In the world of video games, female characters are often killed off as a narrative device. OTwo Co-Editor Joshua McCormack explores this phenomenon, and the alternative options for male characters' source of motivation.
Fridging.
The bizarrely-named term refers to when a female character is injured, or – usually – killed off, in order to serve as motivation for the – usually – male protagonist of the story; an ugly evolution of the 'Damsel In Distress' trope. Ninety-nine times in a hundred, the female character is just a plot device, a victim with no characterisation, backstory, or motivation to speak of.
Fridging is designed to serve as the protagonist's motivation, the loved one's death, the ghost which drives their actions
And while the term 'fridging' is a modern one, the trope is one of the oldest in the book. Baked into the DNA of modern stories as divergent as the neon-soaked John Wick films, and epic fantasy videogames like the God of War series; integral to some of the most foundational stories in literature – in everything from the Legends of Hercules and Orpheus & Eurydice, to the Great Gatsby. It is generally used as the 'Inciting Incident' or the 'Point of No Return' moment in the story, a trope designed to facilitate/pave the way for subsequent events in the narrative, or kickstart the story itself.
It is common in video games: Silent Hill 2, God of War, Life is Strange, the Last of Us, Castlevania. And rife in film: Gladiator, The Crow, Deadpool, The Bourne Identity, John Wick, Taken, Avengers and James Bond. In all mediums, Fridging is designed to serve as the protagonist's motivation, the loved one's death, the ghost which drives their actions; and therefore, it is most prevalent in the brooding world of revenge thrillers.
In God of War, the story is kickstarted by the sudden death of Kratos' wife, Faye, who perishes offscreen and isn't given any substantive characterisation until the next game; Kratos and Atreus initial motivation – the 'Inciting Incident' is their desire to spread her ashes at the world's highest peak. This 'Fridge' is plot focused, whereas Fridges like Joel's daughter, Sarah, in the Last of Us, motivate character, serving as the ghost which drives the characters' subsequent actions.
The term finds its origin in a 1994 issue of the comic-book, Green Lantern, where the male protagonist, Kyle Rayner, returns home only to discover that villain-of-the-week, Major Force, had murdered his girlfriend, Alexandra De Witt, and stuffed her body into his fridge. De Witt is a salutary example of all 'fridged' characters in fiction. Within the confines of the story, she did not exist as a fully realised character in her own right; with goals, flaws, and triumphs that existed independent of Kyle – just an echo on his arm.
In theory, creatives could flip this trend on its head. Create women-led stories where the motivation is born out of their thinly drawn male love-interests/companions being unceremoniously killed off.
They could take a more creative path; devise a motivation for their protagonist that does not involve the easy-lever of killing or injuring a female character. These could include: survival, saving the world, the arrival of a mysterious macguffin, rescuing someone, an unexpected adventure, personal injury, the emergence of a demented villain, internal motivations like ambition and jealousy, and countless others…
a result of gender-discrimination, an unfortunate by-product of creative industries that have been dominated by men right up until the present day
They might consider having the female character's treatment actually exert a demonstrable impact on the story; i.e. that their death echoes throughout what remains of the narrative, be that as a direct influence on the plot – Fridging a woman-in-power character should have this effect – or as an irrevocable influence on another character; a life's shaping event – for instance, the Fridging of Batman's mother, Martha, reverberated throughout the rest of his life, the cornerstone of the vigilante identity that he would eventually embody. At the very least, writers could write their female characters as actual people. (If only…)
The above examples, gathered from many centuries of literature, demonstrates that the practice is as a result of gender-discrimination, an unfortunate by-product of creative industries that have been dominated by men right up until the present day – with changes like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion(DEI) policies only really gathering pace in recent years. However, it is worth noting the people who caught this trend in literature and showcased it to the world: It was comic-book writer Gail Simone who coined the term, in response to the infamous Green-Lantern Issue. To raise awareness of this trend, Simone created a website called 'Women in Refrigerators' where she and journalist Beau Yarbrough documented the countless examples of Fridging in comics – the website is still live today, and makes for grim reading.
be it film-maker Christopher Nolan and the debris of dead wives his character leave in their wake, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe where countless characters are fridged in service of their male counterparts
Turning to the present, there is a general awareness of the trend rising in internet discourse – as aided by the slew of YouTube videos and internet think-pieces dissecting the subject – where even some of the creative-industries' most famous auteurs and most successful franchises are criticised for their indulgence of the trope: be it film-maker Christopher Nolan and the debris of dead wives his character leave in their wake, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe where countless characters are fridged in service of their male counterparts – Black Widow, Gamora, Peggy Carter, to name a few.
Some critics of the Fridging discourse argue that many male characters get the same treatment and yes, there are a few – absolutely not in the same proportion – that do, but these characters are generally treated with more respect – usually given 'Noble Sacrifices' and 'Lasting Legacies' which female characters seldom get.
It is a pernicious trope, one rife in every form of media – games, film, television, literature – but is there anything we as consumers can do to mitigate/combat its influence?
Well, most of us aren't video game creators or Hollywood executives, thus all we can do is be aware of the problem, and challenge those who propagate it…
And if you're ever writing a story yourself, perhaps consider killing off a man instead.