Digital Story

Link to Presentation

Digital story StoryBoard

Link to Powerpoint.

Annotated Bibliography

Dockterman, Eliana. "Felicia Day Writes About #Gamergate, Gets Information Hacked." Time.Com (2014): 1. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This article outlines the treatment of women by gamers and how those that step out of line are treated. It talks about how information is published in order to harm women and the lengths that people go to hurt those women who stand up against the mainstream. It also shows the steps that people will go to protect these women. Football players, other gamers, they all will stand up for those pointed out. It will serve to be a good article providing information on both sides. This will allow me to make a more educated narrative and guess about how a female gamer or designer could be treated by both sides. It also serves to prove that not all people are against this open market. 

Peckham, Matt. "Fixing What's Wrong With Gamergate Starts With You." Time.Com (2014): 1. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This article outlines some similarities between religion and the situation surrounding this recent Gamergate problem. It will allow me to make comparisons in my narrative and, again, create a more informed situation for my character. It also highlights some of the sources of the hatred of women in this area of culture, granting me something to home in on in future research, if needed. It is also a negative response to Gamergate, showing how others outside this community view the issue and women, showing that there is a wider range to social media. The issue of women and their portrayal in video games is definitely toxic, and this article has some information that shows this fact. It can be brought up as a source or quote within the narrative, or simply some of the ideas can be shown in the final product. 

Poniewozik, James. "Misogynist Online Abuse Is Everyone's Problem-Men Included." Time.Com (2014): 1. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This article takes the Gamergate issue and shows trends across the spectrum in other areas of social media and electronic life. It shows that women are scared, not only in video games, but everywhere, and that when ever they respond or complain, this is the reaction. It identifies that women experience this everywhere, not just in the video game world. This will allow me to include reactions from people about more than one issue and possibly show the causes of them. Essentially, the existence of this article provides me with some information about origins of female exclusion across the electronic planet. I can use it to make further inferences about how people may react in these forums as well as the reasons women may have for not getting involved. I can also use the excuses provided with in the article in the creation of the responses of other characters in the narratives.

Feeney, Nolan. "Sweden Considers Special Labels For Sexist Video Games." Time.Com (2014): N.PAG. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This small article has within it some statistics about the number of women who work in the Video game industry in the US as well as some ideas for the roles of video games in culture. It mentions how they are a form of "cultural expression" and how they can be used to change the perceptions of certain groups.

Edmonds, Lisa. "A Joy Stick Of One's Own." Herizons 12.2 (1998): 20-23. Women's Studies International. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This article reviews how women are portrayed within video games, commenting on clothing style and attitude, and what this means for women. It will provide me with some information on how women are portrayed so, if I enter that realm, I do have something to work off of and use. It also compares the type of games girls and boys usually like, giving a baseline to work off of. In terms of a baseline, it can allow me to create realistic responses to the main character of my story who may be "breaking" these norms. Over all, this will give me a very nice basis to work off when it comes down to the content of the games girls are told to play.

Article assignment

Post a significant article (not from the Guardian) with a full reference to your blog based on your Snowden research.

Hayden, Michael V. "Beyond Snowden." World Affairs 176.5 (2014): 13-23. Political Science Complete. Web. 23 Nov.                      2014. <http://0-search.ebscohost.com.library.jcu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=poh&AN=93548310&site=eds-                live>.

Digital Story Proposal

Proposal

Within many forms of digital media, societal norms are expressed and impressed upon us. From an early age, children are constantly bombarded with messages about Gender Roles on television shows and advertisements. As they grow up, and begin to use digital media more often, these earlier teachings are reinforced in movies, video games, internet sites, advertisements, more mature TV shows, and other forms of digital media. These forms of "mass media" disseminate large amounts of information across a wide area and populace, socializing many different people at the same time, feeding them the same message. With this, the societal norms inside of these different forms become reinforced and more present in society.

My digital story will be a fictional story highlighting this phenomenon. It will highlight the experiences of a "queer" person who doesn't follow the normal binary and what they experience as they go through their life. It will take the form of a "video game" using a website as a way to jump from phase to phase. It will try to meld education and elements from a "Choose your own adventure" story, taking some inspiration from the works of Merritt Kopas.

The efforts, up to this point, have mainly been around trying to find programs that would be able to do such an endeavor. It was originally thought that a PowerPoint would suffice, as it carries with it the ability to link slides and create a video game-esque idea. However, it was pointed out early on that it would be impossible to embed it into my blog or publish it for others to use. After this, the idea of transforming a website was brought up, and it is one I am currently considering and thinking about. Another idea is taking Google Slides and seeing if it could work.

