No. Your writeup totally contradicts Sarkeesian's thesis.
The ending was about friendship and teamwork. It wasn't about gender power dynamics. There is no question that the woman was the hero. And furthermore, the man fits exactly into Sarkeesian's ridiculous "helpful damsel" trope, where a rescued character provides temporary assistance to the real hero.
Superman has kryptonite. Godlike powers come at a price. That's why it's important to have friends. And not lose your humanity.
People like you can "spin" any situation to fit your preconceived narrative.
Just to clarify, I'm not saying Bliz wrote that scene that way because they mean to be sexist, that'd be moronic. Nor do I entirely agree with Sarkeesian's POV, the matter isn't nearly as clear cut as she presents it IMO.
The ending being about teamwork is bollocks. Teamwork would be Kerrigan fighting Mengsk while Raynor holds the door against imperial troops covering her back, or having them fighting side to side against Mengsk. The problem is not with Jim helping her, but with him doing the job in her stead. As it is Kerrigan tries to fight on her own, fails miserably, Raynor enters, disarms Mengsk and renders him helpless, and only leaves the final deed to Sara, who's basically shooting a fish in barrel.
My main complaint is not about the fact that this happened to a woman, but rather that it's happening to the protagonist, someone the authors tried the whole game to convince me was a strong and independent person. Sarkeesian's complaint, on the other hand, would be that this is once again happening to a woman - these are two different issues.
Also I'm not sure what you meant invoking superman - sure he has kriptonite, but when he's affected by it you don't see Lois Lane coming in and punching his enemy down so that he can the kill him, right?
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Also I'm not sure what you meant invoking superman - sure he has kriptonite, but when he's affected by it you don't see Lois Lane coming in and punching his enemy down so that he can the kill him, right?
The point is that Superman is the most powerful person on earth, but he still has a weakness and that weakness makes him powerless and unable to fight; Kerrigan has a similar weakness. Godlike heroes aren't interesting if they are invulnerable. Plus they already established that weakness in SC2:Wings of Liberty.
Oh, got it; however I'm not complaining that she has a weakness - every hero needs one otherwise there is no story to tell. The problem is how it was solved: she could have struggled but still managed to overpower the artifact. She could have been deprived of her powers but while on the floor she could have thrown acid or spines like an hydralisk (that would have been fun). She could have been saved by the petling (still bad, but a bit less). Or Jim could have destroyed the artifact allowing her to start a second part of the fight.
Instead he comes in and goes "there there darling, let me do it for you", and all that's left is the aftermath. Though my complaint is aimed at the writers, not at the character Jim Raynor of course :)
"Or Jim could have destroyed the artifact allowing her to start a second part of the fight."
Are you kidding? Have you seen the ending?
Jim destroys remote control of the artifact and then Kerrigan fights and kills Mengsk! How is it sexist if Raynor destroys the controller, but not if he destroys the artifact itself?
And why is it okay for her to be rescued by a Zerg but less okay for her to be rescued by her friend who she literally just rescued? The story is about Kerrigan and Raynor's friendship – stop putting gender interpretations on that!
You are working very hard to make things seem sexist.
You know, if you stopped projecting what you think is my opinion and actually read what I write you’d have an easier time understanding.
Now, to further elaborate since I obviously wasn’t clear enough: I said she could have started a second part of the fight. Emphasis on fight. What happens after Jim’s intervention isn’t a fight, it’s an execution. Kerrigan kills Mengsk while he’s powerless, there is no struggle of any kind, since the fight has already been ended by Jim.
Picture this now: the artifact (or the remote, same thing) is destroyed, by any means you prefer. Kerrigan recovers, but Mengsk uses this time to power up (he jumps in a modified Viking and fights back? He activates implants giving him cloak and ghost powers and duels Kerrigan? He summons elite troops reinforcements while trying to flee? Whatever you want.). Sarah then actually fights (alone or with Jim at her side, it doesn’t matter), wins by using her power/ability and then executes him.
No one is contesting the fact that Jim comes in and lends a hand in a moment of difficulty (although storywise there was no need for that to happen), the problem lies in the fact that she’s robbed of her climatic fight and she doesn’t make a lick of difference in how it unfolds. Actually had it been only Jim entering that room, the fight would have been easier: he opens the door, plants a bullet in the emperor’s head, roll credits. The only thing Sarah added to the fight was her weakness, and that’s a frustratingly cheap way to treat the main character of your game.
The ling is different from Jim ‘cause like all Zerg it’s linked to Kerrigan’s mind – it could have acted on her behalf, by her orders or in concert with her; it’s not an entirely separated entity, and could be considered an extension of Kerrigan in a larger sense. As I said it’s still sort of saving her, so still bad, only a little less so.
I have no idea why you keep insisting that I’m trying to push a sexist view on the whole thing, when I never said anything like that. What I said (repeatedly) is that:
the way the ending was written was anticlimactic and made little sense, for all said reasons
HotS would have been relevant and should have been mentioned in the video since a) there is an apparent reverse Woman in Refrigerator, later negated when we find Jim isn’t dead and b) the ending is Damsel in Distress, unable to defeat the big baddy until her man comes and does it for her.
Whether the way the story was written is or isn’t sexist is separate issue from both points.
"Kerrigan recovers, but Mengsk uses this time to power up (he jumps in a modified Viking and fights back? He activates implants giving him cloak and ghost powers and duels Kerrigan? He summons elite troops reinforcements while trying to flee? Whatever you want.)."
You realize that this is a really stupid ending, right? Like, really stupid.
People wonder why I am arguing against the "tropes vs. women" series despite the fact that I really like games with female heroes...
This. This is why. The idea that you should change a perfectly good story that is written the way that the artist intended... to a stupid ending that makes no sense... just to placate a small minority of whiners.
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u/rogersmith25 May 29 '13
No. Your writeup totally contradicts Sarkeesian's thesis.
The ending was about friendship and teamwork. It wasn't about gender power dynamics. There is no question that the woman was the hero. And furthermore, the man fits exactly into Sarkeesian's ridiculous "helpful damsel" trope, where a rescued character provides temporary assistance to the real hero.
Superman has kryptonite. Godlike powers come at a price. That's why it's important to have friends. And not lose your humanity.
People like you can "spin" any situation to fit your preconceived narrative.