Video Games: Ethical Spaces Under the Regime of Images

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Video Games: Ethical Spaces Under the Regime of Images VIDEO GAMES: ETHICAL SPACES UNDER THE REGIME OF IMAGES by Ilya Brookwell A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Ilya Brookwell 2011 VIDEO GAMES: ETHICAL SPACES UNDER THE REGIME OF IMAGES Master of Arts 2011 Ilya Brookwell Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education University of Toronto Abstract The video game is a deeply misunderstood medium, one that is often blamed as a root cause of violence, anti-social behaviour and the laziness of youth. In addition to those who judge video games as corrupting, there are those who note the complexity and instructive power of video games and hope to harness the technology for educational use. This thesis occupies a middle ground between these two poles. I set out to interrogate the potential of video games and to explore the troubling aspects of some contemporary commercial examples. I submit this work as a theoretical investigation of video games and “learning”. I argue that as a distinct textual form, video games are prime sites for encountering power and difference, as well as productive sites through which gamers come to know themselves. Video games are semiotic playing fields that, when theorized as such, call for pedagogical interventions focused on how we produce identities and teach about the worlds we inhabit both virtual and actual. I end with an explanation of how video games can constructively be theorized as “ethical spaces” for learning about issues of social justice. ii Acknowledgements I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Megan Boler for her unwavering commitment to helping me develop my ideas. This work would not have been possible without her valuable feedback as my supervisor. I would also like to thank my parents for their absolute confidence in my abilities. In addition to making me feel that my dreams are possible, their incredible support and love helped me through this project. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude towards my family and friends for always inspiring me and believing in the value of video games and education. iii Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Learning through Play.................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction............................................................................................................................................... 5 Gamers ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Henry Jenkins: video game culture, complete freedom of movement and the meaning of play ............ 8 Jenkins: On learning ................................................................................................................................ 15 Robert L. Appelman: ‘serious games’ ...................................................................................................... 20 Appelman: On Learning ........................................................................................................................... 27 James Paul Gee: Embodied Empathy ...................................................................................................... 30 Gee: On Learning ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Concluding Thoughts ............................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 2: Semiotic Playing Fields .............................................................................................................. 39 Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 39 The Regime of Images ............................................................................................................................. 40 Race and Differentiated Learning ........................................................................................................... 50 Gender and Pleasurable Learning ........................................................................................................... 54 Politics and Uncritical Learning ............................................................................................................... 61 Concluding Thoughts ............................................................................................................................... 69 Chapter 3: Risking Play ................................................................................................................................ 70 Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 70 Classroom Spaces .................................................................................................................................... 70 Morality Systems ..................................................................................................................................... 75 The Playthrough: ..................................................................................................................................... 77 Character Creation .................................................................................................................................. 88 Conversations .......................................................................................................................................... 91 Video Game Spaces ................................................................................................................................. 93 Ethical Spaces .......................................................................................................................................... 96 Concluding Thoughts ............................................................................................................................... 