The Fabric of Oppression

This theory focuses on the system of creating groups that are dominant or privileged by it and other groups that are targeted. However, keep in mind it is possible for members of the dominant group that benefit from it not to be prejudice or hateful. Furthermore, being in the dominant group does not garuntee power, wealth and success but rather increases their chances of obtaining such gains. A prime example are the grand theft auto games. The games focus on a character who starts at the bottom of social hierarchy, doing dirty deeds for others to gain access in the dominant group where money, women, hot cars and penthouse and great connections are the benefits of being at the top of the hierarchy. The article discusses 3 different types of oppression: Institutional oppression, internalized oppression and hegemony. According to this theory, the majority who have access to social power in the U.S. are white men percieved as heterosexual and part of the Owning class. Based on the context, the Owning class refers to those who are so wealthy, they have no financial need to work. In contrast, working class individuals need to work to survive.

Gamer!

Intriguing reflection of next generation gaming. Blood. Gore. High-octane action. All the ingrediants for an action flick. Some scenes of this movie that centered on the social world of gaming represented the current Playstation Home where gamers all over the world use their 3D avatars to interact with one another, get updated on mainstream media for movies and games and design their own house. In reality, the gaming industry is constantly pushing the envelope of realism. How far can we go to have the player fully engaged into the gaming world? This movie envision's the future that eventually we might use real life people as avatars to replace 3D animation. Honestly? I cannot fathom the idea of that becoming the future of gaming. To have your body fully plugged into a game and have no control or having full control of another person is trully horrifying. But in the direction we are going as society, we're getting close. The plot of this movie might not be an Oscar winner but it is definitely accurate in today's world of gaming. Nevertheless, several scenes from this movie had me awestruck by its technological advancements. So yea, it was really cool to see how far we can go to interact with games. Scary and yet awesome.

Race and Ethnicity

If you're an educated person, then you are aware that racism and discrimination is still at large. May not be as severe during the black vs. white days but these issues are still present. People unfortunately still classify race in different groups based on the individuals charactericts. If you look at the big picture, there is only one race, the human race. It should not be the color of your skin or any other bodily features that defines who you are or what category you should be placed based on human perception. We should all be treated equally. I recently saw on CNN that some Americans are not pleased how Obama is running our country and they are balsy enough to address the color of his skin as part of the problem. It's shocking to see that racism is still around and will continue to be for as long as the human race is around. One thing that caught my attention in the article is the "one-drop" rule. It states that any degree of African ancestry is enough to classify an individual as black. It is very sad to see how black people have been viewed as bad. As if it's almost a sin to be a black person. It is wrong to have that kind of perception and not everyone sees that even now in the 21st century. Current films such as District 9 and The Final Destination address the issue. Yes, I know I included Final Destination and for those who havent seen it, watch it and you will see what I'm talking about. In regards to video games, it's clear that majority of video game characters are white. Solid snake, Drake from Uncharted, Prototype, Infamous and many others. If there is an asian, black or hispanic character in a game, they are protrayed as gangsters or criminals and are killed off shortly during the story line. None are given the lead role in a video game story. Nevertheless, we play these games because they entertain us.

In regards to my game of choice, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the story centers around Nathan Drake, an white American treasure hunter. There are only two females in the game, Chloe and Elena. But keep in mind Elena was in the first Uncharted game and was just as agile as Nathan throughout his adventure. What I found interesting is there are two old characters in the entire game. One is named Sully. To be honest, that old man can not only hold his own during a gunfight but he can run, climb and do almost anything Nathan can. But there are scenes in the game that he reference his age as an excuse for not wanting to continue in Drake's journey. I did find very few black characters in the game who happen to be villains. What surprised me the most is the developers actually had Nepalese villagers of Tibet speak their language. I'm not sure if the language is accurate but it definitely had you guessing what the villagers were saying. Even the main character was clueless as to what the Nepalese village was saying. Talk about diversity! During the cutscenes of Nepalese village, I was surprised to see that the second old game character, village elder, was a westerner who claimed to be in an identical situation as Drake seven years ago. It comes to no surprise that the elder is later killed in the game and Sully survives the journey because he is one of the main supporting characters in the story.

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia. Clever control. Incredible atmosphere. Smooth animation. Stunning visuals and interesting plot. All of these and more was attempted to bring in a breath of fresh air into the action/adventure genre of 2003. And they did just that. The main character, prince, shows his eagerness to be praised by his father, King Sharahman. The prince stops at nothing to obtain the Dagger of Time to see honor and glory. Despite being a great game, it clearly shows it is overrun by men. During the gameplay, we all saw a glimpse of a mysterious woman. That woman happens to be Princess Farah. Given her animated physique, it's clear their intention is to make her look stunningly visual for the male audience. The power of culture address the means for King Sharahman and his son to conquer Maharajah of India. In this fantasy world, men control the future of India. Pride and glory is what drives these significant characters to slash their way through countless soldiers to accomplish their mission. Nevertheless, Prince of Persia, a feat of wonder that added a new formula to the genre never failed to keep gamers awstruck. Yet, one does question the game's accurate protrayal of India, weaponry and their way of thinking.

The Culture of Power

The article states that when we are inside a culture of power, we expect to have things our way. Those members on the margins are limited to participate in an event, situation, organization, contributing to decisions made or having their voices heard. This issue parallels with video gaming on how gamers are recognized by society. Although the video game industry constantly pushes the envelope to deliver crisp realism in gaming to players all around the world, society does not give the necessary attention it deserves to be in the "in" group rather than the margins. Video gaming is often blamed for the crimes of violence because a teenager was inspired from grand theft auto or other related games to think its acceptable to pick up a gun and shoot innocent civilians. Issues like that hurt the gaming world from being accepted as a culture of power and have the respect to be recognized as a branch of entertainment that can be reached to a wide audience to deliver a fun level of interaction that brings people together. Those inside the gaming world know how far and unique video games have gone since the era of atari but some may fail to acknowledge its struggle to be credited as not only revolutionary but also having their voices heard for respect that video games is not a waste of time and money.

ExistenZ

What does Existenze say about our social fears of video game and reality?

After watching the movie, I came to a realization of how disturbing the film is. Our social fear is not being able to differentiate between reality and video games. To acknowledge both worlds crossing over is frightening. It shows that real life is not so far off from what is shown on film. Take for example Project Natal from Microsoft. A console peripheral with motion detecting camera and built-in microphone with strong potential of motion control that utilizes the human body as the controller. It interprets the player's body movements with incredible accuracy in the game. Society is constantly pushing the boundaries of video game realism and the level of interaction. Existenze also shows that if society continues to revolutionize the capacity of video games, there may be a day where we can no longer tell the difference between what is real and fake. Another social fear is the addiction and pleasure we get from gaming. The character, Allegra, is a prime example of individuals that prefer to live in fantasy and be lost in the world the human mind has created. The idea of plugging in bioports in the spine raises concerns of how the human body will be affected once fully connected to the game. We acknowledge the excitement and pleasure we get from the latest video games and consoles but the most terrifying idea is seeing the future video games cross over to the real world and possibly turning against us. The thought is farfetched but nonetheless it could happen.