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Thursday 15 January, 2009
As I complete more missions and progress further in the game, I cannot help but notice the way police officers are portrayed. A conventional definition of police would be a body of people designated to protect and serve the public to maintain civil order. In this context police are regarded as honorable, positive, and reputable. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas portrays law enforcement officials in a much different manner. In almost a satirical sense, are cops portrayed as delinquent goons who abuse his or her power. This game essentially takes the meaning of “dirty cops” to the extreme.
The game starts out with the main character making his pilgrimage back home because his mom had died. He was taking a taxi home when randomly he was pulled over by three cops. Based on the dialog one could assume that this man has had history with the police. The cops proceeded to unfairly search him and take away all his possessions including his money. Without seeing any other proof, the cops assumed it was drug money, and confiscated the cash. In the car ride with the police, the police also started to blindly accusing the man of killing a cop when the main character has been in town for a matter of hours. It is interesting to note the dialog between the main character and the cops because in reference to one another both parties would only use the most degrading slurs. These actions by the police clear show a lack of any ethical basis or moral foundation. It does not help the main character shows the police no respect either which facilitates this behavior. Based on the explicit nature of this game, it does not surprise me that the police only add to this atmosphere.
I have only completed a small portion of this game so far, but it will be interesting to see the interactions between the main character and the police. There could possibly be a piece of the story, which will be revealed later. I am interested to see the dynamics of this relationship unfold as the game play progresses.
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