New Lara : a Postfeminist Analysis of Rise of the Tomb Raider

Abstract

Lara Croft, the heroine of the hugely popular Tomb Raider videogame series, is a representative of femininity in contemporary popular culture. The newest Lara Croft game, Rise of the Tomb Raider (released in 2015/2016) presents a new version of Lara Croft (new Lara), who is a departure from the postfeminist action hero archetype that Lara Croft exemplified before the character’s reboot in 2013 (old Lara). Lara Croft has undergone a significant transformation since her first incarnation in Tomb Raider I in 1996. Some aspects of Lara Croft’s characterisation that have changed are her wardrobe, her body shape, and the character’s emotional complexity. Narratological aspects of Lara Croft that have changed are her relationships with other female characters, as well as her relationship with her deceased parents. And finally, some of the ludological elements of the game that have changed are Lara Croft’s weapons, and the way in which she navigates her environment. The study relates Lara Croft’s transformation to the changing structures in the videogame industry, such as the number of women currently playing videogames and the number of women currently involved in creating videogames. It is found that the number of female gamers has increased significantly from 1996 to 2017 and that where women are more involved in the creation of videogames, the female heroines’ representation tends to be more in line with that of new Lara. The study identifies a new female heroine archetype, which I term ‘the new Lara phenomenon’, that is increasingly displayed in female videogame heroines after the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot.