Sarkeesian posts her video project on her Youtube channel, Feminist Frequency. Tropes vs Women is divided into two seasons, consisting of eleven episodes in season one and eight episodes in season two. In her videos, Sarkeesian uses a mashup of video game clips and talks directly into the camera in front of a plain background.
The video clips Sarkeesian utilizes add a strong visual element to her videos. The clips are video captured from her playing the games, which exemplifies the project’s high production value. The visual quality of the clips are especially impressive as Tropes vs Women started in 2012, a time when video capture wasn’t as easy or commonplace as it is today.
These clips help Sarkeesian reach her goal of changing the video game industry because they provide concrete examples of the tropes she is talking about. Most times, the clips serve as evidence that bolsters her claims about female representation in games. One example in her “Damsel in Distress” video depicts Princess Peach, from the Mario Franchise, locked away in a tower pleading for Mario’s rescue. The scene serves as a perfect example of the “damsel in distress” trope as Peach is rendered powerless and requires the heroic masculine hero to save her.
However, some critics claim that there are instances when her video clips are used out of context. One notable example is the intro to her “Women as Background Decorations Video” which showed a clip from 2009 game, Dragon Age Origins, where a human character says “grab a whore and have a good time.” Some critics contend that Sarkeesian should have added more context to this scene as the character, Vaughn, is meant to be villainous. His terrible behavior is not condoned by the game, and the playable female elf character ultimately gets revenge against him.
In addition to her videos, Sarkeesian also developed a curriculum based off of the series. Each video of the Tropes series has its own unique lesson plan on a PDF document that contains learning goals, materials and essay questions. The lesson plans tend to be about an hour long. Given the lesson plan’s difficulty and subject matter, the curriculum seems best designed for either high school or college students.
