Comments on Game Cabaret: Repressed Homoeroticism in R-Type

In some cases interpretations say more about the i...

2008-07-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

In some cases interpretations say more about the interpreter than that which is being interpreted.
Great read, though--it was a blast.

I think R-type is a game against people that are l...

2008-05-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

I think R-type is a game against people that are left-handed, the games pushes you to the right always.

its deeper meaning is: use your right hand.

And I really really hope, that all of you are very good at sarcasm. or else, the entire gaming world is gay. Ryu shoots sperm with his hands, samus has a HOLE in her right arm (maybe it is about anal sex?), Mario has adventures in the mushroom kingdom (its all about drugs, right?) and PAC-MAN INVENTED THE VERY CONCEPT OF RAVING: EAT PILLS TO AVOID THE GHOSTS OF THE DARK MAZES WITH REPETITIVE MUSIC!

Any discussion about sexuality and R-Type should n...

2008-04-28T11:40:00.001-07:00

Any discussion about sexuality and R-Type should not fail to reference Alien, of which the majority of the series' Gigeresque artwork is inspired. Alien was designed to disturb on all levels, including the sexual level. All male characters in the film are emasculated - they cannot do anything against the Alien and one is in fact victim to symbolic fellatio when Kane is attacked by the Facehugger (and perhaps literal - it is, after all, an Alien). (Remember, too, that Alien has lots of vaginal openings, particularly on the wrecked ship). One of the underlying themes of Alien is also the monstrous-feminine, another recurring theme in R-Type.

However, there is a risk at going too far with this type of analysis. For one thing, we don't know if R-Type was just taking a strong Gigeresque art style and applying it to an original universe. On a much simpler note, one can possibly read Pong as a set of arguments (and the game has been remade as such a few times), but Pong is simply a simulation of Table Tennis. However, Tennis itself has at its core the concept of 'debate' and was invented by monks as a more peaceful game or exercise, so it's unsurprising that Pong, based off Tennis, can easily incorporate debate as metaphor for volleys. Likewise, a work that uses a Gigeresque style may not be thinking directly of applying its sexual undertones (even though they are present), but is instead using the style because it is popular and 'creepy'. There are many other shmups that use this style (Katakis, Biometal, and PhilSoma to name a few) and the same analysis would likely apply to these as well. I'm not sure what you'd do about the giant space fish of Darius.

A far stronger analysis of sexuality in R-Type is the final stage of R-Type Delta ("Life") with the giant sperm and the embryo that the R-9 must 'fertilize' with its force pod. Also the final stage of R-Type Final (F-A) has a silhouetted couple procreating in the background while a bunch of eyeball ships surround and attack the R-9. And whatever this does to your reading, remember that the R-9 penetrates the vaginal Gomander in Stage 6 after blowing up the phallic 'worm' (stage F-A is inside). (this isn't even counting Final's Bydo-based fighters, in which the pilot must be completely immersed in a gelatinous environment in order to operate).

Certainly sperm-like laser blasts (particularly those fired by the force bits) and giant space sperm appear in several of the games, but R-Type's sexual undertones are not specifically homoerotic but rather sexually and biologically disturbing in general. For a more blatantly homoerotic game, go with Cho Aniki's biomechanical and exposed bodies. Another study might be done on the over-masculinized box art of the 70s and 80s.

Any discussion about sexuality and R-Type should n...

2008-04-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Actually, I think chris's post is in the spirit of...

2008-02-27T17:26:00.000-08:00

Actually, I think chris's post is in the spirit of Duchamp's urinal, which he used to say "Art is what I say it is."

Games can be interpreted and analyzed just as well as movies, even though both are entertainment.

Symbolism and metaphors can easily be abused, but they can be found anywhere. As countless analyses have shown, even advertising has metaphors and symbols. And where you have metaphors, you have inherent implications about what is good and bad, as this PSP ad shows (which hard to believe it wasn't intentional).

Modern art has one recurring theme: art can be whatever we want it to be, whether it's soup cans, urinals, elephant dung, or games.

Besides, Cho Aniki has obvious anti-left connotati...

2008-02-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

Besides, Cho Aniki has obvious anti-left connotations...

Kevin - normally I would agree with everything you...

2008-02-25T21:57:00.000-08:00

Kevin - normally I would agree with everything you've said and make the same criticisms myself (and I especially would not have written it for my own blog. That being said, this place is all about making wild armchair generalizations and taking them to new, disturbing, and intellectually vacuous heights.

(Okay - and to really respond to your comment Kevin - there is no 'proof' to anything in art, so taking an interpretive approach to a piece and treating it as art is in itself worthwhile I think. The rather carnal imagery that this game has does in fact draw upon a lot of bodily imagery - the fact that we find it 'disgusting' is very representative of a Western Judeo-Christian concern with the body as a place of guilt. Now, obviously my little analysis goes off the deep end for poetic effect, but you haven't provided me with an alternative analysis with any better footing. In fact, your comment amounts to "it's just a yucky game" in the end. I don't think the game is a philosophically heavy experience - but I think the experience of playing it is very carnal. Whether it is/is not given the status of 'art' is beside the question, I think - but you're right, nobody is going to pursue their personal development through an encounter with R-Type. Unless you're repressed.)

Cho Aniki I can understand as it's BLATANTLY about...

2008-02-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

Cho Aniki I can understand as it's BLATANTLY about homoeroticism. R-Type is disgusting, but is it a representation of repressed homoeroticism? Half of the reasons given in the article aren't intristic to just R-Type (airplanes and spaceships are phallic, and guns/lasers/bullets have also been described that way.) That's not proof that the creators are reprsessing some kind of homosexuality.

