DD65 - Round 4 (Sonya Blade + A Rant)

Sonya: *knocks on mansion door*

Bors: *opens door*  Yes?

Sonya: Sorry to disturb you sir, Lt. Sonya Blade, US Special Forces. We're tracking several Outworlders here on Earthrealm following the recent invasion and... *notices he's nude* Sir, why aren't you wearing pants?

Bors: Oh, when you put it like that, it sounds ludicrous and embarrassing.  At least I have an excuse, I'm practicing my nudity in a private residence.  You're not even wearing a shirt.

Sonya: Sir, this discussion is not about my attire.

Bors: Well, maybe it should be.  Given how enormous the US defense budget is for the fiscal year, you'd think they'd at least send their Special Forces members out with basic items of clothing.  Is that vest held together by two straps?

Sonya: Sir, I can assure you that this vest is quite protective against any and all threats.

Bors: To the outside of your breasts, maybe.  Almost.  The rest is totally exposed to small arms fire, stabbing injuries and blunt force.  At least when I served, they gave me a tunic, to say nothing of trousers... something tells me the guys in your unit don't wear this.

Sonya: ...

Bors: Ah, forget it, they're in here, actually.  We managed to convince Mileena that sex was more fun than violence and now she can't keep away from Sinj back there.  Although she still wants to do the blowjob thing even though she doesn't have lips.  We put some corks on her teeth until she learns to stick with the tongue, but she's still chasing Sinj around the mansion.  It's quite funny, actually.

Sonya:  Ooh, this I gotta see!



So in my cold-induced sickness, I was far from idle.  Including doing some of the best sketches I've done (this one in particular), I actually PLAYED Mortal Kombat 9... and promptly facepalmed every time one of the female characters was on screen.

This article pretty much sums up how I feel about the changes they've made, but I think there's a bit more to say, particularly given the image I've posted: borderhouseblog.com/?p=5366

Mortal Kombat was really fun for me back in the day.  I never owned the game, but I played it enough at arcades and at friends houses enough to know the characters, the moves, the lore etc.  We realized you couldn't take it seriously, and we ultimately didn't care much about things like characterization and story.  But even back then, the way they portrayed the women... never quite felt right.

Sexual objectification is a different kettle of fish from sexual fantasy, the former implying that the individual is an object to be acted on in an entirely sexual way. This goes hand in hand with a lot of the commodification of sexual imagery, like in billboards and game art (I'm looking at you, Blizzard).  To illustrate the difference, I happen to dig She-Hulk porn, but I know that She-Hulk as a character is intelligent, capable as a leader and hero, physically strong and sexually liberated.  She can command her own sexuality and that in turn can lead into any number of fun fantasies that her writers or her fans can come up with.

What can you say about the ladies of Mortal Kombat?  Can you really take Kitana seriously as a Princess when she's wearing two strips of fabric held together with string, high-heeled boots and a crotch flap?  That's the kind of get-up that strippers look at and say "Hmm."

But to me, Sonya was the worst.  Sheeva is from an entirely different race, so you can maybe say the Shokan are just sexist as hell and dress their women that way.  Mileena is like a Succubus, so I'll give her a pass (except for the fight where she was naked with a few slivers of body wrap).  Sindel is a corrupted zombie, so I have no idea what her thoughts are vis-a-vis costuming.  But Sonya we're supposed to believe is a Special Forces commando in a uniform... and they expose more chest on her than any of the others?

Combine that with extreme violence... geez, it makes me cringe a little when I pulled off some of the x-ray moves.

In short, it's about context.  When I draw my fan images of the gals giving blowjobs, it's the context of me drawing porn for the sake of porn.  I  give the clear impression all parties involved are having a good time, everybody being the consenting adults they are.  It's different than say American Apparel using actual porn stars to sell jeans or a bulked-up ninja kicking a half-naked woman in the face, breaking her skull.

Beyond that... dressing video game characters like that outside of porn games... I find it a little insulting.  It's basically saying "We know you horny nerds are going to shell out money to us because you can't take your eyes off the half-naked woman we put on the cover.  Suckers."  It's patronizing as all hell, and alienates any women who wanted to buy the game.  Gee, I wonder if there is a certain game critic who makes similar points... I think her name was Anita... something... oh yeah, Sarkeesian.

So video game developers... please tone down the overt sexualization, particularly in the context of graphically violent games.  I'd like to know that there's a bit more to Sonya Blade than her ability to fill out a half-vest.  And I'd like to keep the sexy times to actual enjoyment, rather than decapitations and shattering of bones.  Those two really shouldn't mix.

Not to put too fine a point on it... but when my little skit up there gives more character depth than the game itself... maybe the writing needs some work.

But hey, let's enjoy the sexy times while they're here, as I always say.