unit nine
GI. Joe and Grand Theft Auto: Violence, Power, and Propaganda

 

 

cultural artifact: grand theft Auto (video game) & gi joe (world peace keepers battle station) and forward command post toy
(see photos of the toys!)

CASE STUDY: grand theft auto (1st person shooter games)

reading assignment:

• helen michalowski, "the army will make a "man" out of you," pp.154-161of a certain terror eds. cleaver & myers (1993 american friends service committee) (ELECTRONIC RESERVE)
• kokopeli & lacey, "more power than we want: masculine sexuality and violence" in race, class & gender
• The Theory Toolbox "Media" pp. 68-80

in class screening:

 

the killing screens, Media Education Foundation game over (MEF)     study guide links for both videos below

Video and computer games represent a $6 billion a year industry. One out of every ten households in American owns a Sony Playstation. Children who own video game equipment play an average of ten hours per week. And yet, despite capturing the attention of millions of children worldwide, video games remain one of the least scrutinized cultural industries.

Game Over is the first educational documentary to address the fastest growing segment of the media through engaging questions of gender, race and violence. Game Over offers a refreshing dialogue about the complex and controversial topic of video game violence, and is designed to encourage high school and college students to think critically about the video games they play.

at the end of this unit you should be able to define these key terms:

• propaganda
• Violence
• Power

additional resources:

case study guidelines for student presentations

external links:

online study guide for the killling screens (html)

online study guide for the killing screens(print ready pdf)

online study guide for game over (html)

online study guide for game over (print ready pdf)

links on the forward command post toy

antiwar.com

common dreams

Lion & Lamb Organization on Children's Toy Reviews