Furthermore, the other reasons (sexually shaped environments and enemies) is more believable, but I think it's not so much the creators repressing homosexuality as the creators wanting disgusting creepy looking monsters in their game, designed the way they are to induce a mental gag reflex.

Lastly I think Chris is reaching for straws in his analysis, stretching things to make what is simply a shooter with weird monsters into a more philosophically heavy experience. And, really the same conclusions could be reached for any game, and if you have to bring your own personal opinion about a piece is it valid? Maybe for art, but it's a game, created and intended for people to purchase and be entertained by. It can't be saying anything because it's not in a style or an environment that causes people to seek meaning within itself. Have we learned nothing from Duchamp?

That said, I think Super Mario Bros. has not only repressed sexual tones, but incest, bestiality, drug abuse, self-castration, communistic overtones and infantalism.

Would you believe you're not the first person to n...

2008-02-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

Would you believe you're not the first person to notice this? A friend of mine actually wrote a short article on a similar topic last year:

http://blog.dessgeega.com/?p=99

Also funny since I was recently talking to another friend about the homosexual undertones of the Alien created by Giger.

Of course, R-Type has nothing on Cho Aniki... except maybe subtlety.

http://www.hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/
choaniki/choaniki.htm

We're only joking when we pretend to play for high...

2008-02-25T04:47:00.000-08:00

We're only joking when we pretend to play for high-scores... Ha!

Oh god please be joking...Please tell me you're al...

2008-02-25T00:13:00.000-08:00

Oh god please be joking...

Please tell me you're all having fun and don't actually take that stuff to heart...

Thanks for the thoughtful reply LB. The fatherhood...

2008-02-18T15:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the thoughtful reply LB. The fatherhood insecurity symbolism is a good observation - I had not thought of that (probably because I focused so much on the eroticism).

Re: Samus. Wow! I hadn't thought of that. I've been playing through Super Metroid on my SNES - I'm going to start watching with more open eyes. I did notice that in Super Metroid the goal is to rescue the metroid hatchling.. wow. Surprised I missed that one. That whole game could really use some teasing apart.

Going to read that Popmatters article now..

Ack...my HTML skills are non-existent. Just google...

2008-02-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

Ack...my HTML skills are non-existent. Just google "Popmatters Rethinking Halo" and you'll find it.

Great read. I like that you combined gameplay with...

2008-02-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

Great read. I like that you combined gameplay with the art, that's always been the thing lacking in critical analysis of games. Game design is the thing people need to learn how to talk about.

You could also argue that a lot of the creatures resembling children (the phallic one you screen captured, for example) seem to indicate a fear of fatherhood and growing up.

My personal favorite game for sexual repression has always been Metroid. Samus is always fighting against another woman. Although most of the sub-bosses have something phallic about them (Ridley's tail, Kraid's projectile spikes) it is always the woman, the repressive mother figure, that the sexy Samus has come to rescue us from.

Tough topic though, most of the pieces I've read talking about how games tend to address sexual insecurity get a fair amount of hazing. Case in point:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/48962/rethinking-halo/

I think you're definitely right about that. In fac...

2008-02-18T08:02:00.000-08:00

I think you're definitely right about that. In fact *all* human acts, Freud would probably claim, have a basis in sexual expression.

What makes R-Type special is the degree to which I can draw out sexual symbolism. I didn't pick the game randomly - it really does have a strong eroticism to the boss enemies. As for sh'mups, I think they truly appeal most to male desires for umm.. bigger phalluses. :) Like driving a Corvette.

Right. That definitely changes things. Here's a qu...

2008-02-18T02:09:00.000-08:00

Right. That definitely changes things. Here's a question though: wouldn't any standart maze-shmup appear to be repressive/repressed in such a way?

Thanks for the replies. Of course, I did take a lo...

2008-02-17T18:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the replies. Of course, I did take a lot of poetic license in writing this one up.

The one thing I should have mentioned is that the designers did not "intentionally" design the game with these repressive features. The point of repression is that it is "unintentional" - that they themselves did not recognize the game as being erotic in any way.

To be perfectly honest, I hadn't thought of this k...

2008-02-17T06:39:00.000-08:00

To be perfectly honest, I hadn't thought of this kind of subtext in video games, as all I usually tend to try and figure out are political connotations (not that hard really) or just point out the odd impressively sexist game. So, Chris, thanks for actually pointing towards this direction, though I do feel you're stretching it too much.

After all, I'm pretty sure that there was no intentional sexual subtext inserted in the design and judging by HR Gigers deranged sureal erotic art (the one irem ripped off) I'd hardly call them bosses sexists. Then again, I might just be wrong. Guess I'll have to expand me reading a bit...

I love sex, but this is not the kind of sex that I...

2008-02-14T19:17:00.000-08:00

I love sex, but this is not the kind of sex that I was hoping for.

JESUS! And I thought R-Type was just a generic 2D ...

2008-02-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

JESUS! And I thought R-Type was just a generic 2D side scrolling SHMUP!

Mind you, if I think about it, SHMUP stands for Sticks His Manhood Up Poo-Na-Na-s... Jeez! You guys are like the overlords of videogames!

I'm strictly heterosexual... But obviously I've got homo-erotic overtones...

I liked SHMUPS, but obviously that makes me gay! I'm confused! Help me Game Cabaret! Surely you know the answers... LOL!