Reigniting the Feminist Flame with Marina Diamandis

While I've pinpointed where the 'character design' aspect came from, I can't say for sure what it was exactly that made me take a feminist viewpoint. It must have been around late primary school when my eyes opened and I didn't like what I saw...

However, I do know what was responsible for reigniting the feminist flame within as of late. (Good lord, that was cheesy.)

I have the very talented Welsh singer/song writer/musician, Ms Marina Diamandis (what a glorious name), to thank for the spark.

It was December 2012 and the purchase of Marina and the Diamonds' second album Electra Heart.

I loved her first album, The Family Jewels. It was very concerned with personal identity and I could relate to most of the songs on the album. They continuously inspired me and allowed me to feel better about myself.

1.) Are Your Satisfied?
2.) Shampain
3.) I Am Not A Robot
4.) Girls
5.) Mowgli's Road
6.) Obsessions
7.) Hollywood
8.) The Outsider
9.) Hermit the Frog
10.) Oh No!
11.) Rootless
12.) Numb
13.) Guilty

The tracks in purple are my personal favourites, but realistically, I love them all.

Some words from the Diamond in the Rough herself;

"It is a body of work largely inspired by the seduction of commercialism, modern social values, family and female sexuality," she explained. "Each song was intricately produced and written by myself, and my only hope is for it to be enjoyed and consumed as a story and theory that encourages people to question themselves."*

"I think it’s a really diverse album stylistically speaking because I’m such a flexible writer,” she says. “So there’s a lot of pop on it, but there’s kind of a lot of leftfield experimental stuff as well. It’s basically an album about what not to be.”*

Now, with the purchase of Electra Heart came a less alternative and more pop sound throughout the tracks. This worried me a little as I thought she'd gone to the 'dark side' and was more interested in appealing to the masses. Such song titles as 'Bubblegum Bitch', 'Teen Idle', 'Primadonna' and 'Sex Yeah' didn't help quell this fear, despite hearing many positive reviews about the album.

I found myself thinking, 'No, Diamandis, don't go backwards! You had such potential!'

Luckily I was so very wrong on all accounts.
Her new album is a collection of cleverly disguised pop songs. All the tunes are catchy with seemingly simplistic lyrics, however each contain deeper messages. Most are a critique on modern society, relationships and archetypes of women.

We have the:
Primadonna
Su-Barbie-A (Pronounced 'suh-barbie-ah' like Suburbia. Suburban House-Wife
Homewrecker
Teen Idles

And the main character, Electra Heart


It turned out Electra Heart was also a musical project, and not just a second album. I'm a lazy bugger so I'll expand on that later...

The track that I feared the most turned out to be, not only be my favourite off the album, but also the one that really hit home.

"Sex Yeah"

Yep, that's what she called it. Of course, without knowing what it's about it conjures up scenes involving midnight romps with mystery men, and daring escapades that should be novelised. Well, for me, anyway.

Well, done, Marina, you gave nothing away.

On first listen I didn't pay much attention to the lyrics, and really only heard the chorus.
Second listen warranted a small epiphany where I paused for a moment and instantly felt depressed and angry by the truth behind the words.

"If history could set you free 

From who you were supposed to be

If sex in a society didn't tell a girl who she should be

'Cause all my life I've tried to fight* 

What history has given me

Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex

Yeah

Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex

All my life, I've felt it deep inside of me

All this time was fighting for what I believed

All my life I've tried to hide what 

History has given me"

*(Now, admittedly, after checking in the actual booklet supplied with the CD, it does in fact say "hide" each chorus. However to me, and to everyone else I know who's listened to this song, we think she says "fight", save the last chorus. Personally I like to sing "fight" since it makes it seem as if she's trying to change society's perception, instead of just avoiding it.)

Lyrics © Marina Diamandis,/Greg Kurstin, 2012
Typography attempt © Kit Richardson, 2013

[Hopefully, upon looking at the above text, you tried to read the foreground words, but got distracted by the text behind it, because that was the idea.]



Simple as the words may seem, they ring with such an agonising truth I'm torn between wanting to dance or go on a feminist rant.

I would like to set us free from history.

And by all that is unholy and wrong, I bloody-well shall. One way or another.




Here, have some inspirational Rosie to get you in the mood too.

http://snapdragonfly.deviantart.com/art/Rosie-the-Riveter-172485784

Oops, wrong one. Here we go.

Notice how I didn't go on a feminist rant? Despite being sorely tempted I'll save it for another time hehe.



*http://www.nme.com/news/marina-and-the-diamonds/48651
*http://www.clashmusic.com/news/marina-on-musical-background
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_Jewels_(album)
*http://electraheart.tumblr.com/tagged/Electra+Films/page/2
*http://www.marinaandthediamonds.com
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electra_Heart

How It All Began (Bob Rafei and Jak and Daxter)

Let's get this blog started... And what better way to begin than with the genius who opened my eyes to character design and illustration when I was just 10 years old...

