A story with a double-edged moral

Two articles in NY Times, december 1988, by John Gross and Michael Brenson reviewing ''Golem! Danger, Deliverance and Art,'' an exhibition at the Jewish Museum, NY. 

"A story with a double-edged moral. On the one hand the golem is the longed-for champion of a defenseless people, triumphant testimony to the power of faith. On the other hand he is a reminder that creation is God's prerogative, not man's, and that trying to emulate God is a presumptuous and dangerous business."
John Gross article

"What makes this a provocative art show is that the golem can also be a symbol of art. Art, too, is a human creation that may seem to be born of magic. Once a work of art leaves its maker's hands and enters the world, it, too, may take on a life of its own and serve functions very different from those for which it was intended."
Michael Brensons article

These articles also refers to the Golem legend as an inspiration for Mary Shelleys Frankenstein.

Bayerische uniform on my male figure

I chose a combined version of two Bayerische uniforms. The clothing is from 1862 but the helmet is from 1890. Next step is to animate it.

A bayerische uniform for the standard male?

CHURFÜRSTLICH BAYERISCHE INFANTERIE & CAVALLERIE AO 1803

Brown University Library has a nice browsable collection of uniforms from different eras and locations in the world. Beautiful prints of Preussian, Bavarian and German 19th century costumes. I will use them to apply a custom uniform on my standard male figure. 

Standard male

Working on a standard male figure based on a Muybridge plate. With different clothing and haircolor, he will become a farmer, soldier, priest, innkeeper, hero or the evil regent. The animations are taking so much time so I will have to systemize the process and reuse the figures with small alterations. Maybe I will have to make a less fit and fatter version of him too.

The "Golem" Syndrome

Golem syndrome: “This is a man, who as a child has neither experienced nor been trained in the three ingredients of emotional life: Attention, Love and Affection. The word "Golem" in mediaevil Jewish legend, describes a sort of machine man, a robot. "

The Neurocritic: The "Golem" Syndrome

So, there actually is a specific Golem "Syndrome". The blogger 'The neurocritic' found a couple of odd definitions published in the 70s by the austrian psychiatrist Joshua Bierer and among them was the 'Golem syndrome'. Apparently it's a male thing. 

"Such men go from woman to woman and are often considered to be excellent lovers. These women do not realise that they receive not love but hate, not compassion but revenge, not commitment but a desire to escape, that it is not a mutual emotional experience of beauty but a one-sided desire to hurt, and even to kill."

This reminds me of Simon Baron Cohen, FBA, professor in developmental psychopatology, autism researcher and cousin of actor Sasha Baron Cohen and his empathizing–systemizing theory, where he proposes that autism is an extreme of of the male brain. Sounds controversial of course, but unlike Bierer, Baron Cohen is an acknowledged front figure in the research of Autism. I read his book and I will write a specific post about this in the near future.

These articles made me think of whether my Golemfigure is male, female or something in between. Until now he has certainly been a male figure, since in my narrative of the game, one of the goals is to conquer the princess. He is also created by his maker as a physical 'strong' helper and protector - attributes traditionally associated with the male gender. In my story, he probably can't be female since I'm working with the archetypes of a good fairytale, though he might be asexual to start with, developing a kind of sexuality as the game goes on. This way the player decides with his/her actions whether Golem will become the evil patriachal rapist, pure muscles, 'mjukismacho' (Swedish expression which means Softy-macho) or even a more or less female figure.