Editor’s note: Apparently Lionsgate disabled embedding of the amazing trailer for Gamer, so we couldn’t include it below. But let me tell you this: I can’t wait to not see this movie! Read more about what I can hardly wait to not see after the break. -Demian
If you’ve been watching television lately (or looking on the front page of this website), you’ve seen the commercial/trailer for the new movie, “Gamer.” If you haven’t, check it out now. It’ll make reading and commenting on this post a lot easier. Don’t worry. I’ll wait.
All set? Good. Here we go…
The concept behind the movie is nothing new: In the near future, prisoners are pitted against each other in senseless gladiatorial combat for the chance of freedom and the viewing pleasure of their jailors as well as millions of fans.
We’ve seen this idea used repeatedly over the years in films such as The Running Man and Death Race. The delivery method, however, should raise a few eyebrows among gamers, and hopefully a little ire.
In the film, players control death-row inmates and engage in a real-life, massively multiplayer deathmatch game called Slayers. If an inmate survives 30 matches, he goes free.
The prisoners become little more than video game characters who jump, shoot, and kill as commanded by the players, as the line between reality and virtual reality blurs and the value of human life is diminished.
Note: This is not a judgment on the quality of the film. We already know it’s going to suck (ZING!). My focus is on the potential backlash from critics of violent video games, who could claim it’s a frightening metaphor for their argument that games train players to become senseless killers.
So what? If anyone starts up with that old rhetoric, we can just say, “They’re just video games.” Right?
As gamers, we can no longer hide behind the “it’s just a game” defense. As the controversies around Mass Effect and Resident Evil 5 showed, complex issues such as sexuality and race continue to make their way into the virtual world.
Additionally, we know that games are more than just blowing up bad guys and rescuing the damsel in distress. In recent years, we’ve seen games about cooking, exercise, improving our mental prowess, and reuniting the garage band to rock out one more time.
The problem is that some people still cling to the notion that games are for children and socially inept adults who live in their parents’ basements. For too long, we’ve been content with using the “it’s just a game” defense while detractors continue their crusades, as we hope they’ll finally tire themselves out. That strategy just doesn’t work anymore.
“It’s just a game” is not only a flimsy defense, it is subversively admitting that games have limited appeal and no potential for inspiration and growth. If this medium is to move forward and be taken seriously like movies or television, we should be prepared to defend it with more than just those four words
I admit it’s entirely possible that I’m blowing this entire thing out of proportion. Maybe the filmmakers are aware of all these ideas and are simply out to create an entertaining and evocative movie.
Then again, when have we known Hollywood to be that subtle?