Nathan Drake bears a striking resemblance to Joel from another Naughty Dog game, The Last of Us. Both protagonists are white, adult men with shaggy brown hair and grizzled beard scruff. Both bear the signs of fighting and exploring in their scarred skin. They have handsome, symmetrical features. In turn both of these characters are strikingly similar to other male video game protagonists.
Clearly there is something going on here. Why do we keep seeing the same images of men crop up again and again as video game protagonists? Why aren't video game developers creating unique, distinguishable protagonists? Why always the same kind of look?
It doesn't just stop at looks. Nathan Drake is also similar to other male video game protagonists in his personality. There are countless personalities out there that could have been chosen instead. We see the same type of male personality again and again because it has some kind of significance in our culture.
Uncharted is an excellent game to examine this archetype of the male hero because Nathan Drake represents it so purely. Also, this is a game mainly about a man fighting other men (like most games) so it gives us an opportunity to look at some of our cultural assumptions about men reflected in gaming.
Clearly there is something going on here. Why do we keep seeing the same images of men crop up again and again as video game protagonists? Why aren't video game developers creating unique, distinguishable protagonists? Why always the same kind of look?
It doesn't just stop at looks. Nathan Drake is also similar to other male video game protagonists in his personality. There are countless personalities out there that could have been chosen instead. We see the same type of male personality again and again because it has some kind of significance in our culture.
Uncharted is an excellent game to examine this archetype of the male hero because Nathan Drake represents it so purely. Also, this is a game mainly about a man fighting other men (like most games) so it gives us an opportunity to look at some of our cultural assumptions about men reflected in gaming.
Nathan Drake: The ideal masculine gender role
According to gender role theory, society has roles for people based on their gender. These roles are like small boxes of behavior that are considered "masculine" and "feminine." Wearing a skirt, for example, has been put in the "feminine" box. That is arbitrary--skirts, in some cultures, are considered masculine.
Gender roles don't stop at just clothes. They also include behavior. Gender roles give a very narrow range of acceptable behavior for each person based on their gender. A man who fails to be consistently masculine (say, for example, by being too emotional) faces serious negative consequences. He can be made fun of for not being masculine, or even physically attacked by people.
Gender roles are present in media, and we can study them there. Media can also reinforce gender roles.
Returning to Uncharted 4, is Nathan Drake an idealized version of masculinity, and an example of a limiting masculine gender role? I took a look at this Planned Parenthood list:
Gender roles don't stop at just clothes. They also include behavior. Gender roles give a very narrow range of acceptable behavior for each person based on their gender. A man who fails to be consistently masculine (say, for example, by being too emotional) faces serious negative consequences. He can be made fun of for not being masculine, or even physically attacked by people.
Gender roles are present in media, and we can study them there. Media can also reinforce gender roles.
Returning to Uncharted 4, is Nathan Drake an idealized version of masculinity, and an example of a limiting masculine gender role? I took a look at this Planned Parenthood list:
WORDS COMMONLY USED TO DESCRIBE MASCULINITY
- independent
- non-emotional
- aggressive
- tough-skinned
- competitive
- clumsy
- experienced
- strong
- active
- self-confident
- hard
- sexually aggressive
- rebellious
Independent: In Uncharted 4, Nathan Drake leaves his wife Elena at home to do the adventuring himself. However, he does have a number of companions, including his brother, and his wife does rescue him at one point. Nathan Drake in Uncharted 4 is a little more dependent than previous versions.
Non-emotional: Drake's personality has many barriers that protect him from expressing his emotions. He constantly finds himself in life-or-death situations, but instead of showing nervousness, he tends to crack jokes. Drake also does a lot of killing, and sees his own allies killed, but rarely do we see him show much emotion over pain or death. In Uncharted 4, we do get a few rare glimpses into Drake's emotional life, in the climactic scene with his brother (though even then, Drake doesn't cry, and springs into action to save his brother) and in a few romantic scenes with Elena. We also get some insight into Drake's internal life and motivations through scenes of him as a child, revealing that it was the death of his mother that really inspired him to start adventuring. However, Drake keeps all of this mostly hidden behind a calm, capable, and humorous personality--very much fitting into this aspect of masculinity.
