So looking for literature for my ethnography of BF2, I ran across a couple of gaming blogs. One referenced this game: Super Columbine Massacre RPG! an RPG created by filmmaker Danny Ledonne.
"Welcome to Super Columbine Massacre RPG! You play as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on that fateful day in the Denver suburb of Littleton. How many people they kill is ultimately up to you."
To say the least, this game looks controversial as hell. Still, I think it is an incredibly interesting idea and social statement. Trivializing the events of Columbine to the narrative of a low bit, sidescrolling, cartoony RPG seems sort of appropriate when presenting the story from the perspectives of the shooters. Granted, I don't actually think their perspectives on their actions were as simple as that; they did kill themselves afterwards. But, if you want to be reminded of the gravity of the event, watch the film Elephant.
I remember columbine. I remember the insane fear that gripped the country afterwards; as students were expelled for making similar plans, wearing shirts with the anarchist A on them, or even playing cowboys and indians in school. I was scared too. After my first viewing, I have since refused to watch Elephant again because I did not want to relive the emotions I associated with columbine that the film forced me to remember.
Still, just the screenshot of this game sends a whole different kind of chill up my spine. The superficiality of it reminds me of the cold calm both of the shooters wore in the security camera videos from columbine as they moved from room to room murdering their classmates and teachers.
I don't ever plan on playing this game, but I think it makes a strong enough statement to be regarded with more respect than it seems to have recieved.
"Welcome to Super Columbine Massacre RPG! You play as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on that fateful day in the Denver suburb of Littleton. How many people they kill is ultimately up to you."
To say the least, this game looks controversial as hell. Still, I think it is an incredibly interesting idea and social statement. Trivializing the events of Columbine to the narrative of a low bit, sidescrolling, cartoony RPG seems sort of appropriate when presenting the story from the perspectives of the shooters. Granted, I don't actually think their perspectives on their actions were as simple as that; they did kill themselves afterwards. But, if you want to be reminded of the gravity of the event, watch the film Elephant.
I remember columbine. I remember the insane fear that gripped the country afterwards; as students were expelled for making similar plans, wearing shirts with the anarchist A on them, or even playing cowboys and indians in school. I was scared too. After my first viewing, I have since refused to watch Elephant again because I did not want to relive the emotions I associated with columbine that the film forced me to remember.
Still, just the screenshot of this game sends a whole different kind of chill up my spine. The superficiality of it reminds me of the cold calm both of the shooters wore in the security camera videos from columbine as they moved from room to room murdering their classmates and teachers.
I don't ever plan on playing this game, but I think it makes a strong enough statement to be regarded with more respect than it seems to have recieved.
~~~~~~
So I thought I was done with this post, but today (the day after the bulk of this was written) I discovered what could be characterized as an ongoing performance art piece inside America's Army. This artist, 'playing' under the name "dead-in-iraq," goes into the game and does nothing with the character (i.e. he dies). After being killed, he types the name of a real soldier who died in Iraq and the day they died into the chat interface. as of 9/14/06 he'd enterred (unavoidable pun) 1,273 names. The fact that gamespaces can be appropriated for this purpose certainly speaks strongly for the metaphysical status of such media as legitimate "space" for mediating interactions http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/09/16/americasarmy/
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