Community

COMMUNITY GENDER ROLES IN ANIME

GAME OF GENDERS?

RISE OF THE GIRL GAMER

TALKING WITH THE COMMUNITY

ATTACK ON TITAN FILM REVIEW GAME OF GENDERS EDITION

RISE OF THE GIRL GAMER

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SEXISM IN GAMING by Caleb Solomon Women have always been objectified in most forms of popular media, mainly video games nowadays.

Before, women only had small and meaningless roles in video games, such as being attractive, a simple love interest and sometimes useless, needing a man by their sides. It has taken a while but in the last ten years or so we have seen some strong female leads emerge in the gaming industry.

The gaming demographic is changing. More females are starting to pick up gaming as a hobby for many reasons.

Games of today are far more accessible than ever, and the thought that was attached to being a gamer for so long is beginning to change.

It has become more socially acceptable for anyone, including females, to be known for playing video games.

It is not uncommon nowadays to run into a female gamer in an online game of Call of Duty, and for some couples, it has become a great way to spend time with each other. Much more girls are gaming now than before, but they are still in the minority. While they are the minority, we will continue to see females portrayed in a way that many women might find degrading and offensive, which may keep some women from deciding to game in the first place The demographic of gamers is mostly male, with there being less females playing competitive games, there’s less people willing to go and make a living off playing on a professional level. Change is happening, at a slower pace than the gaming industry is growing. There are a lot more female casters/ analysts/players today than they were two years ago, but it’s far less than the males. Online games nowadays still consist mostly of men, and while change is slowly happening, were still on the Internet. You’re more likely to be recognized as a girl than by your skill.

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GENDER ROLES IN ANIME

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HOW GENDER ROLES ARE CONSTRUCTED IN ANIME by Daniella Mizrachi Anime is watched around the world, has its own events and names for specific people who watch it. It’s a huge community in Japan, with cosplay events and book signings held often.

Each anime has its own main theme and its characters are diverse.

Commonly men are dominant, they are the hero’s and the bold ones. Women on the other hand are submissive homemakers and sex objects. More often than not, women are in skimpy outfits, have huge breasts and you see their underwear. This has been in anime for years and has been the norm for years. However you do get Anime with men and women leads who are equally matched in skills and everything, but even then there are times where the man takes control of the situation or helps the damsel. A good example of this is Kaichou wa Maid-sama. Men in anime can also be weak or submissive and effeminate. Where they have girl-like qualities and are often forced to dress as such. This is often called Yaoi anime but not always again in the above example one character is forced to dress as a girl to lure a boy out of hiding who happens to be terrified of girls. Anime has many different types of characters some can be nerdy or weak, strong and independent but in general anime between a man and women its very sexist.

The main difference between Hollywood and Japan is the characters. Japan has a completely different take on women unlike in Hollywood where they were homemakers and are now soldiers and fighters however there are movies that still have the old themes of women and men, Japan has kept the old traditions and doesn't believe or want to conform to the new and improved.

Women and men have set roles in anime and those that do challenge these roles do go back to some basics. Anime is very complex and Japan has rules involving it certain elements in the original manga will have to be edited out or changed completely depending on who the target audience is, anime is diverse and unique in many ways. There is something for everyone.

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GENDER ROLES IN SPORT

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Gender Roles in Sports by Ricardo Pereira There are various reasons why women sports are less popular as well as less supported by fans. One of the reasons is media coverage. Because it is less profitable to stream women’s sports than men’s sports the media companies barely ever create any news articles on female’s sports.

Unlike male’s sports which get so much media coverage, there are channels like Blitz, Sky sports new, that are live every day 24 hours in which 85% to 95% of news are about men. I believe that this is also due to female discrimination, many people believe that females do not have the same level of skill as a male on the same sport that is at the same relative level (no1 male in tennis and no1 female in tennis).

I once had the opportunity to watch a female world cup soccer match , the final and I could tell that the stadium was not even half full and that is a final! Now because of this lack of supporters and publicity the sportswomen get paid less. The no1 male tennis player gets paid a lot more than the no2 female tennis player.

This is not due to their skill level or what they have won but mostly due to things outside of sport like publicity and sponsorships. More people are likely to follow a male athlete on an ad than a female athlete so because of the amount of shirt sales a person like Cristiano Ronaldo will get will be way higher than Marta ( soccer player that won the prestigious Ballon d’or a number of times.

