In a recent interview with Vulture, Rockstar Games Co-Founders Sam and Dan Houser divulged a ton of new information about their highly anticipated PS4 and Xbox One game Red Dead Redemption 2. In addition to discussing cut content and how long some workweeks on the game were, the Rockstar Co-Founders also talked about the roles and portrayal of women with the story of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Back when the game was announced, some people questioned how women would be portrayed within the game. No women were featured within the announcement trailer, and some people didn’t think Rockstar had a spotless record portraying them within their prior games. That being said, some of the game’s female characters have featured in subsequent trailers and various promotion materials.
When asked about their portrayal in the game’s story, Dan Houser seemed confident that people would be satisfied with how women are portrayed. Using a character called Lillian Powell as an example, Dan explained that women will be portrayed at various statuses and levels of power in the game, with many coming into their own over the course of the story. He also touched on the fact the Red Dead Redemption 2’s plot touches on the then-burgeoning women’s suffrage movement:
“[There’s] this old intellectual called Lillian Powell, who’s come back to the South from New York, who’s almost like a Dorothy Parker character. There are also ones who are weak and ones who are weak and become strong and ones who think they’re strong but are not. And that goes for men, too…
It was a time when women were beginning to question [their roles], and the Wild West was an area where people could invent themselves for the first time; many of the people who were inventing themselves were women. They were no longer constrained by society, because there was no society.”
We’ll be able to see how women are portrayed for ourselves when Red Dead Redemption 2 finally hits PS4 and Xbox One next week on October 26. For those who want to pick the game up, Red Dead Redemption 2 is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.
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