Brother Vinni Provide You With a Damsel in Distress
November 13, 2013 by dracs
All the oldest stories have a hero rescuing a damsel in distress and there probably aren't many who are more distressed than this new Female Prisoner from Brother Vinni.
Now let's just get this out of the way first, I am not happy to see women victimised in such a way. It is a genuine problem in modern gaming, especially as there aren't nearly as many depictions of men in similar situations.
Speaking in purely gaming terms this model does make a good narrative objective marker. I could think up number of scenarios for Mordheim involving this miniature. Maybe she is a noblewoman who the Witch Hunters are planning to burn for witch craft, but a group of mercenaries have been hired to save.
What is your opinion of Brother Vinni's latest sculpt?
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Oh, would you look at the time!
Sam – totally with you here. Not right!
If as a community we want to be seen as more than drooling, greasy haired, metal loving, no hopers we can do one simple thing. Not buy this model. The law of commerce will quick change things. It’s technically a great job by Brother Vinni and I do like their other sculpts. My mini rant here is not focused on them at all, more industry wide.
I agree with Sam and Tinracer. I buy a lot of Brother Vinni’s models but none of his “victim” girls. I’d really like some captive figures for my gaming but they need to be men and women and the women need to be clothed.
NOBODY does these figures, I had hopes Mantic would for the Mars Attacks kickstarter but they changed them into panicking civillians instead
Leaving aside all aspects of the technical skill that obviously went into the sculpt, I agree with Sam – this is yet another entry into the depressing procession of models and imagery, created by various outlets within the hobby, that seem rather worryingly obsessed with the objectification and victimisation of women. The partial nudity in particular strikes me as entirely gratuitous, especially paired as it is with an iteration of the disempowered ‘damsel in distress’ trope. It is rare to encounter any mini of a male character being depicted as restrained in this way at all, and you can bet… Read more »
Nope not never
I think what I feel has has already been said above and very well put too
A male prisoner would make for a fine narrative/scenario generator
Even a male and a female would work. But IMHO the open sexualisation of the subject is a very ill judged and a miscalculation on the part of Vinny Bros.
Waits for the inevitable accusation of prudery.
So be it.
She clearly looks like a victimized noblewoman… The nudity could be argued to be non-gartuitous (her tormentors would probably have outraged her in that way)… The miniature could be viewed as a tragic display piece… But even so, it’s quite tasteless : This is from Brother Vinni, it’s not a 54mm diorama from Andrea (nor does it have that kind of quality or artistry)… you just know this is aimed at gamers, and wrongfully so. I’m not against a little hanky panky now and then, and some suggestiveness (or even nudity) can be legitimate in many cases, but this is… Read more »
I can understand and respect everybody’s points regarding this mini but to me I have no issue with it at all. It’s just a mini as far as I am concerned. I think its a great narrative piece and seeing as we game in a setting of heroes and villains, wizards and warlocks, Adventure and peril, its a cool little objective marker or great model for an exciting diorama. It’s not like we don’t have parity with the subject of women in miniatures these days! For this sculpt we also have the kick ass ladies of Infinity or Raging Heroes.… Read more »
TBH if I was playing against a guy who was spouting Nazi propaganda, banging on about Jews, Gays, Gypsies etc I would most certainly pack up my little toy soldiers and let him know just how I feel about it. Now if there was a special mission to try and rescue a female agent from the Gestapo or SS I would happily go along with it. Female agents put their lives on the line in occupied lines and if a figure depicted them like this model there would be every reason to be justifiably outraged. Even so, the designers of… Read more »
An interesting point, but one that implies that it’s okay to own or field something that represents something considered to be genuinely evil (or at the least, very bad!) as long the person who owns those minis is basically a regular, level-headed person. So what’s the difference between that and somebody who has this mini on a shelf or puts it on the table as a mission objective and DOESNT go “phoar yeah look at the knockers on that!” and is instead, that same regular, level-headed person in the previous example who just shrugs and says “I just thought it… Read more »
No more than an actor playing the role of an SS officer putting his gun to the back of the head of a Pole that had just dug his own grave and pulling the trigger. It does not demean the victim, nor does it instil desire for him. Such a scene could lead us to identify with the victim rather than the aggressor. The depiction of this victim is leaving little room in the iconography for the viewer to understand that there is a narrative of SEXUAL aggression. The inference is, as Romain imho correctly points out below, that a… Read more »
You’re right, both you are Romain right – It’s easy to see how this is supposed to appeal to the “rescue fantasy” trope and taken at face value, it’s a fair question to ask “What else about this mini would appeal to a potential buyer, if not the theme?” These are sound reasons for not wanting to own the miniature. But is it possible that somebody could buy a mini like this without such a desire being aroused in the heterosexual male viewer? If one of the many professional female painters purchased this to paint it, should we make such… Read more »
I’ve been trying to figure our these guys for a while now. Certainly over on Dakka Dakka, Vinni gets quite a lot of flak for this line of miniatures but what disturbs me the most is the idea that people can look at their other work and say “From now on, you should only do this.” because I feel very uncomfortable telling an artist what he can and cannot create. There seems to be some sort of assumption that an artist has a moral responsibility to only create work that other people approve of which I just find.. kind of… Read more »
whoops. be *able* to put out whatever you feel like making. Curse you, lack of an edit button!
