Repressed Homoeroticism in R-Type

While the homoerotic subtext in films such as Top Gun and Frank Miller's 300 have been explored rather vigorously by the mainstream media, less attention is typically given to video games. In this article I explore some facets of subtly repressed homoeroticism its roots in cultural discomforts with the portrayal of the sexual human body.

Most side-scrolling "shooters" are known for their fast-paced action, copious enemies, and "end bosses" that herald the near-completion of a level. One of the most ubiquitous shoot'em'up side-scrollers was released in the 1980s: R-Type. Like most of the arcade shooters that followed, R-Type featured a singular space ship controlled by the player via joystick embattled by screenfuls of oncoming enemies. The ship, is conspicuously named "Arrowhead" - which is obvious phallic imagery hardly worth mentioning; it emits bursts of concentrated energy that explode enemies on contact; often the same enemies fire bursts of energy back at the ship threatening to destroy it. By the end of the level, the player encounters the end boss, thus signaling the beginning of a long and bitter fight to the death.

Editorial note: Throughout this analysis I will refer to specific timecodes of the following video - please cue it to the positions indicated in the text.

R-Type is most recognizably repressed in its homoerotic aspects through its visual symbolism. At an experiential level, the player engages with his ship through a short knobbed joystick, metaphorically controlling the rate and direction of his ship's bursts of hot, electric spermatozoa. Not only is the player encouraged to destroy its similarly-equipped onscreen enemies - he can only achieve it through the delicate firing of his own seeds. It is therefore clear that the player will "die" if his ship comes into contact with either the seed of his enemy, or the enemy itself. A long tradition of erotic repression since the Victorian era has highlighted taboo of male-male intimacy, suggesting that the player's own revulsion at touching other phallic symbols with his own is an inherent part of the game mechanic. The lust-hate relationship between the player's ship and his enemies becomes most obvious when the larger "snake-like" creature comes on-screen and resists the player's attempt to love/destroy it [3:35 in video].

R-Type again demonstrates its discomfort with the male body in its level design. Throughout the game, the player is required to penetrate through the defenses of vagina-shaped walls. While this would normally not be of consequence, and might in fact simply represent desires for heterosexual domination, it is of importance that the player is forced to proceed through the level. At no point can the player choose to not penetrate the vaginal canals; furthermore if the ship becomes trapped on the wrong side of the wall it is crushed by an invisible force represented by the edge of the screen. Like a young man forced by his father to bed a prostitute in order to prove his 'manliness', the player is forced to penetrate female genital symbols or be destroyed. By denying any possibility for sexual choice, the player is unable to satisfy his homoerotic urges and is thus left to unconsciously repress them.

This sexual violence comes to a head when the player encounters the end-boss. In the first level, the player encounters the end-boss "Dobkeratops". Featuring two wombs, a partially-exposed fetus, and a phallic tail, the creature both horrifically draws and repels the male player.

Without the destruction of this half-man-half-woman creature, the player cannot make passage to the next level. If the player has collected enough "power-ups", the ship will develop a bulbous protusion at its tip that can fire more powerful bursts of energy at the creature, thus destroying it. Similarly, the end-boss for level 2 features an organic creature consisting of rectal protusions [4:08 in video]. A large snake enters and exits these protrusions at its whim, and the player must destroy it to continue; if the player commands the ship into one of these protrusions it simply explodes. Thus, another opportunity to express the player's homoerotic desires is frustrated by the repressive game mechanics.

It is unfortunately clear that if you accept the inevitable consequences of the preceding analysis, arcade games such as R-Type have contributed to the repression of male homoerotic desire since 1987. In future articles I hope to explore this issue more deeply, and highlight some of the ways in which modern video games have allowed men to express their desires for other men, and women for other women.

Author's note: While this analysis has focused upon the male homoerotic aspects of the game, it is important that these aspects could easily be explored in their misogynic symbolism.

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