Jan Berger Introduction Chapter 1 Fantasy Politics Chapter 2 Digital Desire Chapter 3 Queering Up Conclusion Bibliography I Need Somebody to Hold Me Introduction Playing video games is often connected with being ambivalently judged and evalu- ated by others and by oneself, especially while growing up. Having to resist against my parent’s accusations of being unproductive and damaging my eyes from exten- sive gaming, the joyful bliss of diving into fantastic realms of undiscovered digital worlds has always been undermined by looming dangers of the immediacy of cap- italist competitiveness and productivity; an adult fear of falling behind into eco- nomic uselessness, versus an unbiased juvenile desire. Having grown up playing games I witnessed tales of love, tragedy and pure hedonism. Japanese Role Play Games (JRPGs) are heavily based on immersive storytelling and character devel- opment, and these in particular shaped my personal understanding of abstract images of desire, loss, destruction, community, otherness and healing. Having re- played the same classic RPGs that shaped my childhood, I realised that these very same worlds and characters that will always have a special place in my heart, un- fortunately not only taught me the meaning of valorous virtues, but they also em- anate sociocultural issues. Having been in and out of what I understood as love, experiencing what it means to fail finding acceptance in heteronormative commu- nities, and being confronted with the realities of living in a capitalist society, I find myself now exposed to questionable permeating political ideas while replaying my favourite games. This work aims to especially concentrate on gender clichés and possible causes for their proliferation, patriarchal power relations, the notion of love and (female and queer) representation in these constructed realities and what reaches beyond digital boundaries. I am going to explore the ludic politics of Final Fantasy VI1 , investigate the proliferation of what feminist writer Bell Hooks calls “imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy”2 and how it affects the inhab- itants of these digital worlds in their capability to express emotions, as well as the queer potential of the game itself. The second part of this work tries to reconcile contemporary media with the digital world of Final Fantasy VI. In an attempt to link politics of femininity across decades and different platforms, I am going to talk about the singer Lana Del Rey and the queer implications of her persona, in or- der to think about new perspectives and representations of femininity in video games. 1 Square Co., Ltd., “Final Fantasy VI“ (Japan: Square Co., Ltd., Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 1994). 2 Bell Hooks, “The Will to Change“ (New York: Washington Square Press, 2005), 17. 5 Chapter One Fantasy Politics The world of Final Fantasy VI is in danger of being completely colonised by a tech- nologically advanced empire that is ruled by the ruthless emperor Gestahl, along with his general executives. In the opening sequence of the game we are introduced to Terra, one of the game’s female protagonists, who is put under the empire’s con- trol through a contraption called slave crown. Through various events Terra is freed from the empire’s control by Locke, a resistance fighter and self proclaimed treasure hunter (his euphemism for thief), who also suddenly promises to protect her in a good-samaritan fashion (Figure 1). Struggling to defy the empire’s plans, Locke and Terra find other allies during the course of the game. One of the playable female characters is Celes, a former imperial general, who is now accused of being disloyal towards the emperor and especially towards general Kefka (who turns out to be the main antagonist) for speaking out against his cruel methods. Imprisoned and beaten up by male empire goons, Locke manages to free her, subsequently asking her to join the group… and, of course, promising to protect her (Figure 2). The party’s obligation in the first half of the game is to try to liberate the world from the empire and restore peace to the world. During the journey the resistance group witnesses the empire’s sheer brutality and ruthlessness in order to ascend to power. For instance, the poisoning of a whole castle full of innocent, defenceless people or the invasion of the realm of ancient magical creatures called Espers, Chapter 1 subsequently causing their near extinction. In her groundbreaking manifesto Rise of the Videogame Zinesters released in 2012, Anna Anthropy argues „Games are designed by a small, male-dominated culture and marketed to a small, male-dominated audience, which in turn produces the Fantasy Politics next small, male-dominated generation of game designers.”