Pictures of Pretty Men

Gender plays a large role in advertising and as Susan Bordo points out this is due to how women and men are viewed. According to Bordo women have historically been made to be seen not heard; that women are suppose to be aware of their sexuality and be vain in when dealing with their looks. Through her examination of ads for men's wear Bordo examines how men have been made to believe that showing concern for their appearance is unmanly and effeminate. However, in this post-modern era this has changed allowing for acceptance of men caring how they appear to the outside world. This change does not mean that it is okay for men to be vain, to care more about their appearance then being manly and the products made for them in this vein all have manly names and manly purposes. This examination clearly shows that even though society has lightened up on men and their appearances it is not truly ready to allow men the same ability for vanity without it classifying them as homosexual or lesser men. 

In the case of video games, the role of a character is also defined by looks and actions. In the examination of Kratos in the video by Extra Credits it clear that his actions define him as a character. By going through the trilogy of game it is clear that Kratos' actions are founded on a literary tradition of Greek Tragedies and the first game held very true while the other two games lacked in this regard, choosing to focus more on mindless violence. Tying this into Bordo's piece, the character of Kratos is most assuredly a manly man, hell bent on violence at any cost. Due to this, the plot that Extra Credits lambastes seems fitting as Kratos can't not relent and be remorseful for his actions as that is not a manly act. The creators could have written in a redeemable plot line but then the character of Kratos would lose his manliness and the horror that he invokes with his violence.