Aggressive: Drake fights people throughout the Uncharted series. He doesn't appear to want to kill people, necessarily, but he doesn't seem to mind it very much, either. Drake is rarely vulnerable, and he does most fighting himself. This makes sense on some level since Drake is the player's avatar, but it does serve to make him appear to be a violent and aggressive person, fitting into this aspect of masculinity.
Tough-skinned: As discussed in the above two traits, Drake does a lot of fighting and killing, and mostly shrugs it off. Nothing ever breaks him or slows him down. No situation is too dangerous or frightening to stop him.
Competitive: The premise of Uncharted 4 is literally Drake competing with other treasure hunters to be the first to find Captain Avery's fortune.
Clumsy: This one is a little tough because in my play-through, my Nathan Drake had a lot of slips and falls. The real Drake, though, doesn't fall to his death once.
Experienced: Drake is a highly experienced character. Uncharted 4 reveals that Drake has been an expert in pirate history, adventuring, fighting, and parkour since he was a young boy.
Strong: Drake is almost inhumanly strong (though not as buff as many other male video game protagonists, it's worth noting) and he is able to scale giant rock faces and buildings without breaking a sweat.
Active: No explanation needed for this one.
Self-confident: Drake displays considerable self-confidence. He never shows fear in encountering any dangerous situation, and is assured of his abilities to find Avery's treasure. Drake is so self-confident that he is relaxed and happy during most of the game, cracking jokes constantly.
Hard: Drake is able to kill many people throughout the game without showing any remorse. However, Drake has some moments of softness--he has genuine relationships with other characters, such as Elena and his brother Sam.
Sexually aggressive: Drake does not fit this quality very well. His romance with Elena is mutual.
Rebellious: In Uncharted 4, we find out Drake was a rule-breaker since he was a boy breaking out of his orphanage to see his similarly rebellious brother Sam. The next time we see Drake, he is fighting people in a prison. The main plot involves Drake lying and sneaking off to pursue one last illegal adventure.
Non-emotional: Drake's personality has many barriers that protect him from expressing his emotions. He constantly finds himself in life-or-death situations, but instead of showing nervousness, he tends to crack jokes. Drake also does a lot of killing, and sees his own allies killed, but rarely do we see him show much emotion over pain or death. In Uncharted 4, we do get a few rare glimpses into Drake's emotional life, in the climactic scene with his brother (though even then, Drake doesn't cry, and springs into action to save his brother) and in a few romantic scenes with Elena. We also get some insight into Drake's internal life and motivations through scenes of him as a child, revealing that it was the death of his mother that really inspired him to start adventuring. However, Drake keeps all of this mostly hidden behind a calm, capable, and humorous personality--very much fitting into this aspect of masculinity.
Aggressive: Drake fights people throughout the Uncharted series. He doesn't appear to want to kill people, necessarily, but he doesn't seem to mind it very much, either. Drake is rarely vulnerable, and he does most fighting himself. This makes sense on some level since Drake is the player's avatar, but it does serve to make him appear to be a violent and aggressive person, fitting into this aspect of masculinity.
Tough-skinned: As discussed in the above two traits, Drake does a lot of fighting and killing, and mostly shrugs it off. Nothing ever breaks him or slows him down. No situation is too dangerous or frightening to stop him.
Competitive: The premise of Uncharted 4 is literally Drake competing with other treasure hunters to be the first to find Captain Avery's fortune.
Clumsy: This one is a little tough because in my play-through, my Nathan Drake had a lot of slips and falls. The real Drake, though, doesn't fall to his death once.
Experienced: Drake is a highly experienced character. Uncharted 4 reveals that Drake has been an expert in pirate history, adventuring, fighting, and parkour since he was a young boy.
