Overwatch hero D.Va goes beyond the video game and acts as a real-life symbol of empowerment in a recent South Korean women's march. Fans continue to find representation in the diverse cast of Blizzard's hit first-person shooter.
Overwatch Hero D.Va Sends A Strong Message
Just recently, women all over the world took the streets in order to support their ongoing protests. Kotaku reports that among the various signs and messages, someone brought along a flag containing a pink bunny symbol that alludes to Blizzard's video game hero, D.Va. Similarly, some protesters even printed the bunny on a sticker with the caption "The Rise Of The Woman = The Rise Of The Nation."
지방러지만 서울 올라가서 다녀왔습니다! 2000명 넘게 모였다고 하던데 외국인분들도 많고 남성분들도 꽤 계시더라구요! 욕하거나 눈살 찌푸리시는 행인분들도 계시고 눈도 많이와서 추운 날씨였는데 다들 수고하셨습니다~ #세계여성_공동행진_서울 pic.twitter.com/gKQglk7VD4
— 쭈글쭈귤
These photos surfaced the net via Twitter wherein the protesters took their rally to Seoul, Korea. Fitting enough, it is worth noting that D.Va aka Hana Song originally hails from “The Land of the Morning Calm.” Her pink bunny plays a major role in her character design as the symbol is etched on her suit and is also one of her personal in-game sprays. Furthermore, the mark is also one of the decals on her giant pink mech.
Blizzard Expanding the Game’s Colorful Cast
While feminists have found a strong symbol in the mech-riding hero, Blizzard continuously finds ways to add more variety to the game’s cast. In line with this, the latest comic for the video game revealed that the poster girl, Tracer, is actually gay.
Lead writer Michael Chu explained that the production team finds inspiration from the diversity in the world, as per GameSpot. In turn, they took ideas from all sorts of cultures, histories, anime, comic books and movies to create the game that fans know and love. Moreover, Blizzard believes that representation is very important and wants to place a lot of focus on the topic.
In the Overwatch game itself, players do not get the chance to explore the cast’s personal lives. This gives Blizzard the chance to explore narratives through other various mediums.
