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Adolescents, Virtual War, and the Government-Gaming Nexus

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Adolescents, Virtual War, and the Government-Gaming Nexus Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 Why We Still Fight: Adolescents, Virtual War, and the Government Gaming Nexus Margot A. Susca Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION WHY WE STILL FIGHT: ADOLESCENTS, VIRTUAL WAR, AND THE GOVERNMENT- GAMING NEXUS By MARGOT A. SUSCA A dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2012 Margot A. Susca defended this dissertation on February 29, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Jennifer M. Proffitt Professor Directing Dissertation Ronald L. Mullis University Representative Stephen D. McDowell Committee Member Arthur A. Raney Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii For my mother iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my major professor, Jennifer M. Proffitt, Ph.D., for her unending support, encouragement, and guidance throughout this process. I thank her for the endless hours of revision and counsel and for having chocolate in her office, where I spent more time than I would like to admit looking for words of inspiration and motivation. I also would like to thank my committee members, Stephen McDowell, Ph.D., Arthur Raney, Ph.D., and Ronald Mullis, Ph.D., who all offered valuable feedback and reassurance during these last two years. I also must extend a heartfelt thanks to Laura Arpan, Ph.D., for her support over these last four years. I am a better researcher and teacher today because of all of them. I am grateful to have worked under their direction. I also would like to extend gratitude to my friends in the department who have provided an additional layer of support and encouragement in those moments when finishing seemed like something that other people did. I am forever grateful to Ginevra Adamoli, Nicole Cox, and Ashavaree Das. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Kyle Quinn Pincince, the best friend a woman could ever have, who over the years has been an enormous source of inspiration. I could not have finished this journey without my family. I am especially thankful to my parents, Patricia Susca and Peter Susca, for their love, encouragement, and advice. To my husband, Michael Bender, words never could express all that you have given me these last few years. I am so lucky to have you. To our daughter, Zoe, who arrived in the middle of this process: Your smile, dancing, and laughter erased even the worst days. I dedicate this work especially to her, in the hope that she may know a more peaceful world. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………..…vii Chapter One: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 The Problem .................................................................................................................................1 About America’s Army .................................................................................................................3 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................13 Chapter Two: Review of Literature ...............................................................................................16 America’s Army ..........................................................................................................................16 Adolescents as the Target of Corporate Marketers ....................................................................18 Violent Video Games, Aggression, and Desensitization ...........................................................21 Militarism, the State, and Entertainment ....................................................................................26 Video Games Go to War ............................................................................................................32 The U.S. Government and Mediated Propaganda Lessons from World War II ........................34 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................38 Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework and Methodology ...........................................................40 Political Economy ......................................................................................................................40 Conducting Political Economic Analysis ...................................................................................48 Kellner’s Three-Part Model .......................................................................................................49 Methodology ..............................................................................................................................50 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................57 Chapter Four: Production ...............................................................................................................59 America’s Army and Recruitment ..............................................................................................61 Targeting Millennials .................................................................................................................67 Creating the Next Audie Murphy ...............................................................................................71 v Links to Private Corporations ....................................................................................................74 Branding War and Advertising to Adolescents ..........................................................................78 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................84 Chapter Five: Textual Analysis .....................................................................................................88 Branding the U.S. Army: The Real Heroes ................................................................................90 Engaging the Audience: Messages from the Government .......................................................125 Discussion ................................................................................................................................131 Chapter Six: Audience Analysis ..................................................................................................137 Threads Chosen for Analysis ...................................................................................................140 Analysis of Online Comments ..................................................................................................141 Militarism .........................................................................................................................148 Violence ...........................................................................................................................154 Recruitment ......................................................................................................................161 Commodification .............................................................................................................165 Discussion .................................................................................................................................169 Chapter Seven: Conclusion ..........................................................................................................173 Review of Research Questions .................................................................................................176 Contributions: The Government-Gaming Nexus .....................................................................185 Limitations and Future Research ..............................................................................................188 Praxis ........................................................................................................................................191 A Final Note .............................................................................................................................194 References ....................................................................................................................................196 Biographical Sketch .....................................................................................................................222 vi ABSTRACT This dissertation uses a political economic analysis (Bettig & Hall, 2003; Bagdikian, 2004; McChesney, 2000; 2004; 2008; Mosco, 2009; Wasko, 2005) combined with a cultural studies lens to study the website associated with the government-produced video game America’s Army. America’s Army is a first-person shooter video game available for free online that has military recruitment as its core mission. The U.S. Army launched America’s Army on July 4, 2002, and since that time the game has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for its popularity. The game has been downloaded more than 42 million times,
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