Venus and Mars: Sexual Violence & Women in Video Games
By Jeffrey Demelo on February 8th, 2013 (23 comments)
Venus and Mars. Male and female. Both respectable bodies with opinions on video games and the culture surrounding. This new audio-documentary feature @ 4Player Network will chronicle the thoughts and opinions, of the sexes, in thought-provoking fashion. Here, men and women don't collide, but rather discuss their feelings abroad. On this very first episode of Venus and Mars, Soha & Jeff discuss sexual violence and women in video games.
Listen and leave comments! Discussion topic ideas can be sent to: jeffreydemelo@4playernetwork.com
Jeffrey Demelo
Jeff is the raspy-voiced, Boston-accented staff member that loves everything Japan. Since 1989, video games have been a prominent passtime for this lovable guy…and that doesn't look to be changing anytime soon. When he's not playing games, he's writing, questioning his favorite games of all-time, or producing & composing music at various studios on the east-coast.
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Christ, the music, echos, and techno sound effects make it really difficult to listen to this.
Link / ReplySeems youre not the target audience for the feature. Thanks for giving it a shot. Also, I'll be sure to cut the Christ out of the next episode, but the music and ambience - or techno sound effects, as you call it - will remain. :)
Link / ReplyI really enjoyed the discussion, but I agree with the other guy, the music and sound effects were a little distracting. Still, great new feature and I'm looking forward to listening to more of these :]
Link / ReplyGlad to know Soha-san is a radical feminist and not a dick cutting radical feminist. As for the music transitions, I have a bit of a problem with that. *Random Ass Beat* problem with that *RAB* problem with that *RAB* problem with that, but its all good. lol.
Link / ReplyDicks are gross anyways. Who needs em.
Link / ReplyI will never tire of hearing Soha-san.
Link / ReplyI enjoyed the conversation. I think I also get what you were trying to achieve with the music and what not. I enjoyed it. I could see this being a really good video feature though if you guys had the time.
Link / ReplyAbsolutely fantastic. Keep up the great work you guys. I can't wait to hear more. Maybe another topic to look into is the unrealistic dichotomy in the portrayal of both male and female characters. Men are either hyper-masculine or the exact opposite (Dante vs. Gordon Freeman). Women are either a femme-fatal or a damsel in distress (Bayonetta vs. Princess Peach). Obviously, this doesn't exist in every game. However, I think we see it more often than not, especially in male characters. Male characters are not a subject typically touched on, but I think a problem definitely exists. The most common male character in video games solidifies the societally constructed idea of "masculine." That may or may not be a good thing. Food for thought!
Link / ReplyThank you for the awesome suggestion!!
Link / ReplyTotally behind this. Jim Sterling had a fantastic point when he wrote about the boyfriend's head in Lollipop Chainsaw, about how he saw men could be objectified so easily. Not to mention that men have ridiculous standards that society thinks they should be held up to that appears in a lot of games.
Link / ReplyThanks for the comments. Unfortunately, if I took the audio edits out of this feature....we'd have a standard podcast, which isn't what I was aiming for here. I'm glad you're being honest though. :) The feature is not for everyone, and quite honestly, It is intended to be this way. Keep the comments coming. Feedback will help me shape the next episode.
Link / ReplyI'm liking this. It's much more of an audio experience than a straight podcast. I'm behind it 100%.
Link / ReplyThe audio work in this podcast were a little irritating but nonetheless I still enjoyed this podcast quite a bit.
Link / ReplyI really like this Jeff awesome job on it, I can't wait to see more of these.
Link / ReplyThanks for the helpful and supportive comments, everyone! I had a blast doing this with Jeff and though I understand the music might've been unexpected, I think it helps split up our points and keep the interest generated in our discussion without risking us droning on. Jeff did a fantastic job. Can't wait for podcast #2!
Link / ReplyI'm interested in where this will go in the future.
Link / ReplyI actually really enjoyed this. Both of you made really good points and I found the format to be easy to listen to and even relaxing in some moments. I also have to admit I got a good chuckle out of Jeff's "Problem Wit' It" breakdown. Thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking at the same time. I hope more of these are coming.
Link / ReplyThis is a topic I take a lot of interest in, and I get that you're not trying to follow a standard podcast format, but personally I just didn't really "get" what you were going for with the audio edits. I guess there were some points where I felt the music breaks kinda allowed for the listener to reflect on what was just said and form their opinion on the matter before continuing to the next topic, but other times the way things were emphasized just felt corny or even nonsensical. I'd still like to see where this goes, for now, so I'll keep listening.
Link / ReplyI thoroughly enjoyed this. I admit with some of the other folks in the thread, I'm not fond of the random beats. I see exactly what you were going for, and it's a good idea. It's a lot easier to understand transitions between questions or topics if you have a little *beep bloop* noise letting you know the previous section has ended. I think it might be just as good to have something short like the Pac-Man death noise, clip of Space Invaders shooting. Just wanted to point out that not all women or feminists are "dick-cutting". It's just a few assholes in a group. Same for the jerk men who say "women don't have a place working, leaving home, etc." Every group has a couple extremist dicks that make more noise, get noticed, then people think the whole group is like them. Just a shitty situation.
Link / ReplyAs the composer on these projects, I was trying to explore multitudes of break ideas in between segments. So, there are a varied bunch of approaches I took which I can promise will have more direction, as these continue coming. The music will always be there guys, but I think if you continue to pay attention to these you're going to be surprised. Thanks for all the love, and comments...suggestions. P.S: Soha is really smart, and easy to talk to. You'll be seeing more of her...wait...not in that way. I meant like...in the audio-docs, not...
Link / ReplyGuess I'm not gonna be in this feature's audience. The topic is fine and good, I'm just not really digging the audio/ambiance cues that transition one part to the next as I found them rather distracting.
Link / ReplyI appreciated the topic, and I think the audio cues work in a way that helps the listener to re-engage and consider the points being made and reflect on them. I feel as though often when I'm listening to podcasts I tend to zone out after a while, and the format here really helps me to be a lot more engaged with the points that are being covered.
Link / ReplyYeah, really not digging this podcast. Sorry guys.
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