Wars have been around since before people started recording them. They were fought over land, love, ideas, and even disrespect. But they were never the focus of entertainment. Until now.
Now there are games that boast their realistic graphics and plots as selling points, and they sell big. They provide the players with the opportunity to get the experience of war, without actually being involved with it. The idea that some of the games the military actually uses to train, like Apache, Desert Tank, and Joint Force Employment, which have passed down through their ranks, and ended up with the consumers. J.C. Hertz calls it the “military-entertainment complex” and I completely agree.
This occurrence is really unfortunate, because, like the article by Stahl explains, it also to helps create a since of knowledge and understanding among the civilians, when, in reality, they don’t really know anything about what’s going on. They also can end up becoming immune to all of the trials and horribleness that is war.
Some of my family members were in the army during Desert Storm, and because I was too young, and they refuse to broach the subject, I can’t really remember much about them and their experiences during that time. All I know is that, when I even brought up the idea of joining any branch in order to pay for college, they pounced in me like I was insane, and told me I’d better get good grades and find scholarships to pay for college instead. From their reactions, I can only assume that war isn’t the same as the videogames that have attacked the markets through the years. It’s much worse.
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