It’s not about realism, it’s about style and context : This miniature is very (disturbingly) close to a rape victim, and she is in a series that’s well known for its purpose : ladies with bewbs indeed, choosing to play on the sexuality of it all. As I said, I have no problem with (some) nudity, no problem with women being represented as sexy or in a sexual way, an no problem either when the women are not victimized or objectified/caricatured in that way. Nothing wrong with arousal, sex or nudity… What’s wrong is rape and objectification, and this whole… Read more »
Whatever it may be, the model is actually a piece of art. So I’m gonna give it a pass at least ha ha.
If this series of mini’s from Vinni promotes rape and objectification, would we also consider the ‘wet nurse’ model from Kingdom Death in the same category?
Indeed, that is kind of my point. I do consider both to be in the same category which is why I own neither. But I certainly wouldn’t look down on somebody who did.
Wet nurse is more of a grey area than this one, as it’s clearly fantastical in nature, is clearly disturbing, and is intended to play upon that.
I would argue that a weird monster, albeit disturbing, is less shocking than a depiction of rape, but that’s just me.
I remember seeing a piece on Cool Mini or Not some time ago, a diorama of a stricken female eldar warrior and a group of guardsman. The arrangement of the diorama connoted the commencement of a sexual assault. It was a fantastic piece of art, painted beautifully and I admired the bravery of the artist to put something like that together. Personally, I was particularly impressed with the ‘process’ behind the piece, using toy soldiers from a popular game aimed at a wide age range to depict a sadly very real war atrocity that takes place in real life to… Read more »
Correction, it not shock.
Disappointment, ennui, irritation, and embarrassment, but not shock
These bits of tit tat are ten a penny in the miniatures marketplace.
The Wet Nurse maybe had a certain shock value but that is not really sexploitation.
I remember that piece… and there’s a world between that diorama and the victim we’re seeing here. That guardsmen diorama wasn’t “smut” per se, it was an artistic statement of how wrong rape is, and how war and fanaticism generate such horrors, fitting with the theme of the game. Was it arousing ? Not to me, and not to my (straight) friends. Perhaps, to some people, in a very, very disturbing way (should they feel guilty ? I’m not a psychiatrist, and I’m no thought police either, so that’s neither here nor there). The whole “victim girls” series, however, is… Read more »
Well, there is no right or wrong answer to any of this. Just opinions because we all have different levels at which we feel offended. Art, being subjective in nature, always provokes a reaction. Some art can be considered pornographic and rightly so but in contrast some pornography can be considered artistic. Its interesting to see which side of the fence people stand on.
Oh, I don’t feel offended…
It’s not about the level at which one feels offended, it’s about the intent of the sculptor here. This si perfectly objective, and visibly porn. This is not artistic, not in its quality, not in its subject, not in its context or its range.
I agree that some porn can be art and vice versa, but this is not it.
Or perhaps it is art, but the subject matter and context is just too taboo and offensive for your personal taste?
Ask Vinni what the intent was.
I think it’s porn, but it’s besides the point : if it’s art, it’s neither good nor smart, so it’s best ignored.
Also, yes, @willy2fly … somehow, I have a strong “taboo” about condoning rape. Really, I think you could say I have a pet peeve about people who like rape, and even that I am offended by people who glorify it. Who knew, right ? Seriously now : are you suggesting that somehow this miniature, this piece, that unapologetically and gleefully depicts a rape (for obviously cheeky or arousing purposes, no less), is “just too taboo” for my personal taste ? My personal taste ? Really ? Not tolerating rape is a matter of “personal taste” ? Wow. I’m willing to… Read more »
Well, maybe shock was too strong a word. Lets use yours instead 🙂
I wouldn’t agree that the ‘Wet Nurse’ didn’t have elements of sexploitation though. It came with female slaves if I remember correctly, not to mention the extensive nudity and body parts depicted! That’s how I see it anyways.
Nah the wet nurse was straight up tentacle porn
Maybe that was an ill considered choice of phrase! lol
I challenge you to use that sentence “Nah the wet nurse was straight up tentacle porn” in the next group conversation you have. The conversation cant be about miniatures or war gaming either. 🙂
oh lordy, I like a challenge but chickening out seems the most sensible option! lol
Im not a feminist by any stretch of the imagination but I do think this model crosses a line.
If they had also done a similar piece with a male prisoner then I would have just let it slide, but the fact they have very clearly chosen to portray just a woman in this kind of pose strikes me as exploitative.
Some people may argue it is a ‘realistic’ scenario, but I would argue there are lots of realistic scenarios that should perhaps be left out of gaming.
Anyway, let the market decide if this is what we want or not.
My thoughts exactly !