Welcome to Games Versus Contemporary Issues (or: GvCI)

When it comes to leading hearts and minds in the first world, mass media certainly seems to come out number one. The movies and shows of a day can show just how matters and issues were discussed and viewed at the time, giving us in the modern day a glimpse of just how public opinion has shifted. Movies and TV aren’t the only media in production though that have been changing to compensate for new views on the world: one of the newest, and by far one of the most controversial, and under-discussed, forms of media today, yet also one of the most popular, is the realm of video games. In the same way that people can obsess over their favorite movies, people do the exact same for their favorite games- but with how modern this media is, the fandoms and subcultures that have arisen are nearly entirely online. 

What this blog is for is to document how social shifts and changes have been mirrored in the world of games, and perhaps even more importantly, the responses of the fans. The fact that the subculture that watches and plays games on a more-then-casual-basis, collect and meet nearly exclusively online has made the most vocal also exhibit the worst traits associated with the less popular sides of the web: name calling, death threats, an overzealous attitude towards any attempts to change… This is a blog that’ll attempt to sum up and explain some of the more confusing and obscure controversies in gaming subculture, including those involving race, sexuality, and gender in a subculture that not many know much about, and hopefully be useful to both people who never played a game, and people who want to understand just what their friends are getting all up in arms about because the main character of a video game happens to be black.

Can't have minorities in our recreational time according
to some people.
(Watchdogs 2 by Ubisoft, November 15th 2016, image acquired from Wccftech.com)

The images on this blog are protected under U.S fair use laws; specifically Section 107 of the U.S copyright act. According to it, "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research", the use of copy write protected material is allowed. (Columbia University, "Fair Use"). Video games are a primarily visual media- the use of images will be necessary at points to give context to issues pertaining to it. The alternative would be to use only images protected under creative commons, which allows sharing and usage of an image for free, with stipulations ranging from having to attribute the source to not being able to sell or modify the image in any way. Creative commons is much more easy- but, with it, the ability to critique would be limited, as I'd be limited to images like this.

Not much to criticize here, admittedly.
Art found at pixabay.com

Sources Cited: