Poll: can a game be propaganda?

[Billabong Pobblecock]

what do you call chips then. Like potato chips, and sour cream and onion chips. And if you say chips you are wrong cuz they are competly differnt exept for the potato part. I think your trying to spread your fry/chip propaganda

 

[Joeshie]

Maybe because we make our money off of services and not goods, so we're not prepared to take advantage of the chief benefit of having a depreciating currency: rising exports/declining imports of manufactured goods?

While the US is very services oriented, we can still benefit plenty from a better trade deficit. Exports are still a VERY important part of the American economy. Not to mention, the boost in the trade deficit also helps boost GDP.

Considering how much the US economy has slowed down, the depreciation does help. Not to say that you always want a depreciating currency, but it does have it's benefits occasionally.

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

People who say they're unaffected by propaganda also often claim they are unaffected by advertising.

Suckers.

Oh, I'm a sucker for advertising. I went to see "The Matrix: Reloaded" at the cinema. 'Nuff said.

 

[Hawgh]

2 recent incredibly shallow attempts to influence minds, which sadly probably worked on some people: C&C generals (just reading the description of the different factions makes me sick) and that retarded movie 300 where the handsome white guys show us that war is cool and run around killing Persian orcs

of course 300 is pure undiluted propaganda!
It is a tale told by a man who is fiercely loyal his king and his ideological city-state.
Not to mention the fact that the storyteller is commended on his propaganda skills by said king during the movie.
The movie is shown as a tale to lift the greek spirits, and convince them to annihilate the invaders.
So of course the Persian elites are bloody orcs, they're the enemy of Sparta and must therefore be less than the glorious superhumans that make up the entirety of the Spartan populace (except of course the filthy traitors, shown as mutants and rapists).
OF COURSE the Spartans and greeks in general are shown as unbeatable and superior in every way; the story is told by a man whose prime motivation is to ensure that everyone takes their side and get on with the murderin'.

 

[Quindo]

In -almost- any army game of American soil, we're taught to shoot at anything with a beard and an AK.

Doesn't that say enough?

 

[000Ronald]

I had no idea my comment about "Freedom Fries" would digress into such a travesty. I honestly expected a couple giggles, then for everyone to move on. My sincerest apologies to everyone.

I thought it was funny at the time, because "French Fries" aren't called such because of any connection to the French; it's the way they were cut in the first place. The first French fried potatoes were cut so thinly that they had more in common with potato chips then what we all know and love today (also explains why people call them 'chips'). The fact of the matter is French cut fried potatoes (if you can forgive my digression) were invented in f***ing Belgium! It just proved to me (at a very impressionable age, mind you) how stupid nationalism can make some people.

Oh well, I'll get off my soapbox now. And don't feed the trolls; that's what they want.

Edited for spell checking. I always spell "apologies" wrong...

Apologies for ruining the fun. I've been very depressed for the last few days...

 

[Saskwach]

How can I game be propaganda... when was the last game you played that said Nazi powers are our superior... or when did a game say OH chose Hillary over Obama because we say so.... no a game is just for entertainment... unless i've never noticed the propaganda

Propaganda isn't just something the nazis or those dirty politicians use. It is simply a "concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people." (wiki, first sentence) Therefore, any medium that can communicate a message to its audience can be used for propaganda.

 

[Kinetic_man]

LIFE is propaganda. Games, movies, clothing, books... Any medium you can think of can be used to push a message, viewpoint, or opinion. Games in specific, yes many of them out now are VERY rich in propaganda. Battlefield 2 pitting the US against Iraq and China, Crysis being against Koreans, both push the idea that "THESE are the bad guys, kill them". If tomorrow the US went to war with Canada, I'm sure the next year's Medal of Honor would be "MoH: Northern Strike" and we'd probably see Battlefield Moosejockeys soon too.

I wouldn't go so far is to say that LIFE itself is propaganda, especially since your example of any medium pushing something like an opinion is just that; an opinion. Propaganda is usually something a bit slanderous designed to harm a the public opinion of a nation, group, school, person, etc distributed on a large scale. Besides, anymore who's to say what's an objective opinion on a subject in the first place. You could say that Crysis pits you against Koreans and you would be right, but if it was some other country you would just be sighting it instead.
Video games seem to be running out of 'bad guys' now that shooting Nazis has finally gotten a bit old, and are jumping on the band wagon of popular opinion along with the rest of the popular shows and movies on popular TV. Case in point terrorism; it's the ultimate fear to play off of since "it can happen to anyone", but I still find shows like 24 and Rainbow Six: Vegas to be pure propaganda. I don't sympathize with terrorists or anything, but I'd just rather not boil the entire situation down to everyone that's a different color than me is up to something.
The point is that games and movies need a credible villain for their story line, and a country in the headlines makes an excellent one. It just wouldn't make sense if a game set in present day pitted you against the British or the Japanese, since you know, we all get along so well. Although this static propaganda can be avoided by creating an alternate time line or universe, it's always easier to go with reality since it taxes the imagination that much less.