Returning Fire: Interventions in Video Game Culture 2011
Distributed by Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic St., Northampton, MA 01060; 800-897-0089
Produced by Jeremy Earp
Directed by Roger Stahl
DVD , color, 44 min.
College - General Adult
American Studies, Communication, Media Studies, Military Studies, Popular Culture, Psychology, Sociology, Technology
Date Entered: 12/21/2011
Reviewed by Margaret M. Reed, Riley-Hickingbotham Library, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, ARReturning Fire shows just how far our society will go to blur the lines between war and entertainment.
Concerned that our culture has lost sight of the human toll of war, Stahl builds his case on a number of startling facts about the ever-popular war video game industry. Amazingly, its sales far outpace blockbuster movies and best-selling novels. Side-by-side images of these games and news footage from an actual war zone illustrate their uncanny resemblance.
To counter this disturbing convergence of war and game culture, Stahl introduces viewers to three activists who infiltrate war video games by unconventional means. One flooded his game’s text messaging system with names of soldiers killed in Iraq. Another posted anti-war signs and graffiti on the game’s virtual walls. The third activist created his own game in which participants were allowed to remotely fire a paintball gun at him. Capturing national media attention with their creative protests, each activist effectively highlighted the emotional disconnect gamers experience in their “remote, push-button warfare.”
Highly recommended for academic and public libraries, Returning Fire is also an excellent teaching tool for courses in media, sociology, and psychology. The film’s study guide includes outlines of key points, discussion questions, and assignment ideas.