³. Looking at the set- ting of Final Fantasy VI, Anna Anthropy’s argument holds true to that. With the game’s designers and contributors being overwhelmingly male, the setting and social politics of Final Fantasy VI reflect the image of a masculine fantasy world that has apparently just trickled down from the situation of an “imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy”4 the producers find themselves existing in, and affected by. And while the world of Final Fantasy VI, just like our own world Bell Hooks would suggest, is under the grip of an all male and hyper masculine empire, there are also much more subtle implications of patriarchal influences that infil- trate social interaction, self-concept of the characters and also the mechanics of the game itself. While the empire’s concept is obviously portrayed as evil, Locke is shown to be the classic faultless male hero of the game although he seems to exert a similar kind of imperialist attitude: disguised as an act of benevolence he also enforces a patriarchal hegemony onto the two leading female characters, Terra and Celes, who are introduced by the game as something the artist Angela Washko 3 Anna Anthropy, “Rise of the Videogame Zinesters“ (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2012), 13. 4 Bell Hooks, “The Will to Change“ (New York: Washington Square Press, 2005), 17. 6 7 Chapter One Fantasy Politics would address as “Heroines with Baggage”5. the game’s most iconic lines and his hilarious laughing sound. Instead of keeping his In the beginning of the game the player takes control over a brainwashed Terra, perilous schemes veiled, the player is directly confronted with Kefka’s intentions to who was given the imperial order to raid a mining town. After she snaps out of the wreak havoc and his plan to ascend to power. The way his character is exhibited empire’s control through Locke’s help, she fails to remember where she comes can be compared to performance: in monologues he explains his next steps and from, who she is and what purpose she serves. She is repeatedly portrayed as lost, intrigues, while sometimes manically breaking out in laughter about his own jokes passive and unknowing, while constantly questioning herself and her actions (Fig- or behaviour. ure 3). Additionally, she claims that she feels different to the other people around her and seems to be worried about it. Celes is portrayed in a similar way. When While Kefka is an extremely memorable character, his actions seem to be com- Locke finds her she is also suffering from the empire’s violence, just as Terra. In pletely unreasonable and outright evil, contrary to other villains of the Final Fanta- contrast to her, Celes is shown to be less amnesiac and potentially naive, but rather sy main series, who most of the time have (noble) reasons for their actions. Until the downright pessimistic and generally negative. Whenever one of the two girls men- very end Kefka does not express understandable reasons for his passion of de- tion their disbelief, fear or negativity, Locke is there to emphasise his toxic posi- stroying lives and dreams; it’s rather a purpose in itself. And while I feel a strange tivity and tells them not to worry. Without being asked he proclaims his protectorate kind of sympathy for his character, the game is really explicit to connect his malice over them, and while at first they are reluctant (Celes is pessimistic in regards to to the absence of heteronormativity. His quirkiness and flamboyance, attributes Locke’s ability to protect her), they agree on it and later even rely on his presence. deemed as feminine and weak by patriarchy, are inevitably linked to desire of an- archistic destruction, volatile randomness and sadistic joy of ending innocent Another politically problematic aspect underlies the need to contain the agency of lives. Although the game never explicitly addresses Kefka’s sexual orientation, his “otherness”. Later in the game it is revealed that Terra is the child of a human moth- whimsical performance is often conforming to clichéd notions of effeminate gay er and a magical Esper, which is the reason for her feeling, or rather fear, of being men, for example when demanding his soldiers to clean his boots. Yet, this intricate different, and also the reason behind the empire’s interest in her magical abilities scene implies a duality that resides within Kefka’s character: the masculine domi- and the desire to contain and harness her powers. Celes in fact is also genetically nant general, that orders around his soldiers in a way that alludes to sadomasochis- modified by imperial scientists to inhabit the magical powers that were drained tic practices, and the possibly homosexual effeminate man that is overly sensitive from the colonised Espers. Every attempt of the girls to start a discourse about their about his appearance (Figure 4). Furthermore, the otherness of Kefka occasionally colonised identity, and the implicit negativity and pessimism that would occur in opens up glimpses of queerness in the game, for example when he exclaims that the process is blighted by Locke’s unnerving optimistic nature.