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Answering the Call of Duty: the Popular Geopolitics of Military-Themed Videogames

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Answering the Call of Duty: the Popular Geopolitics of Military-Themed Videogames Answering the Call of Duty: The popular geopolitics of military-themed videogames Daniel Bos A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University December 2015 Abstract This research is based on a detailed empirical case study of the popular videogame series Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Drawing primarily on the field of popular geopolitics, the analysis reveals how imaginations of global politics are represented, consumed and enacted through the virtual worlds of the Modern Warfare series. In noting the fixation within popular geopolitics on representation and discourse, however, I argue that popular geopolitics needs to attend to the complex relationships between text, audience, and production, what I define as popular geopolitics 3.0. This approach directly responds to calls to examine the connections between popular geopolitics and everyday life, whilst maintaining an understanding of the importance of analysing the visual and discursive ways in which dominant geopolitical imaginaries are constructed and articulated. The thesis proceeds in three sections. First, by focusing on the videogames themselves I demonstrate the ways the virtual landscapes mirror and reflect contemporary geopolitics and the geographies of military violence. The research thesis reveals the techniques and specificities of the Modern Warfare series, in articulating geopolitical discourses. Second, the thesis adopts a ‘player-based’ approach which explores the often prosaic ways in which these geopolitical and militaristic virtual worlds are interacted with, understood, and experienced. I draw on in-depth qualitative data, including interviews and video ethnography, and show how cultural and (geo) political attitudes, subjectivities, and identities are shaped through the act of playing Modern Warfare. Third, the thesis explores the practices of production and marketing which influence the ‘final’ geopolitical scripting and meaning. Using documentary sources, I trace the processes of production exposing the wider political economic structures, alongside the everyday social and material relations, which govern and structure the geopolitical narratives told. Allied with this, the marketing, advertisement and promotion of the series are investigated. This reveals the practices which are manifest ‘beyond the screen’, and which shape the geopolitical meaning of the game world. ii Overall, the thesis provides an important conceptual and methodological contribution to the understanding of the cultural production, circulation and consumption of geopolitical sensibilities. Moreover, in dismissing the populist cliché ‘it’s just a game’, the thesis demonstrates the indivisible relationship between military-themed videogames and geopolitical discourse and practice. iii Acknowledgements This thesis would not be possible without the help, encouragement and support of a number of people. Firstly, I need to express my thanks to the people who came forward to participate in the research and for providing such interesting and stimulating discussions. Special thanks need to be given to my supervisory team Dr Alison Williams, Professor Marcus Power and Professor Rachel Woodward. Without their intellectual and moral support this thesis would not have been possible. Furthermore I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Jason Dittmer and Dr Simon Philpott for their critical insights and invaluable advice during the viva. I need to thank the ESRC for funding the research and enabling me to pursue my long-standing interests in the relationship between popular culture and world politics. I need to thank a number of colleagues within the department of Geography that have helped in their support and friendship: Matthew Rech, Robin, Emil, Sophie, Jenny, Lexy, Anja, Kate, Matthew Scott, Diana, Gisela, Louise, Michael, Ayham, Joanne. Thanks to a number of past and former academics in the department who have had various inputs in my thinking and professional development: Neil Jenkings, Alex Jeffrey, Peter Hopkins, Nick Megoran and Elaine Campbell. Thanks to the Culture Lab at Newcastle University for allowing the use of their facilities. I need to acknowledge the tireless work of Kathy, Sandy and my father for proofreading the thesis. Needless to say any outstanding mistakes in the thesis are my own. Thanks to Jane for her support during the final stages of writing-up. The thesis is dedicated to my parents – Diane and Derek, and my two sisters Rachel and Emma who have been behind me all the way. Finally, to my partner Francesca and her unconditional love and support that kept me going through thick and thin. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................. v List of Figures ............................................................................................... viii Chapter 1. Introduction: Press Start to Begin ............................................... 1 1.1 Military-Themed Videogames .............................................................................. 5 1.2 Case Study: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare .......................................................... 9 1.3 Research Questions and Thesis Structure ......................................................... 11 Chapter 2. Conceptual Framing: Popular Geopolitics ................................ 14 2.1 Geopolitics ......................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Critical Geopolitics ............................................................................................. 17 2.3 Popular Geopolitics ........................................................................................... 19 2.4 Popular Geopolitics 2.0: The Everyday .............................................................. 27 2.5 Popular Geopolitics 3.0: The Whole Equation .................................................... 29 2.6. Concluding Summary ....................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3. Methodology ................................................................................ 34 3.1 Studying Videogames ........................................................................................ 35 3.2 Studying Players ................................................................................................ 43 3.3 Studying Play .................................................................................................... 51 3.4 Studying Production .......................................................................................... 56 3.5 Studying Marketing ............................................................................................ 61 3.6 Concluding Summary ........................................................................................ 65 Chapter 4. The Popular Geopolitics of Modern Warfare ............................. 66 4.1 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: The Story ........................................................... 66 4.2 The Geographies of Modern Warfare ................................................................ 80 4.3 The Landscapes of Modern Warfare .................................................................. 82 4.4 Warrior Geopolitics ............................................................................................ 94 4.5 Cutscene: Narrating Modern Warfare .............................................................. 101 4.6 Concluding Summary ...................................................................................... 109 v Chapter 5. Answering the Call of Duty? ..................................................... 112 5.1 Popular Geopolitics, Audience and Videogames ............................................. 112 5.2 Videogame Audiences ..................................................................................... 113 5.3 Modern Warfare and Everyday Life ................................................................. 118 5.4 Players’ Geopolitical Imaginations ................................................................... 128 5.5 Playing the “Warrior” ........................................................................................ 138 5.6 Concluding Summary ...................................................................................... 145 Chapter 6. Experiencing the Call of Duty ................................................... 147 6.1 Introducing Non-Representational Theory (NRT) ............................................. 148 6.2 Towards a ‘More-Than-Representational’ Geopolitics...................................... 150 6.3 Affective Worlds: Affective Geopolitics ............................................................. 155 6.4 Sensory War .................................................................................................... 158 6.5 Everyday Geopolitics – Playing Ludic War ....................................................... 162 6.6 Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................... 175 Chapter 7. Producing Modern Warfare ....................................................... 177 7.1 Production and Popular
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