William LeMasters

Writings

These may not be the most polished of papers, but they do a great job showing my worldview as well as my writing style.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1nVdU4GSYPotYHHjZf9KUH_UDKgxHXoR4

Representation in Action

In this paper, I examine the increasing emphasis placed on attribute allocation in sports-themed video games given the rise of popular game modes like Ultimate Team and the growing popularity of fantasy sports which reduce complicated athletic performances down to one number. Additionally, I explore how attributes matter by using Michael Vick and Adebayo Akinfenwa as case studies on how fandom can develop around attributes.

Veganism and Masculinities in Sport

Meat eating has long been associated with masculinity as broken down by Carol Adams in The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory. However, as plant-based diets increase in popularity, especially among athletes, justifications for the efficacy of a plant-based diet revolve around traditional masculine understandings of sport. As a result, we are seeing a masculinization of veganism which has the potential to overshadow its feminist ties.

Big Meets Bigger: Rampage and the state of Video Game Film Adaptations

Nerd culture, a term I'm not particularly a fan of, has gone mainstream with comic book movies shattering box office record after record. Yet video game adaptations have continued to stumble in movie theaters. In this paper, I dive into the history of video game film adaptations to explain how these IPs with devoted and pre-established fan bases continue to find limited success, both critically and commercially.

Video Game Representations of the Middle East

On part of Edward Said's criticism of the discipline of Orientalism was that in its origins the Orient, or the area of the world Europe labeled the Orient, was never able to represent itself. In a similar vein, the video game industry continues to portray the Middle East in a reductive capacity, perpetuating stereotypes about the region that continuously gets recycled in harmful ways.