1-Sided Entertainment in a Multi-Sided World

The New York Times' Seth Schiesel wrote a column in the arts section last Thursday arguing that British, Canadian, and New Zealander ire is unwarranted over a new shooting game made by EA Games called Medal of Honor, which puts players in the shoes of the Taliban in its multiplayer mode.  Schiesel argues that public figures shouldn't be mad because they are taking out of context the situations in which players take control of Taliban fighters, and that without a "story" backing the multiplayer mode, there is no real role-playing as anything but two warring sides, which are as meaningless as different colors in a video game.

Of course, Schiesel is right, and much of his exposition in the article is simply laying out the basic dynamics of video games for the gaming illiterate, which unfortunately includes a wide array of politicians, especially those in their advanced years.  To any gamer the fact that one is in the shoes of the Taliban in multiplayer should not only come as no shock, and politicians have nothing to fear.  It is up to the media to convey the experience of video games and the reason for certain people's passion for them, something which many find very hard to understand.

Yet a point on which I digress is the idea that this is a good thing.  As technology advances, the possibilities of video games are becoming greater and greater, and it is rapidly becoming apparent that video games are evolving into a form of interactive art (despite what certain respected cynics would believe).  Wandering the dank corridors of Rapture in Bioshock (another famous game) brings one to pause and question the logic of free markets, while one level in Call of Duty 4 is dedicated solely to experiencing the lingering death of a soldier who has barely survived a nuclear attack.  These moments and many others are cropping up more and more in video games, yet we fail to treat them as anything but entertainment.  The fact is that Medal of Honor, much like its predecessors in the Medal of Honor series, is shamelessly tilted on the side of America, making light of the grey areas that fill the real world and smoothing over ethical dilemmas to craft a less controversial gaming experience. 

I can't say that I blame EA, either.  Considering the astounding misunderstandings that take place on a basic, experiential level between politicians and video gamers, it may be some time before video games can push the limits of our thinking and challenge conventional culture the way I would like them to.

The fact is that the Taliban are people as well, and they are fighting for a cause that they believe to be just, misguided though some of them may be and led by evil men as they are.  There are many reasons for the hatred towards America that the average American doesn't see (not that I justify their methods of resistance, only that they are human and have human rationale for their attacks, rather than the senseless blood-lust to which we often attribute them).  I would like to see a game come out that justifiably concerns politicians, that pushes the boundaries of what many are comfortable with and makes one think outside of the gilded bubble of light entertainment.

Alas, even movies that attempt this are often shot down by big business and go largely unseen by the public--only print, the oldest means of media, with its low cost only increasing, holds a real ability to throw off the cloak of control that envelops much of the entertainment industry in comfortable, politically correct material.  Hopefully with the advancement of time other media with follow in greater suit.