The pros to using a website are that it is less work on the person to use the website and easier to find. You will always be taken to the home page and it would be easier to just go through it. It however, might prove awkward and hard to use. Google slides, on the other hand, is pretty much a Microsoft Powerpoint like program that would allow me to create something accessible by a wide audience, have the look of a video game, but however not have the capability to embed sound or a video link, if desired.  There are pros and cons in both programs and ways, and these will have to be considered as the date of reckoning approaches (the due date). The website may prove more moldable and flexible, but the Google slides idea is easier and less of a headache to use.

Annotated Bibliography

Kopas, Merritt. "What are Games Good For? Videogame Creation as Social, Artistic, and Investigative Practice." Online posting. MerrittKopas.net. n.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://mkopas.net/files/talks/UVic2013Talk-WhatAreGamesGoodFor.pdf>.

Merrit Kopas, here, gives a synopsis on a talk she did a good while about Video Games and what they can do and be used for. At one point, she mentions that "making a game to model a system can be one way of learning something about that system – and the things we learn from doing so may be different from the things we’d learn in more traditional investigative modes." Essentially, it means that I will learn more about creating a video game placing myself in the shoes of the person I am discussing than I ever would if I just simply tried to research it.

Bailey, Jane, et al. "Negotiating With Gender Stereotypes on Social Networking Sites: From “Bicycle Face” to Facebook." Journal of Communication Inquiry37.2 (2013): 91-112. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://digitalmediafys.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/69691259/Bailey_Jane2013GenderStereotypes.pdf>.

In this rundown on a experiment about Digital media and how it affects our interpretations, many different ideas and conclusions are brought up in the introduction. Connections to past events are made and these can be used to make inferences about the future. We can see how we are affected by these experiences and make an educated guess from this information. It simply will allow me to speculate the effects and reactions of others to what they see as well, as the experiment had a lot to do with how women see other women.

Dockterman, Eliana. "What Is #Gamergate And Why Are Women Being Threatened About Video Games?." Time.Com (2014): N.PAG. Business Source Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

In this article discussing the recent "Gamergate" movement, the author speaks about just the history of the movement, which is tied very closely to how video games represent Women. This article will be helpful because it will provide me with insight into how gamers view and treat women who are different from themselves and hold different opinions. One example of this sort of hatred is actually making threats against these women who speak out or even enter this area of the workforce.

Afterthought: It would appear the story I am considering may lean towards a woman gamer and game developer.

Codes of Gender Digital Story

Link to Prezi.

Social Media and Gender

Effects of Societal pressures and Video Games

I do my thing, and you do yours thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations

And you are not in this world to live up to mine. 

You are you and I am I,

And if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.

if not, it can't be helped.

-Frederick Perls, Gestalt Therapy Verbatim

In the introduction to his book, Dr. Perls includes this little gem commonly called the Gestalt Prayer. It calls the patient to drop the outside influences of the world and to be simply themselves. This though is hard to do as Perls even remarks that "To suffer one's death and to be reborn is not easy." 

We are continually invited by society to enter into stereotypes, what Perls is calling for his patients to forget. We are socialized and trained how to act and see the world. As was seen in the movie "the Codes of Gender," this is especially true in advertisement, which positions and poses men and women in ways that fit into stereotypes. These ads, commonly viewed in ads, are an example of one way we are socialized. Video games offer a similar outlook though, usually picturing men as tough and independent, people who make things happen and cause change. Call of Duty, Battlefield, Halo, popular titles that always show men as this strong force, as the changers and betters of the world.

Even advertisements for video games have this effect. Women shown in these ads tend to be shown or drawn exactly as is shown in "the Codes of Gender." In game, they are also made to be "the perfect woman." The ideal woman all men want. They reflect how women should act or behave, and how they should show themselves off. 

One can see what has been presented in everything else from movies to music videos, TV shows to sports games, women are shown as passive, submissive, open figures, and this portrayal invites people into the culture, to play with it, to join it. When everyone in the world believes one thing, it is easy to see why it is hard "to suffer one's death" and be reborn anew. The culture doesn't let you be an individual, as they tend to be crushed and destroyed through oppressive forces in the media and real world. 

It is no wonder that Perls says this causes psychological problems. Being suppressed by society and shoved into a box you may not agree with should and does have many negative and adverse effects on a person's psyche.