Wood and Code: Ideology, Early Modern Puppets and Contemporary Avatars
Abstract
Abstract:
This article studies the capacity of Early Modern puppets and videogame avatars, two seemingly unrelated objects of research, to produce and reproduce gender discourses. Despite being made very differently, their wooden and coded natures both participate in of acts of aligning with and resisting against existing ideologies. This is because puppets and avatars’ relation to ideology does not depend exclusively on the stories they contribute to tell; the materiality of both cultural texts as well as the puppeteers and videogame players themselves all contribute to the reenacting and contesting of gender discourses.
Resumen:
Este artículo explora la capacidad de producción y reproducción de discursos de género de dos elementos en principio muy dispares pero que este texto acerca como próximos y similares: las marionetas de madera del teatro renancentista inglés y los avatares en videojuegos contemporáneos. Pese a su materialidad y composición distinta, madera y código, marionetas y avatares poseen una capacidad inusual para servir de foco de diversas reproducciones y resistencias a discursos de identidad que dependen no sólo de la escritura de los personajes representados, sino también de los agentes detrás de dichas representaciones o de la materialidad que los sostiene.
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References
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