99 iv Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 101 v Introduction Undoubtedly, much of what we do and can do on a practical level is a consequence of our ability to break things down into manageable parts and rearrange them to solve a particular problem. There is a vast difference, however, between breaking these down into fragments and assuming that the field we are studying is composed of these separate entities. If our aim is to understand, rather than to achieve ways to do something, then reductive thinking may be inadequate, especially when our subject is human beings. Rather, it is essential to “dwell” in phenomena, to let our imaginations roam, to create an intuitive context for recognizing the patterns and relationships governing our subject beyond the confines of what we perceive immediately. Jeffery Kane (1999)1 As a teacher and educational philosopher, I find myself acutely aware that new technologies continue to present challenges for “learning”. These challenges range from operating technology – to play a blu-ray disk, check a global positioning system or navigate the internet – to using technology to facilitate or enhance other activities, such as studying, editing multi-media, writing a document, or doing research. In addition to the complexities that are involved in achieving the level of technological literacy that is required to meet these challenges, there is also the matter of understanding the impact technology continues to have on people, communities and society at large. There are two kinds of academic investigations which can and should be undertaken in light of technological advancements which are not mutually exclusive yet each deserving of explicit focus: investigations of technological literacy and technological awareness . The former aims to achieve better ways of doing something, whilst the later endeavors to create broader relational understanding and alternative ways of living as socially and technologically connected beings. Regarding various new technologies, both approaches ought to be adopted in concert rather than in opposition or isolation. That is to say, we should aim first to understand the social implications surrounding technology and then achieve ways of 1Kane, Jeffrey (1999). Education, Information, and Transformation: Essays on Learning and Thinking . Ohio: Merrill, an imprint of Prentice Hall 1 using said technology that builds upon that knowledge. Technological phenomena do indeed present challenges, but they also open possibilities of which we will not benefit from using reductive or compartmentalizing frameworks. I invite the reader to “dwell” on one technological innovation in particular throughout this thesis – the video game
Recommended publications
  • Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21St Century
    An occasional paper on digital media and learning Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Katie Clinton Ravi Purushotma Alice J. Robison Margaret Weigel Building the new field of digital media and learning The MacArthur Foundation launched its five-year, $50 million digital media and learning initiative in 2006 to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life.Answers are critical to developing educational and other social institutions that can meet the needs of this and future generations. The initiative is both marshaling what it is already known about the field and seeding innovation for continued growth. For more information, visit www.digitallearning.macfound.org.To engage in conversations about these projects and the field of digital learning, visit the Spotlight blog at spotlight.macfound.org. About the MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition.With assets of $5.5 billion, the Foundation makes grants totaling approximately $200 million annually. For more information or to sign up for MacArthur’s monthly electronic newsletter, visit www.macfound.org. The MacArthur Foundation 140 South Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago, Illinois 60603 Tel.(312) 726-8000 www.digitallearning.macfound.org An occasional paper on digital media and learning Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Katie Clinton Ravi Purushotma Alice J.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media
    Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media Collide n New York University Press • NewYork and London Skenovano pro studijni ucely NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress. org © 2006 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jenkins, Henry, 1958- Convergence culture : where old and new media collide / Henry Jenkins, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8147-4281-5 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8147-4281-5 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Mass media and culture—United States. 2. Popular culture—United States. I. Title. P94.65.U6J46 2006 302.230973—dc22 2006007358 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America c 15 14 13 12 11 p 10 987654321 Skenovano pro studijni ucely Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction: "Worship at the Altar of Convergence": A New Paradigm for Understanding Media Change 1 1 Spoiling Survivor: The Anatomy of a Knowledge Community 25 2 Buying into American Idol: How We are Being Sold on Reality TV 59 3 Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling 93 4 Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars? Grassroots Creativity Meets the Media Industry 131 5 Why Heather Can Write: Media Literacy and the Harry Potter Wars 169 6 Photoshop for Democracy: The New Relationship between Politics and Popular Culture 206 Conclusion: Democratizing Television? The Politics of Participation 240 Notes 261 Glossary 279 Index 295 About the Author 308 V Skenovano pro studijni ucely Acknowledgments Writing this book has been an epic journey, helped along by many hands.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence
    76T 04 040603 (ds) 1/3/04 9:37 am Page 33 ARTICLE INTERNATIONAL journal of CULTURAL studies Copyright © 2004 SAGE Publications London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi www.sagepublications.com Volume 7(1): 33–43 DOI: 10.1177/1367877904040603 The cultural logic of media convergence ● Henry Jenkins Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA ABSTRACT ● Responding to the contradictory nature of our current moment of media change, this article will sketch a theory of media convergence that allows us to identify major sites of tension and transition shaping the media environment for the coming decade. Media convergence is more than simply a technological shift. Convergence alters the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres and audiences. ● KEYWORDS ● collective intelligence ● creative industries The American media environment is now being shaped by two seemingly contradictory trends: on the one hand, new media technologies have lowered production and distribution costs, expanded the range of available delivery channels and enabled consumers to archive, annotate, appropriate and recirculate media content in powerful new ways;1 on the other hand, there has been an alarming concentration of the ownership of mainstream commercial media, with a small handful of multinational media conglom- erates dominating all sectors of the entertainment industry. Few media critics seem capable of keeping both sides of this equation in mind at the same time. Robert McChesney (2000) warns that the range of voices in policy debates will become constrained as media ownership concentrates. Cass Sunstein (2002) worries that fragmentation of the web is apt to result in the loss of shared values and common culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Making European Cult Cinema European Making
    TRANSMEDIA Carter Making European Cinema Cult Oliver Carter Making European Cult Cinema Fan Enterprise in an Alternative Economy Making European Cult Cinema Transmedia: Participatory Culture and Media Convergence The book series Transmedia: Participatory Culture and Media Convergence provides a platform for cutting-edge research in the field of media studies, with a strong focus on the impact of digitization, globalization, and fan culture. The series is dedicated to publishing the highest-quality monographs (and exceptional edited collections) on the developing social, cultural, and economic practices surrounding media convergence and audience participation. The term ‘media convergence’ relates to the complex ways in which the production, distribution, and consumption of contemporary media are affected by digitization, while ‘participatory culture’ refers to the changing relationship between media producers and their audiences. Interdisciplinary by its very definition, the series will provide a publishing platform for international scholars doing new and critical research in relevant fields. While the main focus will be on contemporary media culture, the series is also open to research that focuses on the historical forebears of digital convergence culture, including histories of fandom, cross- and transmedia franchises, reception studies and audience ethnographies, and critical approaches to the culture industry and commodity culture. Series editors Dan Hassler-Forest, Utrecht University, the Netherlands Matt Hills, University of Aberystwyth,
    [Show full text]
  • Political Fandom in the Age of Social Media
    MSc dissertation Komal H. Parikh MEDIA@LSE Electronic MSc Dissertation Series Compiled by Dr. Bart Cammaerts and Dr. Nick Anstead Political Fandom in the Age of Social Media: Case Study of Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign Komal H. Parikh, MSc in Global Media & Communications Other dissertations of the series are available online here: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/media@lse/mediaWorkingPapers/ MSc dissertation Komal H. Parikh Dissertation submitted to the Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science, August 2011, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc in Global Media & Communications Supervised by Dr. Shani Orgad. Published by Media@LSE, London School of Economics and Political Science ("LSE"), Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE. The LSE is a School of the University of London. It is a Charity and is incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act (Reg number 70527). Copyright in editorial matter, LSE © 2012 Copyright, Komal H. Parikh © 2012. The authors have asserted their moral rights. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher nor be issued to the public or circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. In the interests of providing a free flow of debate, views expressed in this dissertation are not necessarily those of the compilers or the LSE. MSc dissertation Komal H. Parikh Political Fandom in the Age of Social Media: Case Study of Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign Komal H.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconsidering Convergence Culture and Its Consequences for Literary Studies 2015
    Repositorium für die Medienwissenschaft Claudia Georgi Reconsidering Convergence Culture and Its Consequences for Literary Studies 2015 https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/12009 Veröffentlichungsversion / published version Sammelbandbeitrag / collection article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Georgi, Claudia: Reconsidering Convergence Culture and Its Consequences for Literary Studies. In: Claudia Georgi, Brigitte Johanna Glaser (Hg.): Convergence Culture Reconsidered. Media – Participation – Environments. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen 2015, S. 13–29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/12009. Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Creative Commons - This document is made available under a creative commons - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell 4.0 Lizenz zur Verfügung Attribution - Non Commercial 4.0 License. For more information gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu dieser Lizenz finden Sie hier: see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 Reconsidering Convergence Culture and Its Consequences for Literary Studies Claudia Georgi Introduction As the wide range of contributions to the present volume illustrates, ‘convergence culture’ is a phenomenon that applies to various areas of contemporary culture. It covers developments in academic disciplines as diverse as literary, cultural, and media studies, digital humanities, translation studies, art history, musicology, and even ecology. While its general applicability may confirm Henry Jenkins’s appraisal of convergence culture as forming a general “paradigm shift” (2006, 243), it may also expose it as a new buzzword that is so vague that it can serve any academic discipline in describing any context. After a brief investigation of Jenkins’s definition of ‘convergence culture’ and his related notions of ‘participatory culture’ and ‘transmedia storytelling,’ three main questions will be considered in the following in order to shed light on the benefits and limitations of his approach.
