Characterization of Female Protagonists in Video Games: A Focus on Lara Croft

Headnote

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is primarily to examine the characteristics of female protagonists in video games and to study the process through which they attain the identities of heroes. Over the 17 years of perpetual and repeated incarnation in the Tomb Raider series, Lara Croft serves as both a leading model and a mythical signifier for female protagonists. Therefore, we seek to identify the gender consciousness that underlies female characterization in video games, with a particular focus on Lara Croft. As a popular narrative medium, video games feature female heroes to represent gender values of the time. The synchronic and diachronic analysis of Croft's features as a character and identity as a female hero leads us to the conclusion that female protagonists merely serve as the subject of desire, recreated to satisfy sadomasochistic male fantasies. They fulfill men's sadistic desires through their glamorous physique and masochist desires, as reflected by their behavior. Through a process of denial regarding femininity, common representations as the mother, and the re-codifying of patriarchal values solely in favor of the patriarch, female protagonists faced the confusion of dual identity, wherein they would equate themselves with male heroes, while simultaneously identifying themselves as damsels-in-distress. To summarize, video games exclusively allow the existence of heroes, while a true heroine has yet to emerge. Female characters are limited by their adherence to patriarchal conventions even in the virtual world, which is like a mirror world and an alternative world at the same time.

Keywords

Female protagonist; female characterization; female representation; Lara Croft; video game

Introduction

Pop culture can be used to advocate new constructions of equal gender partnerships and to empower women (Poerwandari et al., 2014). In particular, video games are a representative narrative format that reflects contemporary video paradigms. The narrative motif of most video games features the journey of a hero and the protagonist may be female or male. Therefore, video games are also a narrative vehicle that reproduces female images and are played by male and female gamers. The primary purpose of this study is to analyze the characterization and distinct features of female protagonists in video games. It also aims to identify the process through which female characters acquire their heroic natures and establish their...