How a Video Game Character "Fails" To Meet a Nation's Standards

 

Genshin Impact is one of the hottest video games out currently. As of March 30th of this year, the game amasses 10 million players on a daily basis. The game has become a global phenomenom and rightfully so. The game doesn't hold back when showing off it's stunning graphics and art style, along with it's compelling characters, and lore that runs deeper than the Kola well. But along with it's many positives, it has sparked up many debates, especially in China.
You see, China has strict regulations when it comes to how companies portray their fictional characters to avoid any negative connotations. This is the reason that many video games are being censored in China. The government requires game developers to change the appearance of their fictional characters to align with the current government's view of what is appropriate to portray in video games. This has lead to many video games being removed from China or being altered to meet the government's standards.
One of the biggest causes of outrage is the character 'Venti', who at a glance has a very feminine appearance but is actually a male character. This is a very big problem in the eyes of the Chinese government, as they would much rather prefer a male character to have typical masculine characteristics.
In-game, Venti is known as the god of wind, and takes the appearance of a very feminine looking young boy. They're dressed in white tights, short shorts, a button-up shirt with a ribbon, a waist trainer of sorts, and a cape. They also dawn pigtail braids, and a hat that is adorned with a flower. Just by description alone, I'm sure you could see why this is a problem in China.
 
Not only is China trying to exclude what Venti represents (freedom of expression, choice, etc.), but they are also stereotyping the character for something it is not. While not illegal in China, homosexuality is heavily censored, especially those who come off as effeminate, in this case, Venti. China is excluding this form of masculinity from their media, even if Venti never pretends to be a girl in any way. They have a very playful demeanor, but that isn't exclusive to women.
 
It may not help that Venti also happens to go by the title 'god of freedom' in-game, his appearance only furthering this notion as he freely chooses to be himself, even if the player may confuse them for a girl at first. It's someone who is fully comfortable in their own masculinity enough to not care if anyone were to misinterpret their actions. They are simply free to do and act as they please.
 



 

Comments

  1. Ian MMay 20, 2022 at 9:23 PM

    Hey I used to play a lot of Genshin! I had Venti C2! You're super right, Venti isn't very outwardly feminine at all with his actions. If anything I see him as more childlike. His ideals of freedom and hands off ruling definitely seem problematic to the Chinese agenda. Their pushback on feminization in men is very real. Something they funnily blame on the CIA. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cia-turned-our-celebrities-sissy-says-beijing-sl8p8klfr
    It's a bit funny as well that with all the fans shipping male characters together I actually forgot there's no real gay characters. At least never outwardly so. I wonder if we'll start to see more manly man type characters like Itto.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 20, 2022 at 10:09 PM

    Hey Israel. I very much enjoyed your perspective on this topic. I have never heard of this character or watched the show but it’s very interesting how they chose to make this character seem very feminine even though it’s a male character. To be honest when I saw the image I too believed it was a boy due to its outfit and soft features. I did not know that China had laws against how one can depict a character that is masculine/feminine, making this very controversial. There are some shows/movies that I’ve seen over the years that have taken on this same path as this character and I find it awesome that people are diving into this new way of life. This is a great way to understand the concept of “pronouns” because of assumptions like these, solemnly based off appearance. Although it does not have to do with the “White-Savior” concept, it still represents another style of it through your example/representation . Great Job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. shaunmc01May 23, 2022 at 11:16 PM

    Thanks for sharing this Israel - I'm not too familiar with the Genshin, I thought I may seen a book on Genshin in the library... Great way of telling a story of social injustice in the form of a video game.

    ReplyDelete

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