Response 14

I think the most interesting part of the 3rd chapter in Duncombes book is when he speaks about the relation that GTA has to middle aged white men such as himself. He’s taken out of his normal world of being a middle class man and thrown into a space where he controls a poor young black man. That everyone has a side of themselves that is out of the norm, that wants to cause some type of chaos and be different. And the virtual world of GTA can give them exactly that. People in the news or in politics view the games as nonsensical violence simulators, when they could be looking at it as just an escape from your regular life. He speaks about another game he played called Wolfenstein, where you take on numerous nazis before finally facing off with Hitler himself. The author talks about having dreams of the game after playing it, but in these dreams he wasn’t murdering people or firing guns but simply walking through the corridors of the castle. I think the major point he’s making is that through these games you don’t have to be tied down by who you are in the world. In this virtual landscape you can be whoever it is you want to be and not have to worry about repercussions.