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 Mario Agonistes
by Brady Miller-Wakeham
In 2002, Brady Miller-Wakeham submitted this as her senior thesis for a B.A in film and digital media from University of California, Santa Cruz. The paper received an Excellent, which is the UCSC equivalent of an A. The class was titled "Love, Games, and War" and involved everything within the academic realm of new media: online dating, video games and war games. We present some excerpts from the thesis as a historical curiosity, and with more than a little envy.
The Evolution of Mario and Gender Within His Games
If a single character were to represent the entire Nintendo empire, it would be Mario of Super Mario Bros. fame. Along with his sidekick brother Luigi, Mario revolutionized video games in the early 1980s. He is truly a superstar. Mario has been featured in countless games, websites, and other products that range from beach towels to breakfast cereal to wristwatches. But in those two decades, some aspects of Mario games have changed very little. The representations of gender, for example, have only slightly evolved since Mario's conception. Modeled after traditional folklore, Super Mario Bros. games surround the classic tale of a helpless woman in need of rescue. While Mario games are fun for boys and girls of all ages, there is the question of role models. Mario games are among the most positive on the market today, and yet these games promote typical gender roles and stereotypes. Perhaps the subtle stereotypes are the most dangerous.
Debuting in Nintendo's 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, Mario helped the game become an instant hit. Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto created the Italian carpenter turned plumber character. Nintendo immediately saw Miyamoto's value to the game world. In 1984 he was assigned to create another game, this time featuring Mario and his brother Luigi (Sheff 49). Even more successful than Donkey Kong, children all over the world played the Super Mario Bros. games. . . .
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