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Originally posted by: Shift Key
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What gives these people the right to write these texts?
History is written by the victor.
Not sure who that quote is attributed to but it goes a long way to explain why WWII has a lot of text regarding the Allied events when compared to the Axis events. Sure, we know bits and pieces about the rise of Nazism and Fascism and accounts from concentration camps, but in terms of military events and operations we do not have the same level of detail. This is possibly due to, when Berlin fell, the remaining soldiers destroyed texts relevant to the operations of the Axis in Europe in order to avoid future repercussions (war crimes, etc).
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The ideologies that the former member of the Soviet Union who still believes that Communism is the direction this world should take would be somewhat disconcerting to an American.. Or even an Australian, such as me.
You're scared of an ideology or the people who believe in the ideology? Don't confuse the two, because an ideology is harmless until someone believes in it.
Pro Tip #1: communism is the ideology. Communism represents the organisation based on the ideology of communism. There's a huge difference in capitalisation.
The Communist Party - where its always a party!
Pro Tip #2: Communism isn't something that is lurking in the shadows these days. You can spot the Communist governments based on current affairs, such as China, North Korea, Cuba and a couple of other nations. There may be Communist organisations in most countries (yes, there is in Australia) but while these are in the minority then you have little to be afraid of.
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Our western ideology may suggest, that it is indeed ethical to kill Nazis. That is what we did. And that is what they did back. How deep would you like to go.. did our bodies disappear? No... but, why would that matter...
What Jonny is asking is whether games have an obligation to impart more information about war in order to give the player a better perspective on the historical events. I'm not sure how "ethics" got in there because ethics are subjective, but I do see merit in video games about war containing more relevat information about the events (there are a number of possible methods of doing this rather than a straight narrative).
But where do you draw the line? Turning a game into a history lesson is not the way to boost sales. And if game developers were interested in being ethical in terms of respect for historical events, then you wouldn't see war video games being pumped out at such a constant rate. Simple as that.
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After ALL this crap I've spun, what I'm trying to say is - yes, I may pretty much agree that 1st person shooters are politically incorrect and unethical. But unfortunately, perhaps our past and ideologies have forged an unethical society.
Wait, all first person shooters? Lets focus on the games that cover historical events. Leave the futuristic shooters to future generations to abhor.
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Take for example the Spartan War with the 300 Spartans that fought to the bitter end. Shouldn't their war with the Persians be given the same respect as WWII? Both were fought around sacrificing themselves to protect their homeland. Yeah there isn't a clear cut historical account, but hardly anyone doubts that the accounts of their sacrifice was legitimate and was also brutal.
What is different is that the accounts of the Spartan War have been passed through many more generations than the WWII stories. So while the account of the 300 Spartans is almost mythical today (save for a couple of movies and a monument), the accounts from World War II are more current and more detailed. So perhaps the problem isn't respect but making use of the information available in order to illustrate the story. The accounts of the 300 Spartans requires much more creative license in order to fill the "gaps of knowledge" when compared to the D-Day landings.
Anyway, I started talking politics so I'm starting to smell the end of this thread. It was fun.
History is written by the victor, huh?
The texts are destroyed.. ok.. well thats my point.
My point was - that it would be safe to assume many texts from that era are gone.
So we research. But "we" are westerners.
And "we" westerners write these texts.
I agree somewhat. You are right that the victor - ie, westerners would have gathered up numbers for casualties and what-have-you.. but,
I answered my own question.
Being the victor does not give you the right to information or to write it.
People write all the time.
Letters from Iwo Jima is a prime example.
Western ideology is afraid of an alternative ideology. ie - Communism.
Why?
Because it counters eachother.
Simple.
It does not matter what or who beleives in it.
Little to be afraid of for they are the minority?
Well, in the era of the Cold War the ideological threat was very, very real.
Do I myself fear Communism and alternative ideologies?
No.. if I did I would freak out in Culture, Identities and Texts 101.
It is my job to tear these ideologies appart and understand them, so lookout
I said that 1st person shooters are politically incorrect and un-ethical.
That is not a typo.
Going around, killing people for fun in a video game is now socially accepted.
Is it good or bad? Well, what do you beleive? I honestly don't care and the terms good and bad are funny. ^___^
I would definately agree that we have probably gone far away from simply asking "Should war games be more realistic?"
I just wanted to go deeper is all.... ^___^
If you guys would like to look at my assignment when it is done, which is about the Cold War and Ideology, let me know.
I'm sure I can be of enlightenment.