This is a disappointing issue as it is almost impossible to reverse it, it is down to all of the past women discrimination which set people’s mind set that women are not as good at certain things than men. This is so powerful that even I do believe to a certain extent that there are things that most men can do in sports than women but I can totally believe that if I was brought up in a time where females and males were absolutely equal, I would, most likely have a different perspective.

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FILM REVIEWS FEATURING ATTACK ON TITAN AND CLOUD ATLAS

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Attack on Titan Film Review

by Daniella Mizrachi Release date: 19th September 2015 and 1st August 2015 Director: Shinji Higuchi Review Date: 15 September 2016 Rating: 3 Stars Famous Actors: Haruma Miura, Kiko Mizuhara, Hiroki Hasegawa, Katana HongĹ?, Takahiro Miura, Nanami Sakuraba, Satoru Matsuo, Shu Watanabe, Ayame Misaki, Rina Takeda, Pierre Taki, Satomi Ishihara, Jun Kunimaura.

Attack On Titan was a take on the first season of the anime Attack On Titan or Shingeki no Kyojin, it involves almost the entire cast of the original characters from the anime, along with the fact there are abnormalities surrounding one specific character throughout the movie.

The movie is set after the 1500s inside the walls of a town each town has a name and a wall to separate each town and protect them from the man-eating beasts called Titans. The main protagonist has 3 friends; Eren (the protagonist) is best friends with Mikasa and Armin. They eventually go into the Survey Corps together. Mikasa is one of the main focuses of the movie and anime because she and Eren are basically siblings. However the tough, strong women with a bright red sacrf we know and love is gone and in her place is a submissive and very sweet Mikasa whom we don't know at all. Gone is the solider and her protective side has vanished. We fell in love with the completely different take on how she, although a girl in those times, just has to stare at bullies and they flee. In her place is a super sweet girly girl who is nice and Eren is her protector and defender as she is now a damsel and not the last of her kind. She is not unique anymore and her cold shoulder personality is gone. The true essence of Mikasa was taken away and replaced with a smiling and girly girl. Her soft spot for Eren is gone and she now is sweet to everyone. They also made Eren assume she died! A completely contradicts to the original script where they stick together. Until they join the army. This was one the biggest mistakes the director made.

The movie should not have been made, as the original animation and storyline is easy to follow and is very well executed because of the time taken to put it on. This movie is has similarities to the series but vast differences in events and characters overall I give it a 3 star the acting was okay and the visual aspects were very well executed, the story is lacking many aspects of the original story line and therefore gets is review.

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Cloud Atlas goes beyond the clouds to reach new levels of Sci-fi!

by Robert Walton Release Date: 2nd November 2012 Directors: The Wachowskis Date of Review: 17 September 2016 Overall Rating : 5 STARS Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry,Jim Sturgess, Ben Whitshaw, Bae Doona, Hugo Weaving,Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent and James D’arcy.

Cloud Atlas is a magnificent independent science-fiction movie which was directed and written by The Wachowskis. It was adapted from a novel of the same name by David Mitchell. The movie is set across six different timelines, each having a different story, but being influenced by one another.This was masterfully put together by The Wachowskis. The movie also has an all-star cast starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.

Cloud Atlas excelled in all aspects, the direction, performance, editing and soundtrack were executed to perfection. It connects with the viewer showing how an individual life can impact others in the past, present and future.One of the main highlights of the movie was definitely the Cloud Atlas Sextet. This was a recurring musical theme in the movie, which made dramatic and heartfelt scenes even more powerful.

The movie does however enter controversial areas concerning gender and race.The movie had a male dominant cast, featuring only two main female characters.Thus men had more screen time in the movie.There were also elements of the director’s own problems with gender equality. Finally one the stories was based on someone going against society and causing a revolution. This can inspire people around the world to fight for gender equality and other serious issues.

Overall it was an amazing passionate movie and deserves the full 5 out of 5 stars.

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TALKING WITH THE COMMUNITY FEATURING VICTORIA BECKHAM, ROBERT WALTON AND CALEB SOLOMON

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VICTORIA BECKHAM URGES WOMEN TO WEAR LINGERIE BY ITSELF

by Daniella Mizrachi Victoria Beckham has now urged the women of the world to wear Lingerie by itself; this has caused some serious uproar within the women community and some are holding it against her.

She has joined me, Daniella Mizrachi, today for an exclusive interview on this situation.

DM: Good Evening Victoria.

VB: Good evening Daniella. Thank you for having me DM: So lets get into the dirty details. What is your reasoning behind wanting women to wear lingerie by itself?