Strong: Drake is almost inhumanly strong (though not as buff as many other male video game protagonists, it's worth noting) and he is able to scale giant rock faces and buildings without breaking a sweat.
Active: No explanation needed for this one.
Self-confident: Drake displays considerable self-confidence. He never shows fear in encountering any dangerous situation, and is assured of his abilities to find Avery's treasure. Drake is so self-confident that he is relaxed and happy during most of the game, cracking jokes constantly.
Hard: Drake is able to kill many people throughout the game without showing any remorse. However, Drake has some moments of softness--he has genuine relationships with other characters, such as Elena and his brother Sam.
Sexually aggressive: Drake does not fit this quality very well. His romance with Elena is mutual.
Rebellious: In Uncharted 4, we find out Drake was a rule-breaker since he was a boy breaking out of his orphanage to see his similarly rebellious brother Sam. The next time we see Drake, he is fighting people in a prison. The main plot involves Drake lying and sneaking off to pursue one last illegal adventure.
/u/the_frickerman's perspective
I didn't want this whole post to be a female blogger writing about men's issues, so FEMRADebates member /u/ the_frickerman offered to give me his perspective on Nathan Drake.
What is your impression of Nathan Drake?
I think he is the stereotypical male Protagonist of the Hollywood culture for Action films. Badass, good-looking and somewhat overprotective. That was the Impression I got after playing 2. In 3, thanks to the childhood Scenes and his relationship with Sully, we can see the developers deviate him from the cliche. Which was something nice, if you ask me.
How is Nathan Drake similar to other male protagonists in games?
Mmm, physically, he is a "stud" with a nice musculated Body and the grunge "3-day beard" look. I think that is a characteristic that is shared by a great percentage of male protagonists. Then, as I mentioned in the previous answer, there's the badass and the "I must protect you because reasons" attitude that can sometimes get on my nerves when it's thrown at us like a deus ex machina instead of giving some proper, credible reason on why they are protecting others with such effort.
In your opinion why do you think Nathan Drake looks the same as so many other male protagonists?
I'd say it's because of 2 main reasons: * Lack of creativity from devs and writers. * Through the Story of literature and Cinema, it has been empiracally tested that certain stereotypes are preferred and sell better than other ideas. It's the old "if it works, don't fix it" in my opinion. Although those role models are old-fashioned, they represent our fantasies and we like to think of ourselves to be the hero who kicks the bad guy's ass and gets the Girl (and if she is badass too, the better) although we know that will certainly not happen in real life.
Can you tell me more about how he's a "stud" and an ideal male figure?
Because, aside from in-game development choices, I think he is portrayed as someone succesful, strong, able to overcome difficulties with ease, and it's kinda implied he will not have a Problem providing if he was in the Situation of having to do it. I didn't mean it in the sense that he would be the typical PUA "stud", just in case it could have been understood that way.
How do those masculine ideals affect your life?
Hmm, this is a good one. I've always tried my hardest to avoid sticking myself on a specific role and just build up my personality and my life out of my own choices and repsonsibility on what fulfills me. Nevertheless, this Kind of stereotypes woul make me most probably feel uncomfortable if, for whatever reason in a hypothetical situation, after having Kids, I was the one dropping my Job to take care of my children and the house because I don't feel like letting a stranger take care of my Kids for most of their childhood and seeing them after only after the've gone to bed, as I reccon that the social pressure on such a decision would be high. I feel These stereotypes Limit our freedom in General.
Do the ways that you are not like him ever make you feel judged by society for not having perfect, ideal masculinity?
Hmm... This is kinda tricky to asnwer. I'm not old enough to completely relate to the masculinity ideal that I think Nathan represents (guys approaching their 40s) because I'm still 30 years old. But I've felt judged, for example, for caring very Little about sex as a guy and not having Girls on pedestals an trying to hit on everything that moves, like many of my friends do. I don't think that would fit into perfect, ideal masculinity, but Society aroun me so far has thought otherwise. On the other traits discussed, like I said before, I can't say much as I'm still not Feeling judged for still not getting married and have children/buy a house or anything like that.
