Simulated Ethnic Conflict in Video Games

• In Event: Ethnic Conflict: Constructing, Deconstructing, and Reconstructing Ethnic Divides

Abstract

A rising prevalence of imagined ethnic conflicts in war themed video games warrants a critical investigation from communication scholars. The present study seeks to pursue this issue in the widely popular Call of Duty franchise, which has featured non-American ethnic groups as the enemy force fighting against U.S. forces. The series is releasing its latest game ‘Ghosts’ to feature an ethnic conflict in a futuristic war. This scenario situates U.S. ‘Ghost’ forces fighting against a fictional South American ‘Federation’ that becomes a future world superpower. The game’s storyline ultimately seeks to restore white American societal power over a heightened sense of fear about immigration, a perceived shift of power away from the U.S., and fatigue over images of the Middle East. It is of value to study the hegemonic forces in the video game medium so that insight can be gained into the processes underlying what is seen as entertainment on the surface level.

Author

• Alexander Howard, California State University, Northridge