    [Show full text]
  • Genealogy of the Jenkins Family of Maryland, from 1664-1895
    Ap. Thomas Jenkins, was born, 1645; married, 1670; died, 1727. He was buried at Saint Thomas’ Church. His wife died two years after, and was placed in the family lot, both greatly lamented. Issue are as follows: Edward, William, George, Mary, Elizabeth and Ann. Among those who came, in company with Thomas Jenkins (original), were: Charles Ballard, Robert Cornich, Francis Tench, Thomas Batchelor. Jane Tench, John Austin, Winifred James, John Grand, Rice Jones, John Toy, Auther Norwood, Mary Sparks, John Simpson, John Lewis, Christopher Berry, George Hart, Edward Mattingly. John Hart, John Clotman, Thomas Parson, John Pasey, William Philips. William West, All these settled and received land grants of one hundred acres each. Some few located in Kent afterwards, but, not finding a proper welcome, and for their welfare, returned to St. Mary’s. Among these were: John Jenkins, Thomas Thompson Henry Jenkins, Peter Robinson. Thomas Edelin, [14 “Austin Jenkins, second son of Edward Jenkins, was born in Baltimore, 1806; married Margaret Jenkins, of Charles County, 1839. He died 1888. He was one of the most esteemed members of his name, and of the community in which he moved. Was a man of singular integrity and keen judgment in affairs of business matters, and made an honorable record among the progressive men of Baltimore. He was a man of clear judgment, and of unimpeach¬ able integrity of life. The children of Austin Jenkins were: — Edward Austin, Isabel, Harriet, Mary Plowden, Thomas Mere¬ dith, and Francis De Sales.” “Alfred Jenkins, son of Edward Jenkins, born in 1810. Mar¬ ried Elizabeth Hickley in 18—; died 1875.
    [Show full text]
  • Transmedia Storytelling and User-Generated Content
    GUERRERO-PICO, M. y SCOLARI, C.A. Transmedia storytelling and user-generated content CUADERNOS.INFO Nº 38 ISSN 0719-3661 Versión electrónica: ISSN 0719-367x http://www.cuadernos.info doi: 10.7764/cdi.38.760 Received: 04-15-2015 / Accepted: 03-23-2016 Transmedia storytelling and user-generated content: A case study on crossovers Narrativas transmedia y contenidos generados por los usuarios: el caso de los crossovers Narrativas transmídia e conteúdos gerados por usuários: o caso dos crossovers MAR GUERRERO-PICO, Departamento de Comunicación, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, España [[email protected]] CARLOS A. SCOLARI, Departamento de Comunicación, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, España [[email protected]] ABSTRACT RESUMEN RESUMO The aim of this article is to analyze a El objetivo de este artículo es analizar un O objetivo deste artigo é analisar um tipo special type of textuality: crossovers. tipo especial de textualidad: los crossovers. especial de textualidade: os crossovers. A The analy¬sis focuses on user-generated El análisis se focalizará en los contenidos análise se centra nos conteúdos gerados content in the transmedia storytelling generados por los usuarios de las narrati- pelos usuários de narrativas transmídia. context. The study follows a series of vas transmedia. Para ello, se toman como Para isso, 25 produções derivadas das 25 productions derivative of ABC’s Lost caso 25 producciones derivadas de dos se- séries de televisão Lost (ABC, 2004- (2004- 2010) and FOX’s Fringe (2008- ries televisivas: Lost (ABC, 2004-2010) y 2010) e Fringe (FOX, 2008-2013) são 2013). After describing the scenario where Fringe (FOX, 2008-2013).
    [Show full text]
  • Adapting New Media Literacies to Participatory Spaces: Social Media Literacy Practices of Multilingual Students
    O. Solmaz / Journal of Media Literacy Education 2017 9(1), 36 - 63 Available online at www.jmle.org The National Association for Media Literacy Education’s Journal of Media Literacy Education 9 (1), 36 - 63 Adapting New Media Literacies to Participatory Spaces: Social Media Literacy Practices of Multilingual Students Osman Solmaz Dicle University, Turkey ABSTRACT Approaching the new media literacies as social practices through the lens of Participatory Culture Framework, the present study adapted new media literacies to online social networks and examined the social media literacy practices of international graduate students (IGSs). The data was collected through an online survey of 90 IGSs, semi- structured interviews with 13 volunteers, and social media data of these volunteers. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data revealed that IGSs engage in various social media literacy practices through the employment of multimodal tools and resources afforded by social networking sites despite differences across a multitude of literacies. Based on the findings, Social Media Literacies are proposed as a set of socio- literacy practices that are essential for navigation and participation in online diverse networks. KEYWORDS: social media literacies, participatory culture, international graduate students, new media literacies Individuals who engage in digital participatory spaces (e.g., online social networks) are assumed to possess certain abilities in order to navigate through various sociocultural contexts and audiences that involve recognizing, processing, negotiating, and producing multiple modes, utilizing diverse language resources, and performing novel ways of meaning-making (Jenkins, 2006; New London Group, 1996). This non-singular view of literacies is often interchangeably referred to as multiliteracies, digital literacies, new literacies, (new) media literacies (Dawson and Siemens, 2014), or transliteracies (Fleming, 2013).