What is your impression of Nathan Drake?
I think he is the stereotypical male Protagonist of the Hollywood culture for Action films. Badass, good-looking and somewhat overprotective. That was the Impression I got after playing 2. In 3, thanks to the childhood Scenes and his relationship with Sully, we can see the developers deviate him from the cliche. Which was something nice, if you ask me.
How is Nathan Drake similar to other male protagonists in games?
Mmm, physically, he is a "stud" with a nice musculated Body and the grunge "3-day beard" look. I think that is a characteristic that is shared by a great percentage of male protagonists. Then, as I mentioned in the previous answer, there's the badass and the "I must protect you because reasons" attitude that can sometimes get on my nerves when it's thrown at us like a deus ex machina instead of giving some proper, credible reason on why they are protecting others with such effort.
In your opinion why do you think Nathan Drake looks the same as so many other male protagonists?
I'd say it's because of 2 main reasons: * Lack of creativity from devs and writers. * Through the Story of literature and Cinema, it has been empiracally tested that certain stereotypes are preferred and sell better than other ideas. It's the old "if it works, don't fix it" in my opinion. Although those role models are old-fashioned, they represent our fantasies and we like to think of ourselves to be the hero who kicks the bad guy's ass and gets the Girl (and if she is badass too, the better) although we know that will certainly not happen in real life.
Can you tell me more about how he's a "stud" and an ideal male figure?
Because, aside from in-game development choices, I think he is portrayed as someone succesful, strong, able to overcome difficulties with ease, and it's kinda implied he will not have a Problem providing if he was in the Situation of having to do it. I didn't mean it in the sense that he would be the typical PUA "stud", just in case it could have been understood that way.
How do those masculine ideals affect your life?
Hmm, this is a good one. I've always tried my hardest to avoid sticking myself on a specific role and just build up my personality and my life out of my own choices and repsonsibility on what fulfills me. Nevertheless, this Kind of stereotypes woul make me most probably feel uncomfortable if, for whatever reason in a hypothetical situation, after having Kids, I was the one dropping my Job to take care of my children and the house because I don't feel like letting a stranger take care of my Kids for most of their childhood and seeing them after only after the've gone to bed, as I reccon that the social pressure on such a decision would be high. I feel These stereotypes Limit our freedom in General.
Do the ways that you are not like him ever make you feel judged by society for not having perfect, ideal masculinity?
Hmm... This is kinda tricky to asnwer. I'm not old enough to completely relate to the masculinity ideal that I think Nathan represents (guys approaching their 40s) because I'm still 30 years old. But I've felt judged, for example, for caring very Little about sex as a guy and not having Girls on pedestals an trying to hit on everything that moves, like many of my friends do. I don't think that would fit into perfect, ideal masculinity, but Society aroun me so far has thought otherwise. On the other traits discussed, like I said before, I can't say much as I'm still not Feeling judged for still not getting married and have children/buy a house or anything like that.
Final thoughts
Does this mean you shouldn't like Nathan Drake?
No. There is no shame in enjoying a video game character. The point of this post is to bring awareness to some of the cultural forces going on behind Nathan Drake, and how he fits into our ideas about masculinity. This post is not meant to convince you to dislike him as a character.
Does this mean you are supposed to reject masculinity?
No. You should define masculinity for yourself and recognize that it's not a limited, rigid box of characteristics. In other words, there is more freedom and diversity in masculinity than is portrayed in Uncharted 4 and most games. And whatever values you choose for yourself, keep in mind that they are *human* values, not gender values.
So what should video game developers do instead?
Instead of portraying the same male video game characters over and over again, developers can avoid promoting a very small, limited idea of masculinity. Masculinity can be very different things to different people. Why not show us this kind of diversity in a positive way? Alongside Nathan Drakes, we could see male protagonists that are lacking in confidence, independence, and natural physical ability. We could also see more diversity in appearance, especially in race and style. Seeing diversity in masculinity would validate different men's identities, and would also just be more interesting and unique.