Reflection of the Caribbean crisis in video games. On the example of Call of Duty: Black Ops
https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2023-2-105-116
Abstract
The aim of the study is to assess the specifics of the memorial positioning of the Caribbean crisis and the related events in the US video games. The work was carried out on the basis of an appeal to the case of the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops. The research methodology is based on a combination of the descriptive analysis and case studies. The author comes to the conclusion that the Call of Duty: Black Ops memorial mode contextually assumes that the actions of the United States on the eve and during the Caribbean crisis appear rational and morally justified, while the Soviet Union and the Cuban authorities acted as a source of significant risks and threats both to America and to the Cuban people themselves. At the same time, the illegal de facto actions of the US authorities are actually legitimized due to the background narrative, mainly expressed outside the textual form, through the activity approach and the formation of the context of perception. The creators of the game essentially reproduce the memorial narrative that is traditional for describing the Cuban Missile Crisis in American popular culture, which, among other things, involves the legitimization of a number of right-wing political groups from Latin America.
Supporting agencies: This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation under Grant № 22-18-00305, https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-18-00305/, “The images of enemy in Cold War popular culture: their content, contemporary reception and usage in Russian and U.S. symbolic politics”.
About the Author
S. I. Belov
Herzen State Pedagogical University; Lomonosov Moscow State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sergei I. Belov, Dr. of Sci. (Political Studies), Cand. of Sci. (History)
bld. 48, Moika Emb., Saint Petersburg, 191186
bld. 1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991
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Review
For citations:
Belov S.I. Reflection of the Caribbean crisis in video games. On the example of Call of Duty: Black Ops. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin Series "Political Science. History. International Relations". 2023;(2):105-116. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2023-2-105-116
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