Response 14

In Chapter 3 of Stephen Duncombe’s book, he discusses how the game Grand Theft Auto (GTA) can help us realize ways to change our ways of thinking and world. Games like GTA are open world experiences that allow us to do things, either the things we condemn in the real world or let us experience things in a new direct way. It would make sense then to utilize ideas from this medium and let them bleed into the methods we employ in the real world. I mean, today we are already using video games in colleges. I know of a couple college courses that are utilizing TellTale’s The Walking Dead to teach writing courses and the video game, Bioshock, is used to teach and learn about Ayn Rand and her ideologies. So why not adopt some new ideas from these to change our world and ways of doing things?

Instead of just redoing the things of the past, we need to incorporate new ideas to keep people involved in campaigns. Duncombe brings up how Reclaim the Streets (RTS) had become such a huge movement because instead of going outside to protest and run the risk of being arrested, people could get behind the music and just dance or get involved with the street parties. There would be nothing else you needed to prepare or know, just be a part of it, instead of doing the boring and mundane aspects of simply protesting.

If we can continuously adopt new experiences and methods to our movements then they may survive longer than they currently are. Most people may seem uninterested in doing the same things others have done before, others will get bored of the same things being done, and the fact that nothing changes, either internally or externally, the movements suffer and die out. However, by doing similar to RTS or MoveON, we can get more people involved and keep the flame going. If we can get people to feel and see that their individual actions will contribute and can have an affect then people will stay. It’s part of the reasons why we play games like GTA, because they allow us to do what we cannot in the real world, become something we could never be part of or experience something we may not have the chance to normally.

So, for our project, I believe it would be beneficial to possibly do something new or unique instead of the traditional for whatever we choose to pursue.