Video Games As Art
This article is a must-read for gamers of all stripes:
- "The Grand Theft Auto games are not only works of art, but are among the most politically engaged pieces of mainstream art to come along in the last ten years."
Friday, January 21, 2005
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Umm..well, one of my TA friends who specializes in Video Gaming actually wrote an article just like this a few weeks ago in our local paper. I have to admit, I'm pretty unconvinced. I'm glad that the radio stations point out social inequalities and the way that violence works with these social inequalities is pretty obvious. At the same time, I'm not sure that a game like GTA needs to justify itself as social commentary. I don't think it really works that way. I'm being pretty closed minded, but whenever I play the game (or any of the GTA games, because I must admit I haven't played San Andreas), I'm not really thinking about the social commentary on the radio stations. Really. And also, the fact that the game is pretty non-linear, meaning that you can do whatever you want whenever you want, makes the author's claims to didacticism and the game as a commentary against violence pretty hollow. I mean, who cares if one station is talking about social inequality when you can just as easily change it to another station playing Warren G or Snoop Dogg? Now, mind you, rap itself has social messages--but all too often those messages aren't consumed as such. GTA is a great game. As are other games; I just don't think that by talking about social themes this is the way to adequately address the issue of violence in video games. Now, if the game really showed you the consequences of that violence (if you had to talk to family members, go to jail, attend a funeral or kill someone who was your best friend throughout the game) this would be more tenable. As is, though, there is something about video games--at least the ones I've played--that numbs you to the violence you inflict. This is one of the reasons, I believe, the army uses a video game for recruitment. If one could find a game where you would commit acts of violence and live out, actively, the consequences of that violence without being overly preachy--that would be more effective, I believe.
There is, though, something to be said for exposing the violence that is apart of social inequality itself, and I think this exposure is really well portrayed in GTA. I just don't think that is enough to call it a social commentary on violence per se.
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