Disney and Beyond Gamescom 2017 Roundup

Hello and welcome back to Disney And Beyond, your one stop shop to all things Disney and Pop Culture.

Today it's time for some gaming announcements. This week I'm taking a look back at what news came from Gamescom 2017 over in Cologne, Germany. 

Star Wars and feminism: A Critical Evaluation from a Feminist Theory Standpoint.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...A man named George Lucas created one of pop culture’s most beloved franchises; Star Wars.  The original trilogy comprising of ‘A New Hope’ (1977), ‘Empire Strikes Back’ (1980) and ‘Return of The Jedi’ (1983) (Also known as episodes IV to VI), is an epic space opera charting the struggles between the good guys, aka The Rebellion, against the bad guys, aka The Empire.  This was followed up by a prequel trilogy including, ‘The Phantom Menace’ (1999). ‘Attack of the Clones’ (2002) and ‘Revenge of the Sith’ (2005), (Known as episodes I-III) charting the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd in episode I and Hayden Christensen in episodes II and III).  Now we have a whole host of new Star Wars movies on the cards with a new sequel trilogy, which began with 'Force Awakens' (2015), and the first of the standalone films, 'Rogue One' (2016).  Loved for its characters, epic plot and cutting edge special effects, Star Wars changed the face, not only of the space opera sub-genre, but of Sci-Fi as a whole.  But it’s not all lightsaber duels, blowing up Death Stars and Jawa Juice keggers.  Some would argue that the Star Wars universe is misogynistic and male dominated, where the females are greatly overshadowed and outnumbered by their male counterparts.  Hmmm.  Let’s take a look?

Looking at the original trilogy and the prequels through the lens of Feminist Theory, it’s clear why some people would certainly feel that women are under-represented.  What is Feminist Theory you might ask?  Well, in a nut shell, it’s a theoretical and philosophical discourse on subjects such as the rejection of traditional roles for women, the rejection of traditional modes of female beauty and undermining patriarchal establishments.  Already, you can see why feminists might reject Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) as a strong female role model.  Sure, on the surface she’s a tough talking, laser gun toting political activist who appears to keep the men folk in check.  But, by Episode VI she’s relegated to a bikini clad sex slave, chained to the universe’s most wanted gangster, Jabba The Hut, and is in desperate need of rescue from none other than...the men.  Not particularly a role women should aspire to.  But is it a product of its time?  One theory known as ‘the male gaze’ (Laura Mulvey, 1975), popular around the time Star Wars was created would suggest so.  It concerns itself with the fact that women exist largely to be looked at by men.  They’re passive, a spectacle; they’re punished rather than the punisher.  There’s no denying that in ‘Return of The Jedi’, Princess Leia falls dangerously in to this cliché.  There’s no other reason for her to be in a bikini, other than to be leered at as a sex symbol.  After all, the main demographic for the genre is the 15-30 year old males.  So, you can forgive the originals for being sexist to some extent, but what about the prequel trilogy?

Again, in Episode I, II and III, there’s only one female character in the core group; Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), the soon to be mother of Luke and Leia.  Unlike her future daughter, Padmé does appear to be a stronger female character; she’s the queen that takes centre stage in an active role in the liberation of her planet.  After becoming a leading political figure in the galactic senate and kidnapped by the enemy in Episode II, she doesn’t wait for a man to save her, but defends herself and fights for her own freedom, wielding a blaster as well as any man.  But then everything falls down.  Padmé’s sole purpose in the film is for Anakin to fall in love with her and to subsequently die in childbirth, thus pushing him over the edge into the abyss of the dark side.  She’s basically used as a plot point, albeit one that gets dragged out over the course of three films.  She doesn’t even get a heroic death, instead dying from a lack of a will to live.  A broken heart.  Cliché anyone?  And it’s the same across all six films; the female characters, both leading and supporting, are there to serve the purpose of a male, usually the lead.  None of them go out in a blaze of glory, lightsabre held high.  They don’t even get a decent story arc. 

However, jump to today and it appears that Star Wars is finally catching up with the times.  In both of the new films female characters take centre stage; the force wielding orphan, Rey, in Episode VII, and Jyn Erso, the rebellious lead in 'Rogue One'.  Both of these women are strong leaders, surviving by their wits and determination under trying circumstances.  They don't wait around for the men to come and save them because they're quite capable of doing it themselves.  They're active, not passive, dealing with situations as they arrive and taking charge.  It's a massive step-up for the franchise. 

So, the prequels are an improvement, but it's the sequels that really change the way in which female characters are used.  There’s no denying, Star Wars is an awesome piece of cinema history, one that will forever hold a prominent place in my heart.  Its innovative use of special effects, its epic plot, the memorable characters, all come together to create movie magic.  But like anything, it does have its faults.  Women are greatly under-represented and given, some would argue, sexist roles.  The originals can be excused to some degree, but not the prequels.  On the other hand, Star Wars wasn’t created to be a politically correct treatise on Affirmative Action.  It’s entertainment, plain and simple.  Let’s hope LucasFilm and Disney can find a happy medium, as they've done a great job so far.  I, for one, cannot wait to see what they have cooking up for us next.

Until next time...To infinity and beyond. 

Disney and Beyond Unboxing Tokyo Treat (August)

Hello and welcome back to Disney And Beyond, your one stop shop to all things Disney and Pop Culture.

Today it's time for an unboxing video. This week we take a look at some tasty Japanese Summer snacks with the August Premium box from Tokyo Treat. Yummy!

Check out Tokyo Treat for yourself here...
https://tokyotreat.com/

Disney and Beyond News - Pop Culture Edition 08/08/17

Welcome to Disney and Beyond, your one-stop-shop for all things Disney and Pop Culture. Today in the news, we take a look at all the biggest Film and TV announcements to come out of Hollywood in the last couple of weeks including a potential Terminator trilogy and the new Karate Kid show coming to  Youtube Red.

