[SPOILER] Why the Hell Is Clair Obscur Still So Damn Patriarchal?

[Tensar]

I’m furious. Fuming. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could’ve been a breakthrough, a visually stunning, imaginative blend of action and surrealism. Instead, what do we get? Yet another frustrating example of how deeply the video game industry continues to cling to its patriarchal roots, dressing them up in pretty visuals and poetic ambiguity while perpetuating the same tired dynamics we’ve been forced to endure for decades.

Let’s start with the central conceit: a mysterious, all-powerful woman: the “Paintress” who kills people by painting their names into existence. On paper, it sounds intriguing, almost mythic. But dig a little deeper and it’s the same old trope repackaged. The woman is the embodiment of destruction and chaos, a symbol of irrational, godlike femininity that needs to be stopped by, of course, men , who seems to be on a righteous path to fix her “madness.” Sound familiar? It’s basically every male-authored myth about dangerous women from Medea to Maleficent.

She’s tragic, misunderstood, a victim of her emotions? This is the archetypal “madwoman in the attic,” painted with next-gen shaders and pseudo-intellectual narrative flourishes. It's exhausting. Women are either hyper-powerful forces of doom or passive companions. Rarely are they full, complex agents with motivations that aren’t tied to male protagonists or abstract emotional symbolism. And don't even get me started on how often they’re aestheticized—turned into visual set pieces rather than real characters. The Paintress doesn’t feel like a character. She feels like a metaphor written by a dude who’s afraid of women with agency.

And the protagonist? Surprise! It's the men of her family who try to stop her in her "madness" As if we haven’t seen that dynamic a million times before. The idea that a masculine-coded hero must clean up the emotional, destructive residue left behind by an unstable feminine force is not only boring, it’s deeply misogynistic. It reinforces the notion that female power is something to be feared, contained, or cured.

Her husband "Renoir" try to force her to do something she don't want, he want to force her to leave the painting and we help him??? Really?
Now look at the endings, Verso's end is in colors, he destroy a full world, commit a big genocid and it's in colors? The end seem to be the best for the devs. Maelle' ending is in grey, we see she became crazy and she is dying... What are the devs trying to tell us? Women have to follow orders of men? Their choices are always bad?
Maelle is always depicted as weak girl who flee reality in her dream world... I suppose that's how they view a female protagonist in 2K25... This is ridiculous
Verso is a traitor during all the game, he betray the expedition 33 many times but girls always forgive him...

This is patriarchy in 4K. It’s the illusion of progress, wrapped in the same structures that have always silenced, othered, or punished women for existing outside the mold. And what’s most infuriating is that the developers probably think they’ve created something deep, something subversive. But dressing up misogyny in metaphor doesn’t make it revolutionary. It makes it insidious.

We’re in 2025. We’ve had feminist critiques of media for decades. The tools are there. The conversations are happening. So why does Clair Obscur still rely on these archaic gender dynamics? Why are women still being turned into symbols, monsters, and muses instead of protagonists, creators, or just…people?

It’s time to stop giving games like this a pass just because they’re “artsy” or “ambitious.” Ambition means nothing if it reinforces the same old power structures. We deserve better stories. Women deserve better representation. And the industry needs to grow the hell up.

[МорячОК (скуф 76%)]

No points for you, clown baiter.

[RaX-Keya]

I can't believe if you're serious or not. That's concerning.

[sahhid24]

Get help

[Tensar]

Originally posted by unequip all slots:

No points for you, clown baiter.

You simply can't argue with what I said.

Originally posted by RaX-Keya:

I can't believe if you're serious or not. That's concerning.

Honestly, the relation Renoir/Aline is just toxic patriarchy and the worst thing is that it's treated as "normal" in the story. Obviously just follow the patriarchal path.
Then we see it's what is considered the best choice from the devs when we see at both ending. That's crazy it will probably be the canon choice

[Teltel^-^]

what the ♥♥♥♥ are you even talking about

[Tensar]

Originally posted by Teltel^-^:

what the ♥♥♥♥ are you even talking about

You can't accept the truth?

[olsongc]

I see no mention of Clea or Alicia....

[Crane]

iv blocked like 30 people since i got this game a few days ago. whats with all the idiots?

[Tensar]

Originally posted by olsongc:

I see no mention of Clea or Alicia....

I spoke of Maelle, she is Alicia so I don't understand what you mean

[LazyAmerican]

Prime example of how there's no winning to be had with arguments online lol.

[Shin Happens]

Imagine I just posted that Grandpa Simpson gif where he enters and promptly leaves a bar. Good luck with the point farming! :-D

[@R+5]

"oh no" another game with the great patriarch the we "hetero-normative" people secretly workship.

[fred]

100% correct. You seem pretty passionate about the subject so I cannot wait for your upcoming groundbreaking stereotype shattering story. We all saw with Expedition 33 that all it takes is a bit of passion to create a success so go ahead and be better than those oppressive patriarchy appologists!!!

[olsongc]

Originally posted by Tensar:

Originally posted by olsongc:

I see no mention of Clea or Alicia....

I spoke of Maelle, she is Alicia so I don't understand what you mean

1) Forgot that Aline is the who taught Renior everything he knows about painting, and he is only doing things based on the lessons SHE taught him.

2) Renior is not in the right, and is just as delusional as the rest. He wants to Fix things and have them go back to how they were, but they can't.

3) Aline was described as being more powerful than Renior in every conceivable manner, and it took Clea...the eldest DAUGHTER....to turn the tables in her father's favor....all the while SHE is fighting a ONE PERSON WAR against another faction.

4) Maelle and Alicia are not the same person. Maelle is the fantasy that Alicia wants to escape too. Maelle has the memories of Alicia and Maelle, but she identifies herself as Maelle.

5) Gustave cares not for either side, and simply sees himself (the young boy) being forced to keep the illusion alive.

Golgra is the head of Gestral Village. The Main Leader of the Expedition Organization is Gustave's sister.

Your point that Aline and Maelle are driven by emotion is missing the point that EVERYONE in that family is driven by emotion, even Gustave.

Gustave's ending is not a good ending either because it's a selfish stance for his own standpoint. Everything Gustave did was his own selfish desires, manipulating those around him. Remember, that Gustave is h is MOTHER's Creation. While his FATHER"s version is the boss Visages. "The one who guards truth with lies": Gustave lies and manipulates everyone around him to get his own personal goal.

You are willingly and deliberately ignoring aspects of the characters to make your argument.

Aline and Alicia were trying to hold unto the last part of the family member they lost, even if it meant losing themselves (dying) in the process.

Renior was trying to save his family even if it meant losing them. He was trying to destroy the last bit of his SON's soul, and he was stopped.....not by Gustave....but by Maelle.

[KombatKaine]

cant tell if this is bait or just the rant of some fake woke early 20-something. its called art. art is interpreted how the viewer wants to interpret it. you want to interpret it this way? thats on you.

and honestly, did you even play the game? or did you just see the first playable character was a male, so immediately went to "omg ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ patriarchy scum"? the paintress is a grieving mother, and her husband is trying to HELP her by bringing her back to reality. and the main character is a female. also grieving the loss of her brother/father figure, until she remembers who she really is, in which case shes grieving the loss of her real brother. literally the only leg youre standing on here is the fact that there are male and female characters, therefore "PATRIARCHY!!!!!!!!!!!!"

if you replaced all females with males, or all males with females, it would have 0 impact on the story. stop crying and get ur woke nerd ♥♥♥♥ outta here.