ Lucy Lawless look like a towering glamazon) but more often it’s just to re-enforce harmful ideals and perceptions.

Like that men should be complicated and diverse – and women should be sexy.

– wincenworks

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NYCC: Simone, Scott revamp Red Sonja, Vampirella & Dejah Thoris for Dynamite

NYCC: Simone, Scott revamp Red Sonja, Vampirella & Dejah Thoris for Dynamite

bikiniarmorbattledamage:

I feel that the most critical step to really re-inventing those characters would be to get them away from Dynamite Entertainment. 

I enjoy Gail Simone’s re-invention of Red Sonja and understand there’s a balancing act with the branding and appearance.  But an ongoing thing with Dynamite Entertainment is that they stockpile old characters to use them in spinoffs, mash-ups, etc.

So far, at Dynamite, we’ve had:

I mean – these are the most recent spinoffs (one working with Dark Horse):

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Furthermore, while these designs might be bold for Dynamite, they’re not really that bold when you step back and look.

Red Sonja is basically back to a sexier version of the outfit she in her very first appearance, Vampirella appeared in a space suit in March (and I remember seeing concept ideas to re-invent her wearing full body gear in the 90s) – and okay, the movie bombed but nobody thinks it’s because of what Lynn Carter wore as Dejah Thoris.

What would really be bold – is actually re-inventing these characters without anchoring them to bad branding and design decision made in 70s (or earlier). Red Sonja has changed far more than her costume has, and not updating her appearance to reflect that hampers the comic.

At the end of the day – the reason these properties got sold to Dynamite Entertainment and the reason this is the second time Red Sonja’s been re-invented since then is because the old branding isn’t speaking to audiences today.

– wincenworks

So, a year ago I expressed that I was less than excited about Dynamite’s “commitment” to reinventing a bunch of heroines including Red Sonja as less they hyper-sexualized.  Now to be fair, they release the new Volume 3 run… a whole six issues of it! (FYI, Volume 2 got 21 issues and Volume 1 got 81 issues before getting rebooted)

However starting next year they’re going to be starting a Volume 4 run! Want to see the amazingly creative ideas they’ve got to take the title in a whole new direction unlike anything else in comics?

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No it’s Red Sonja the pinup model (by J Scott Campbell none the less) or Red Sonja / Game of Thrones crossover, it’s Red Sonja… in the battle bikini… in New York (a place where surely no other comic has ever been set!). It actually is.  And they’re very proud of this creative costume decision! Nothing saves a comic that’s on it’s forth incarnation like a combination of what hasn’t worked twice before and New York!

Interesting Dejah Thoris and Vampirella also got their new looks cancelled after  exactly six issues too… it’s almost like many publishers will set unrealistic expectations on some products so they can say they tried – the go back to a particular strategy regardless of how often it fails.

I cannot imagine how this industry could be connected to so much real life toxic behavior.  It’s really such a mystery why there’s a huge demographic of fans who rage and the idea that women are not objects.

– wincenworks

P.S. For those frantically typing something about how if it only got six issues it was probably sales and the concept deserved to be dropped – I would like those bring something to your attention:

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Lady Rawhide has gotten multiple series of her own under two publishers with essentially identical concepts, the highest issue count for each is five.

Posted on

bikiniarmorbattledamage:

crackingskullz:

shensation:

donthatemecusimbeautiful:

Girl’s Costume Warehouse (X)

ITS BACK

and frog

And don’t forget the warehouse’s special warrior department, presenting:

Sexy barbarian:

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Sexy assassin:

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Sexy knight:

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Sexy archer:

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Sexy alien superhero: 

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Sexy evil wizard: 

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Sexy gladiator:

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Sexy space soldier:

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Sexy corpse:

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Sexy war nun looking for redemption through death:

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The classic, Sexy little girl transformed into a powerful beast:

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~Ozzie

And frog:

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– wincenworks

And of course, what’s Halloween without the off-brand costumes?

Sexy Purple Murder Lady (x)

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Sexy Gold and Little Wing Bits Armor Lady (x)

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Sexy Warrior Lady in Weird Cocktail Dress (x)

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Sexy Space Nerd Girl Who Loves Lollipops (x)

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Sexy Tiny Adorable Animal Gladiator (x)

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One thing’s for sure: I’m scared.