VB: Women has unrealistic ideals of beauty and they put up with it, all girls are beautiful and I would like them to try wear it more often to encourage self-confidence.

DM: Very true, it's a nice idea, however women are now very angry about this situation, how do you feel about it?

VB: I feel it’s not a situation it's a difficult situation with a mental block of the ideals of the normal. Women need to be more out there for themselves and no one else.

DM: You’re absolutely right, Hear that ladies be what you want to be, be the person you want to see in the mirror and don't give up. Anything else you want to point out?

VB: Women of the world, if you are watching this I have 2 words for you, be yourself!

Men appreciate if your lady is brave enough to wear lingerie in public, encourage her and if you want to wear it too do so! Be brave and bold.

DM: Thank you so much and we hope the next we hear of you will be great news.

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GENDER EQUALITY IN SPORT by Robert Walton Interviewing a Grade 11 Parklands College student on the subject of gender equality in sport.

Robert: Good morning Caleb, how are you today ?

Caleb: Pretty good thanks and you ?

Robert: Good thanks, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding gender equality, specifically in sport.

Caleb: Of course, I would like to share my opinion, I have a few interesting notes on this topic.

Robert: Fantastic! What is your view on why men get paid more in sport ?

Robert: Also do you agree or disagree with this controversial matter ?

Caleb: Well, first off I agree with this, men are generally better at sports since they have been playing them for longer and thus they are more entertaining.

Caleb: Men also get more viewership in sport, so they will get paid more due to them bringing in more viewers.

Robert: Interesting, do you think sponsorship also has a part in this?

Caleb: Definitely, sponsors such as Nike will pay them more if their product can get more screen time, as more people will see their product.

Robert: I agree with that, the world is driven by money and that is a excellent reason you have given.

Robert: I do think though this will change as female participation in sport in sport has increased by 873% in the last hundred years.

Caleb: Yes, as the world develops the pay gap will hopefully decrease and we will live in a word with gender equality.

Robert: Thank you so much for your time today, it was very valuable.

Caleb: Its been a pleasure discussing this important topic!

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CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY FEATURING THE CREATIVE WORKS OF THE READERS OF OUR MAGAZINE

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We must make a world

by Caleb Solomon We must make a world, a miracle to behold, For women to walk with pride at night and be bold.

To speak and to laugh with ease as they please, Respect is not a word we want to tease.

Open doors and open windows, degrade no women, Nor push men aside anymore, Simple and sweet we must feel to accept, If we respect women ,we will no longer need to regret.

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I see a world

by Robert Walton I see a dark world filled with hate and anger, I see a world where there is no equality and hope, Like an endless storm continually raging in the night there is no sign of light.

As each day goes past the condition worsens, people try to fight the darkness ,but it only results in pain.

Screams of agony and anger echo across the world, but there is no answer to that call.

I am blinded, not by light ,but by all the darkness in our world and I will only regain my sight once there is hope and equality in this endless struggle for light.

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I would want to change something dear to my heart

by Ricardo Pereira I would want to change something dear to my heart The one thing that keeps us apart Either man or a woman we all play a part I would reverse everything to a fresh new start.

No rule has been set that cannot be broken Women’s rights be made and not spoken This world is too large for men to control Women are important and deserve a role

I would want to change something dear to my heart Like the times we were told at the young age of ten That women are weak, weaker than men.

I wish I could change the rules of the world That women are chic and all men are bold

Women portrayed on tv washing cars Whilst men are more capable for working in bars A man or a woman we are all the same It is not polite to put each other to shame This is real life no video game This is about kindness, tis’ a passing game.

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REFERENCES Sources for all images: https://www.google.co.za/imghp Source for Chapter 1: http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Feature/373033,gender-equalit y-is-important-in-gaming-heres-why.aspx Source for Chapter 2: http://www.mit.edu/~rei/manga-gender.html Source for Chapter 3: http://www.sportanddev.org/en/learnmore/sport_and_gender/ the_role_of_sport_in_addressing_gender_issues/ Sources for Chapter 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Titan_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Atlas_(film) Sources for Chapter 5: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rendezview/so-what-if-mode ls-are-skinny-its-their-job/news-story/3d70bfd25ed8fd4f817047 9f2ec102a2 http://masculinityandgenderrolesinsports.blogspot.co.za/p/gen der-roles-in-sports.html Sources for Chapter 6: None Recognition goes to the Writers of the Articles: Daniella Mizrachi,Ricardo Pereira,Caleb Solomon and Robert Walton 17