    [Show full text]
  • Why Johnny Can't Fly: Treating Games As a Form of Youth Media
    Citation: Joseph, Barry. “Why Johnny Can’t Fly: Treating Games as a Form of Youth Media Within a Youth Development Framework." The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning.Edited by Katie Salen. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 253–266. doi: 10.1162/dmal.9780262693646.253 Copyright: c 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Published under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works Unported 3.0 license. Why Johnny Can’t Fly: Treating Games as a Form of Youth Media Within a Youth Development Framework Barry Joseph Global Kids, Inc. When the tables are turned, video games become a medium for children’s personal and creative expres- sion. Making a game and its rules allowed the game designers to be in charge and to determine the player’s place in the world. —Yasmin B. Kafai1 When kids program, just as when they write, they can learn to make their own claims about the world in the form of processes. Such a practice reframes videogame development as a rhetorical practice, not just a craft practice or a technical practice. —Ian Bogost2 What’s the Big Idea? When Kristina was a high school senior, she spent a year participating in an afterschool program called Playing 4 Keeps,run by Global Kids, Inc. Trainers like me led the program, developing the youths’ leadership skills around global issues. Kristina learned how to play video games with a critical eye, and worked with her peers and the professional game development company, Gamelab, to make their own game.
    [Show full text]
  • Transformative Works and Cultures, Special Issues: Transformative Works and Fan Activism, No
    Transformative Works and Cultures, special issues: Transformative Works and Fan Activism, No. 10 (June 15, 2012) Editorial Henry Jenkins & Sangita Shresthova, Up, up, and away! The power and potential of fan activism Theory Melissa M. Brough & Sangita Shresthova, Fandom meets activism: Rethinking civic and political participation Henry Jenkins, "Cultural acupuncture": Fan activism and the Harry Potter Alliance Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, Joshua McVeigh-Schultz, Christine Weitbrecht, & Chris Tokuhama, Experiencing fan activism: Understanding the power of fan activist organizations through members' narratives Ashley Hinck, Theorizing a public engagement keystone: Seeing fandom's integral connection to civic engagement through the case of the Harry Potter Alliance Andreas Jungherr, The German federal election of 2009: The challenge of participatory cultures in political campaigns Matt Yockey, Wonder Woman for a day: Affect, agency, and Amazons Praxis Sun Jung, Fan activism, cybervigilantism, and Othering mechanisms in K-pop fandom Bethan Jones, Being of service: "X-Files" fans and social engagement Marcus Schulzke, Fan action and political participation on "The Colbert Report" Alex Leavitt, Andrea Horbinski, Even a monkey can understand fan activism: Political speech, artistic expression, and a public for the Japanese dôjin community Tanya R. Cochran, "Past the brink of tacit support": Fan activism and the Whedonverses Lili Wilkinson, Nerdfighters, "Paper Towns," and heterotopia Cheuk Yin Li, The absence of fan activism in the queer fandom of
    [Show full text]
  • What Constitutes Meaningful Participation? What
    44 While chapter 3 explored how the concept of “engagement” is help- ing redefine audience measurement, chapter 4 is focused on how the shifting relations between media producers and their audiences are transforming the concept of meaningful participation. Consider two quotes that represent a larger discourse proclaiming the end of media “consumption” as it’s historically been described: Every time a new consumer joins this media landscape, a new producer joins as well because the same equipment — phones, computers — lets you consume and produce. It is as if when you bought a book, they threw in the printing press for free. (Shirky 2005) The people formerly known as the audience wish to inform media people of our existence, and of a shift in power that goes with the platform shift you’ve all heard about. Think of passengers on your ship who got a boat of their own. The writing readers. The viewers who picked up a camera. [. .] Many media people want to cry out in the name of reason herself: If all would speak who shall be left to listen? Can you at least tell us that? (Rosen 2006) The “consumers,” the argument goes, are becoming producers. Not so fast, warn Jose Van Dijk and David Nieborg (2009). Their essay “Wikinomics and Its Discontents” dissects and critiques recent Web 2.0 manifestos (including, full disclosure, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide [Jenkins 2006b]) that describe WHATWHAT CONSTITUTESCONSTITUTES MEANINGFULMEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION?PARTICIPATION? 153 fundamental shifts in the economic and cultural logics shaping the media landscape. Citing a 2007 Forrester survey of U.S.
    [Show full text]