– wincenworks

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If you like Return Of The Jedi but hate the Ewoks, you understand feminist criticism

If you like Return Of The Jedi but hate the Ewoks, you understand feminist criticism

bikiniarmorbattledamage:

Not only does this article have a brilliant title, it also explains very well the false dychotomy of feminist media criticism.

Notable quotes:

We’ve fallen into an all-or-nothing rut with feminist criticism lately. Battle lines are immediately drawn between movies that are “feminist” (i.e. “good”) and “sexist” (i.e. “bad”). And that simplistic breakdown is hurting our ability to actually talk about this stuff.

Feminist criticism isn’t about ripping something to shreds or making others feel guilty for liking it. It’s simply about pointing out a specific creative weakness and then taking that a step further to explain the real-world social ramifications of that weakness, all in the hopes of dissuading future filmmakers from making the same mistake.

I dedicate this article to every single person who ever implied that by criticizing female character designs, we’re apparently disapproving of the whole product those characters are featured in*. 

Cause, again:

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~Ozzie

*Sometimes we do, but it takes some special levels of terribad to make us write off the whole product, not only its treatment of female characters.

In the light of certain discussions we had throughout last week, it’s time to bring back this article as a reminder that it’s totally okay to love media you love, while acknowledging its problematic aspects. 

On a related note, it’s also crucial to remember that being critical of things like video games or comics does not mean someone’s not invested in “real world issues” and should discuss them instead.

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[tweet source]

~Ozzie

Posted on

If you like Return Of The Jedi but hate the Ewoks, you understand feminist criticism

If you like Return Of The Jedi but hate the Ewoks, you understand feminist criticism

bikiniarmorbattledamage:

Not only does this article have a brilliant title, it also explains very well the false dychotomy of feminist media criticism.

Notable quotes:

We’ve fallen into an all-or-nothing rut with feminist criticism lately. Battle lines are immediately drawn between movies that are “feminist” (i.e. “good”) and “sexist” (i.e. “bad”). And that simplistic breakdown is hurting our ability to actually talk about this stuff.

Feminist criticism isn’t about ripping something to shreds or making others feel guilty for liking it. It’s simply about pointing out a specific creative weakness and then taking that a step further to explain the real-world social ramifications of that weakness, all in the hopes of dissuading future filmmakers from making the same mistake.

I dedicate this article to every single person who ever implied that by criticizing female character designs, we’re apparently disapproving of the whole product those characters are featured in*. 

Cause, again:

image

~Ozzie

*Sometimes we do, but it takes some special levels of terribad to make us write off the whole product, not only its treatment of female characters.

In the light of certain discussions we had throughout last week, it’s time to bring back this article as a reminder that it’s totally okay to love media you love, while acknowledging its problematic aspects. 

On a related note, it’s also crucial to remember that being critical of things like video games or comics does not mean someone’s not invested in “real world issues” and should discuss them instead.

image

[tweet source]

~Ozzie

Posted on

bikiniarmorbattledamage:

This was part of a much larger bit by Extra Credits on messages sent by games and how design decisions can (even unwittingly) transform games into propaganda.  Games do have an interactive aspect, but the core principles remain true for any media product.

Overall it’s a very important aspect that creators should consider with any sort of system where appearance changes with progress – whether it’s part of item choice, character plot arc or just revising character appearances between chapters.

There’s a reason we have the “More Advanced Armor = Skimpier” box on the Female Armor Bingo.

– wincenworks

It’s time to bring back this great reminder that when you create something it will carry a message, whether you intend to or not.  Accordingly, before just jumping on board with a trope like bikini armor, boobplate or battle thongs it’s worth considering what message might be included with it and whether it’s a statement you want associated with your product or yourself.

Not only can it help you avoid having to babble nonsense to try to convince yourself and others you didn’t do something embarrassing, it will open you up to a wide variety of options and probably help you stand out in a market that is really over-saturated with sexualized content.

– wincenworks

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)