Iranian Students Making Anti-American War Game
May 30, 2006 2:26 PM |
In an interesting twist on an old classic, Iranian students are developing a war game featuring American military forces as the antagonists.
The game is meant to be a protest of Western involvement in Iran's nuclear development program, and focuses on US troops in Iraq. The story will be based around a "Commander Bahman" infiltrating "enemy" territory to capture Iranian nuclear scientists who have been imprisoned by the US Army.
While the 2007-slated game is making waves for being anti-American, it's also true that we've used a lot of middle-eastern and arabic archetypes to play the "bad guys" in our war games for some time. Heck, our Army unabashedly uses a video game as a recruitment tool, and very few people are talking trash about that. While I feel that the development team may be skewing current events a bit, this is no worse than, say, Atari's Terrorist Takedown or Play It Ltd's America's 10 Most Wanted.
The point, I suppose, is that you don't get to be where the US is today without pissing some people off. We end up casting our video game "bad guys" wherever they would historically fit; for example, no one would complain if the enemies in a game about the Vietnam War were, let's say Vietnamese. Somewhere, and sadly in an increasing number of places around the world, we're the "bad guys" to someone. This game is going to be a fictional account of what would happen if America kidnapped Iranian scientists and sparked a war; it's not telling people to grab a gun and kill the nearest US Marine. It's all about context, folks.
Categories: PC
3 Comments
Actually, plenty of people are talking trash about America's Army. It's just that nobody in America hears them, because nobody in America consumes any media generated outside the lower 48.
Plenty of Europeans are of the opinion that America's Army is Orwellian propaganda of the worst kind, and when you consider that it literally offers different players different versions of reality (everybody gets to be an American soldier; everybody else looks like a villainous [and foreign, Timothy McVeigh doesn't count] terrorist), it's hard not to think that they might have a point.
Ernest Adams | May 30, 2006 12:03 PM
To be fair, I agree with you that there's been a lot of negative opinion on America's Army, even within the US itself. There hasn't, however, been a lot of negative press, which is more of what you're talking about. This article was posted objectively (in its raw state) but even still, the fact that it made the radar at all implies that there's something wrong with it, while AA is touted as a useful recruitment tool for a new generation.
It's a double-standard, and while mainstream news may not realize it, there ARE plenty of people who are vocal in its opposition.
Chase | May 30, 2006 12:43 PM
Video gaming is a source of "media" per-say. People are allowed to make video game's on whatever they want. So these people making an Anti-American war game doesn't bother me (except for the fact that its anti-american heh) but if they want to then they are allowed. To comment on the military recruiting through a game, its a source of media and if it connects to its users then let them have at it. I am only 15 and I am thinking of joining the military. My mom who is over in iraq right now, and she tells me tons of stories, some of which I can not repeat sorry. But her and her fellow soldiers over there are very very nice to iraqi's and iranians. Its also not the soldiers fault we are over there. Its more George Bush's fault. If he wasn't so worried about getting fuel that we currently have instead of having american scientist's make a new source of fuel, then I am pretty sure we wouldn't be over there.
Thats my 2 cents on the fact of the war, and the game I am pretty sure ill buy and maybe play, its a way of media and its 100% legal.
If you do support americas soldiers then view my website : http://americas-soldiers.com
Jeff
Jeff Hunt | August 3, 2007 11:24 PM