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Apr 22nd, 2013 at 17:00:22 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS3) |
Today I’d like to talk a little bit about the stereotypes depicted in San Andreas. Right from the start it’s clear that this game using highly stereotyped characters as representatives of real world races and cultures. Almost exclusively, the gangs that prowl the fictional state of San Andreas are either black or Mexican. All of them are depicted as gangsters with complete with stereotypical dress style for that sub-culture.
This game has a fantastic soundtrack to it, but what stood out to my about the radio stations was the talk show on one particular station that consistently said several highly offensive things. At one point the host talked about the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico in San Andreas and then proceeded to make racist comments about them. Another radio station kicked off a playlist by stating that they were all classic rock and, “none of that rap crap.” This game just seems to be a highly exaggerated caricature of real world racist and stereotypical sentiments. I noticed this to such an extent that during my session I was tempted to act like an upright citizen so as to not perpetuate negative stereotypes about black people within the game.
On another note, I noticed a surprising lack of consequences in San Andreas. Although players are punished by increasingly difficult to survive police wanted levels, there seem to be little other incentive not to commit crimes. Players do lose all of their weapons and some money while in lock-up if they’ve been put down, but that doesn’t really seem like an adequate consequence. I once planted remotely detonated bombs along a 500 meter stretch of a busy highway and destroyed upwards of 10 cars along with their inhabitants. This type of action would get a person life in person, or worse, in the real world, but in the game I just shrugged my shoulders, walked out of jail and replenished my stockpiles with cheat codes. Zero consequences.
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Apr 22nd, 2013 at 16:41:48 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS3) |
I had a rather unproductive session of GTA San Andreas this afternoon. While many people were undoubtedly going through the story missions or commenting on the racial stereotyping and sexism, I immediately jumped into using cheat codes in the game to unlock flying cars and to give me unlimited weapons. I then proceeded to go on a rampant killing spree across the city that could be labeled as nothing other than an act of terror. Sandbox games like GTA seem to be a simulation in escapism from morality and ethics. A perfectly mild-mannered person such as myself, who would never dream of breaking the law in real life, will almost immediately set out beating random people, stealing cars, and picking up prostitutes in said stolen car. Cheat codes only serve to increase the power available to the player to break the moral laws of society in the game.
None of the actions of this play through could be labeled moral by any means. No one received any good or utility from my actions (Save maybe personal enjoyment from playing the game) so it wouldn’t be moral by a utilitarian standard, and my actions certainly wouldn’t pass Kant’s moral tests. So what causes otherwise upright citizens to rebel within this virtual world where every character, race, and culture is a wild caricature of real life? I would like to say that it is nothing more than mere curiosity. We as people are so bound be societal customs and rules that given the freedom to break those rules in a virtual world, we run with it.
So should we be concerned about these incredibly immoral actions? I don’t believe so personally. There are many who would argue that these games desensitize people to violence and that may be true. If we were to use gameplay footage of people playing GTA as grounds for deciding mental health, I believe I would be labeled a psychopath. However, I would argue that this natural curiosity for what it would be like if we were to cut loose isn’t harmful in the least. It’s simply a fun game, albeit incredibly violent. Tomorrow I’ll talk about the racial and cultural stereotypes depicted within the game.
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JSLATER2 has been with GameLog for 11 years, 6 months, and 29 days |
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