| ▲ | Dweller1622 7 days ago | |
No, that's fine, since I think it's not only the case that these are sufficient, but that I simply wasn't explicit enough in my rejection. What I'm disputing is any application of objectification theory to media analysis wherein there are no actual agents involved. Neither The Handmaiden nor Night Sister Mirrin ever possessed any agency, nor were they deprived of it. There is simply no moral valence in how one treats or regards them. The demand here is that they be treated as if they possessed agency. I see no reason or obligation to do so. | ||
| ▲ | nosignono 21 hours ago | parent [-] | |
Sorry, I should have included -- in the context of the story. They are of course, not agents. They are fictional characters in a videogame. But humans built them, and humans framed them in the camera. Those humans did have the choice to provide them with a setting in which the characters do or do not have that agency. Those humans chose whether or not to depict that agency. Art reflects something about the creator, and often (but definitely not always) it's the values of the creator. If the authors choose to depict a world in which the character has no agency (within their setting), then perhaps the authors did not feel it was important or valuable to do so. Likewise, if the authors do depict a world in which the characters have agency, perhaps the authors feel it is valuable. But even detached from authorial intent, art is subject to critique -- we can look at a piece of art, knowing nothing of the creator, and ask, "What themes do we draw here? What values does this work put forward?" Kotor 2 raises many interesting questions about pedigogy and teaching, for instance. One critical read is that it is a piece of art that believes you should absolutely question the motivations of the people who want to teach you. Another thing Kotor 2 seems to value is women can (or even should) be objectified (in the case of the handmaiden) or instrumentalized (in the case of Kreia). None of the above requires you to recognize that the characters are agents within our world or have agency here. | ||