Bob Rafei

Bob Rafei is Naughty Dog Inc.'s artistic mastermind behind Crash Bandicoot and my all-time favourite award-winning video game series, Jak and Daxter. With his art design of Daxter he won Best New Character of the Year. He also co-directed Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and has worked at all levels of the gaming industry, from art direction, character design, modelling, animation and cinematic direction. 
He is a 16 year veteran of the gaming industry and Co-Founder and Chief Visual Director of Big Red Button Entertainment, Inc.

Bob Rafei - Big Red Button Entertainment


Go push the Big Red Button and check out all of his glorious art (like the image below) at BobRafei.com

Keira and Jak & Daxter by Bob Rafei © SCEA, 2000

A Cheesy New Beginning

Get ready, it's about it get corny. Although, while you're chuckling, feel flattered. This information has never been revealed to anyone...

For the sake of an uninteresting personal history lesson, and to give readers some background information, let me show you how it began.

It was November 2001. I was 10 and an occasional collector of the now discontinued children's magazine, Disney Adventures.

I was in the supermarket when I spotted the magazine and I was almost about to walk past it but something caught my eye on the front cover. Spy Kids? Nah. Britney Spears. Bleh. Harry Potter? Nope.
"Hot New Game Jak and Daxter".
From a distance I thought I almost saw a cartoony, tough-looking female character with an orange cat on their shoulder. (Yes, I was already living with the slim hope that a tomboyish female lead would be made for, well, something.)

Somehow my eyes swept past everything else to gaze at the peculiar form in the bottom corner. Would your snickers increase if I told you I still had this issue and it was in pristine condition?

On closer inspection it turned out to be an elf-boy with elongated eyes, a crazy hairdo and a bipedal weasel (*Ottsel) companion. Pfft same difference. I was still curious. It looked like the style of illustration I was already mildly interested in; a blend of Disney and Manga.

I suddenly became excited.
A Disney/Manga hero with a cat on his shoulder? A "Hot New Game"? What could this be? Could this be something I'd be interested in? It was almost too good to be true.

I flicked to the page with the short article.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy...
Naughty Dog game studio...
PlayStation 2...
And then I saw it.
Two of Bob Rafei's illustrations were on the bottom right, and it was literally love at first sight... 

On the right we have Rafei's illustrations for the Geologist and Sculptor © SCEA, 2000
To this day I still don't exactly know why I took such a fancy to those two particular designs, but it was somehow enough to kickstart a new interest. Who'd have thought? 

I'd never seen anything quite like it. (Especially considering the most I'd experienced was, unsurprisingly, Disney, Don Bluth and monster anime like Pokemon, Digimon, Beyblade, etc....)
I ask you, what's not to like about two character designs which were cute, colourful, fluid, and had funky outfits?

While the article also talked about the game's creation including character modelling and programming, they were particularly concerned with the art, which they even mentioned to be inspired by Disney's Tarzan and Anime. (The discovery that it was Bob Rafei came a little later).
Admittedly, I didn't even know what a PlayStation 2 really was but I knew I had to have one if it meant being about to experience this new modern marvel.

I didn't actually know what it really was, but I knew I had to have it.

Then, to my pleasant surprise, for Christmas my parents gave me my first gaming console, the PS2, and, oh my, Jak and Daxter. Again, it was love-- if love could be applied to a video game.
Other games came along that were enjoyable, and NDI then expanded on the series, but nothing quite compared to the first game. I've lost track of how many times I've played it.

While it may sound silly to be rambling so passionately about a game and its art, those two simple images were what got me on this road. I abandoned my seven-year obsession with drawing Dinosaurs and palaeontology, and decided that I would become a character designer and work in the gaming industry. Someday.
So I began designing my own characters, typically female, who could be the potential star of a video game (or even a music video/animation/novel, etc.). I began studying other art styles, finding new artists, and practiced designing humans and costumes.

It's been almost thirteen years and I haven't changed my mind yet.


If I didn't pay homage to Bob Rafei, Naughty Dog, Jak and Daxter or dear ol' Disney Adventures at some point I'd feel bad.


Disney Adventures November 2001, Volume 8 Number 11 © Disney, A.A Milne and E.H. Shepard.
Jak and Daxter © Naughty Dog Inc. and Sony Computer Entrainment of America

Welcome/Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my little blog. It's purpose is simple; to keep all of my ideas, inspirations and references organised in the one place.

Now, sit back and relax as I sporadically post artists and their works, music, articles, and much more (oh, and some of my own pieces too) that will hopefully help me to complete my major piece for Honours.

Wish me luck. I think I'll need it.