Hidden Gems - My Anime Picks on Netflix

Afternoon, Anime fans and welcome back to Disney and Beyond.  Just because I’ve been away for some time, it doesn’t mean I’ve been sitting on my laurels.  I’ve found a new, untapped source of Anime awesomeness for those that don't have a Crunchyroll subscription.  Where is this wealth of wickedly delightful hidden gems, I hear you ask?  One word; Netflix.  That’s right, the behemoth pay and view service has been adding Anime shows like there’s no tomorrow.  I subscribed to Netflix a couple of years ago and the Anime section has grown tenfold in that time.  Some are old, but most are from only a couple of years, or even this year.

So, for those of you that have Netflix and don’t fancy the endless Christmas films and TV, I’ve picked out, what I believe to be, the five best hidden Anime gems on Netflix...

1. Yu-Gi-Oh

In my naive, pre-Anime days, Yu-Gi-Oh was much overlooked by myself and my peergroup; we were on the cusp of greatness and anything that wasn’t Pokémon just wasn’t Anime. But as I grew, so did my love of Japanese trading card games and now Yu-Gi-Oh is a staple of my regular Anime watching, one that I’ll go back to time and time again.  Despite its harsh critics claiming that it had absolutely no appeal in the Western market and that it was a failed attempt to revive the over-saturated pocket monster market, I find Yu-Gi-Oh to be both enjoyable and engaging.  In fact, it’s very much like another show that I love, Cardfight Vanguard, in the sense that it’s primary function is to sell trading cards.  But that doesn’t make it less enjoyable. If you’ve never seen it, give it a go.

2. Sword Art Online

If you pick up any show off of this list please let it be this one.  It is a true gem that I only discovered through Netflix and I’m so glad that I did.  In the year 2022, the virtual reality game Sword Art Online is released. Using a Nerve Gear, players can control their characters using their own minds, and experience the world of Aincrad as if it were real. Unfortunately, it becomes all too real when the creator of the game locks everyone out of the real world by hijacking all the Nerve Gear devices so that if you die in the game, you will die in real life. Only by clearing the 100th floor and defeating the final boss can the players win their freedom.  It is essentially about the psychological and sociological implications of massively multiplayer online gaming, a subject that is very relevant in today’s gaming world.  If it’s not the best, then it’s certainly one of the most intelligent Anime from the last couple of years.  The show has its haters due to the polarising effect the story has if you couple it with the Manga novels, but it also has a lot of love from the Anime community.  The characters are likeable and the episodes are action packed, unlike a similar Anime in this genre, .hack//SIGN, which was criticised for being too slow and over talkative.  The animation style is also some of the best I’ve seen for a while; some of the wide shots look absolutely stunning.  So, what I suggest you do is go and watch it right now.

3. Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Anyone with an ounce of knowledge about Anime will have heard of Full Metal Alchemist; it’s a series that went on to spawn a movie and several video games.  Anime fans love it.  Well, when that series ended, the manga novels continued, leaving a huge gap in the story to be filled.  That’s where Brotherhood steps in.  After both suffer physical damage, brothers Edward and Alphonse, battle nefarious forces to try to reclaim their bodies.  It’s that simple and yet, it’s a plot that is incredibly engrossing and will leave you wanting more at the end.  Very few sequels in this world get things right, but Brotherhood has everything spot on from its depths of plot to its well rounded characters; not one single character is there just for the sake of it.  Everyone gets to shine in this series.  Just like its predecessor, I can see this series going down as a classic, one fans will watch over and over again.  Do not miss it.

4. The Irregular at Magic High School

This little Anime gem was a real surprise to find on Netflix.  It’s not necessarily one of my favourite Anime, but I thought I would add it to the list for those that have never heard of it.  In a world where magic has become commonplace, siblings Tatsuya and Miyuki, enroll at Magic High School, where Miyuki's honor status comes between her and her underachieving older brother, even though both of them are incredibly talented at welding magic.  In essence, this show is Harry Potter on steroids.  It’s full of the usual teenage drama, but with magic, making it ever so slightly more complex and complicated.  Overall, I enjoyed the visual style of this one and the characters weren’t overly annoying or stock characters.  The plot could do with some work, as the pacing often feels too slow and slightly offkilter.  Other than that, it’s a pretty good series.  I don’t think it will ever go down as a classic, but it’s worth watching while its on Netflix.

5. Pokémon - Indigo League

No Anime list would be complete without at least one mention of Pokémon and they don’t come much better than the original series run.  Those of you that have seen my Youtube Channel will know how much I love it; this series isn’t only where my love of Pokémon began, but also where my love of Anime started (Samurai Pizza Cats doesn’t count!).  Pokémon is everything you would expect from this type of show and more.  I won’t go on about it too much because I plan on doing a lot more Pokémon content, but I will say that if you’ve never seen it, then quite frankly, you’ve been living in a cave! (NB - Netflix also has the Black and White series, which in my opinion is the closest to the original with regards to its quality.)

Well, those are what I consider to be the five best Anime series currently available on the UK version of Netflix, especially if your new to the world of Anime.  You might disagree and if you do, put your thoughts in the comments below.  These aren’t the only options available on Netflix.  There are plenty more to choose from, one of them being Attack on Titan, which is probably the biggest Anime since Full Metal Alchemist, or even Death Note, with regards to its cult following.

Until next time...Keep consuming!

Disney And Beyond Friday Feature - Hyper Japan 2017

Hello and welcome back to Disney And Beyond, your one stop shop for all things Disney and Pop Culture.

Today it's time for a Friday Feature. This week I take a look back at my time around the Hyper Japan Festival 2017.