A Note from my 9-Year-Old Self

       I can remember the thrill of holding the box containing my first video game. I felt like the coolest kid on the block when I marched over to my computer to pop in none other than a bright pink Barbie Secret Agent CD-ROM. Suddenly, the doll that had made it through so many played out scenarios was alive and interactive on the small, blinking screen. Barbie immediately spoke to me with utmost urgency, telling me that it was all up to me to save the day (a lot of responsibility for a 9-year-old girl). As I started to press down the arrows and spacebar as Barbie instructed me to, she ceased to speak as I now became Barbie. This felt much different from the usual playing sessions in front of the Barbie Dreamhouse-- in this world, I didn't have all the creative control.

       I'll be honest, I've never really delved in to analyze the purpose of video games. I've always seen them as what they seem to be on the surface: adventures, puzzles, and/or challenges wrapped up in a distinctive set of characters and setting. However, today in class, I was able to add in the new element of context. After all the years, now I begin to ask myself, "What was Barbie's motivation in helping save the world?" "Were her motives purely altruistic?" or better yet, "How can she fight crime for hours without even smudging her makeup?". Watching "Indie Game: The Movie"showed me that every detail that is put in the game is for a reason. In the case of Fez, it was the simple design yet the complexity of a 3D world. In Meat Boy, it was the depth of Meat Boy's character who strives to complete himself by rescuing Bandage Girl from Dr. Fetus. I was shown that every character has his/her/its own distinctive narrative and though it may not by apparent at first glance (clearly in the case of "Soulja Boy" while playing Braid), it can be hidden in even the most cut and dry dialogue.

       Now to come back to my Barbie video game and bring back some of Leonard's arguments from the article in class; Just for curiosity, I decided to look at the differences between the cover art for the Barbie video game I purchased in 2003:

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/4647/1243559-577778_52644_front_large.jpg

compared to a Barbie game for Wii released in 2011:

http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/4/605374_178306_front.jpg

Well one thing hasn't seemed to change: although 2011 Barbie seems to have brought every dog from the park, shampooed, dried, brushed, and "glammed" each one, she doesn't seem to have broken a sweat or messed up her sparkly outfit. Some differences that do jump out at me are 2011 Barbie's much more narrow waist, her much bigger, bluer eyes, her slightly augmented breasts, and much girlier outfit. What social argument could this make? Perhaps the shift in view of what a women should be in the past 9 years? Were the cover artists following this shift or causing this shift? I can't be sure of the answers to these questions but I can't help but to assume that Leonard's evaluation of sexism and stereotypes can be applied to even a children's video game.