Page 194 - Cyberculture and New Media

Leman Giresunlu 185
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Mamoru Oshii, Ghost in the Shell, (1995) (Masamune Shirow/Kodansha
LTD/Bandai Visual Co., LTD/ Elizabeth Stroll 2004, video recording. [Title
01. Chapter 14. M. 17. S. 20].
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Paul W. S. Anderson, Resident Evil, New Films, 2003, video recording.
[Title 01. Ch.15. 1:11:37] Italicized emphasis within parenthesis is mine.
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However, the virus manifests in a variety of ways in different biologic
environments. The T-virus empowers the weak body of the scientist’s
daughter Angela. The same virus when inhaled mutates healthy men and
women into zombies who in turn infect others with their bites. The anti-virus
does not save the already bitten person from mutating into a zombie.
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At this point it is also necessary to indicate the way in which the rescue
officers treat the “state of the art computer” called the Red Queen, whenever
they realize that the computer is sealing off the Hive in order to prevent the
virus from spreading above ground level. The language used while speaking
to, and about the Red Queen is sexist. The female characters as well use this
sexist language. Here are some examples: Alice: “I am turning her back on”,
Rain: “That homicidal bitch killed my team”, Alice: “That homicidal bitch
maybe our only way out of here.” One of the male officers: “The way she is
treated, I’m sure she’s gonna be real happy to help us out!” [Resident Evil
(2003) Title: 01 Ch: 12 0:55.18] Rain: “Give me that fucking switch, I am
gonna fry her ass” [Resident Evil (2003) Title: 01 Ch. 12 0:55:55] Regardless
the child hologram and voice the Red Queen is speaking through, the female
officers treat her in the most sexist and aggressive possible language
generally known to be used in different contexts by macho male types. The
switching of gender language styles from males and their use by females in
this movie is quite significant in this respect. On another note it is also
significant to hear the holographic girl’s voice speak of herself as the
following: “I have been a bad bad girl” [Resident Evil (2003) Title: 01. Ch:
16 01:13:38] to indicate that she has sent the mutant creature, the biological
weapon, in order to have Spence killed. However within the sexist context it
is obvious that grown ups’ gender positions and identifications are also
imposed over child images. Among other critical positions to be taken over
this issue in future research however in practical terms the Red Queen
appears to react in every possible way in order to keep infection from
spreading further outside the Hive. However, unlike the Queen bee of a
beehive whose sole job is to lay eggs, the Hive laboratory’s Red Queen
destroys human life in protection of the research lab. That is, the Queen bee’s
queen-likeness is kept, however its image is transformed to its opposite. In
addition, it is transposed onto an artificial technological creation: the
mainframe computer, which appears aggressive and can destroy human lives.
This irony further carries onto the speech patterns of the female characters, as