When I first started playing the game I began to realize that there weren't many options that I could use as far as identifying myself as a "SIM" within the game. In order to start the game, you are prompted to use a default SIM or create your own SIM that only has the option of living a life that consisted of being a baby, a child, and an adult. Thinking back to when I first started the original version
Below are some visuals of the video game cover for the 2nd and third versions of
I couldn't find the original one to show you online but it did not have any faces that represented minorities on the cover. However, the latest versions of the videogame contain few minorities on the cover still although an effort was made within the creation of people of color in the game itself.
In the Nakamura's reading, Nakamura uses Parks's definition of visual capital which describes visual capitalism as "a system of social differentiation based on users'/viewers' relative access to technologies of global media"(pg. 15). From the understanding of digital capitalism, Nakamura brings in the discussion of racial formation theory (created by Omi and Winant) which focuses on race as a construct rather than an empirical truth or fact (as stated during class on Tuesday), and is a result of social conflict or competing social interest. Nakamura also mentions how there has been a shift in conceptualizing new media from a Utopian (universal) standpoint on the impact of these digital spaces to a discussion of difference (18). With this understanding of race as a social construct, we can see how control and power is distributed and assumed by means of digital images such as that of
It is also quite clear that The Sims supports heterosexual family structures as well as attributing to white society by putting emphasis on these types of structures that are internalized and viewed by minorities as default selections. When I made a Sim for myself, there was a process of appropriation in which I, too, sought to work against the discrimination that was set in place by means of digital visual capital as Nakamura suggests on page 16. As always, I would have to unset the default of this white, male image to someone that was African-American and different in other physical features as well only to create a person of minority within this seemingly "universalized" digital space. Below is a typical picture used for advertising The Sims.
Also, while searching on youtube I found this video posted by a youtube user of how EA (eletronic arts) created and controlled this generation of
Based on what we've discussed in class about racial formation theory and digital spaces, do you think that the inclusion of minorities (to a certain extent especially when considering the transformation of the game to include or exclude signifers of difference) in The SIM games work towards increasing visual capital or towards encouraging the "neoliberal discourse of color blindness and nondiscrimination???(pg. 7)
Similar to Nakamura's argument, do you agree that the Internet is a privileged and extremely rich site for the creation and distribution of hegemonic and counterhegemonic visual images of racialized bodies? (pg. 13)
What are some of your experiences within these visual spaces that correlate to your understanding of the racial formation theory?
What do you think are the leading factors to why the Internet has become an accessible media source with respect to culture, ethnicity and nationality?
*There are a lot of SIM videos on youtube that you should check out as well.
I think that the game is just starting to gain visual capital, but like most other games has not introduced a variety of races among the players. I think that this is actually a symptom of neoliberalism. In Lisa Nakamura's article, she describes how the internet and really the popularization of the home computer came out of the early to mid-nineties, a time when racism was a hot topic because of events like the Rodney King tape and the subsequent riots in Los Angeles. Because of this, the Clinton-Gore administration tried to institute a neoliberal discourse, where race was avoided at all costs. The ideology of the times was supposedly that race did not exist. I believe that because of this basically all minority groups were not discriminated, but left out of a lot of the media, including MMORPG's like the Sims (even though this is about the new version of the Sims there have been similar games like Sim City before.) Now, there is finally starting to be some integration of different racial groups into digitized spaces like the Sims that reflect the actual demographics of the country.
ReplyDeleteI do in fact agree that the Internet is "a privileged and extremely rich site for the creation and distribution of hegemonic and counterhegemonic visuals of racialized bodies". In conjunction with the above, I also feel that many things on the internet and in other digital-visual spaces are going to be reflective of their creators. Although people enjoy the beautifully inclusive idea that they are culturally literate and aware of the many different peoples that exist in the world, they're not and rarely have that type of social responsibility. Indeed, the sense of hegemony that's created via the Internet (as discussed in class) is the case because of who sees and creates what. If a white, patriarchal group of individuals are creating SIMS, then obviously those are the sentiments and feelings that are going to be represented behind the characters and other portions of the game.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the above, I honestly don't feel as though the exclusion of minority characters or other characters of color was technically on purpose. If an individual has a base line conceptualization of who matters in the world, both digital and real, that's what their thoughts and perceptive space are going to reflect.
I agree Tichina that it's all about previous views and values that are bestowed upon a person through environmental and cultural influences that surround them on a day to day basis. However, some feel that the exclusion of minorities on these video games was a clear way of showing their "inferiorities" if that was indeed the correct way of thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteand yes Matthew it is really based on the time period I would say and the way people are thinking in accordance to that time frame.
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ReplyDeleteI had just picked up an old Sim City to play for fun the other day and was thinking about similar issues as these. The most interesting thing in my mind is the extent to which the simulated world clearly reflects the manner in which the public discourse is limited by the powers that be IRL. or "the man". ya know, that hegemony thing.
ReplyDeleteThe SIMS is really an interesting topic because its premise is that this is life as a game, life in a nutshell according to the creators. It also has been criticized for its emphasis on consumption (I was skimming through "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" the other day and there's a chapter on this topic, the author discusses a lot of 90s pop culture, kind of interesting, there's also an entire chapter on the Real World). Hegemony definitely comes into play and the iterations of the game with added characters with skin that's barely noticeably darker is not even really subtle. I'm not sure about that last video though, I haven't played any recent versions of the game so I'm not sure if the game will create that kind of scenario when left on its own. I checked out the profile of the person who posted it and they seem to be very into Freemason conspiracies so their reliability is a little questionable.
ReplyDeleteI used to love playing the SIMS. I don't know why, but I did. When playing the game I don't think that I ever was able to achieve making a sim look exactly like me. I do remember the editing options of a SIM being very limited and the only thing that I really used to show that it was me was the use of brown hair. I think that the internet has become a main source in todays society in regards to culture, ethnicity and nationality because of the very word you used to describe it, its accessibility. What I mean by accessibility is that anybody in the world can gain access to the internet whether poor or rich. And with that somebody can post, comment and read about anything they want.
ReplyDeleteI really like the discussion that is going on in this post. I think that hegemony certaily exists on the internet as well as through video games such as the Sims. While I don't necessarily believe that this is the intent of the creaters of these games, I think that, as the other commenters have cited, it is inevitable that those in power and the creaters will impose the world as they see it into what they do.
ReplyDeleteJust the same as Rodriguez's example of being asked about what different types of feminine products were in order to filter out "non-lesbians", the internet is defined by those who create the rules and the boundaries within the infinite world that is the world wide web. As Rodriguez says "I certainly couldn't think of any set of questions that all women have access to that no man would be able to answer" (131) which leads her to see that limits were set up even within a community meant to be accessible for all within a subgroup.
I agree that if the people creating these games already have a preconceived notion on who doesn’t matter and who does, these games will continue to lack diversity in its characters if the people creating them are un willing to take social responsibility and open up the space for people of all different races. I do not agree that including minority character will create some form color blindness. If we look at the Sims game now some minorities are included but it does not help the understanding of their culture if they are still living like these whit heterosexual families that are considered normal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tichina and Poxiejunior the value is in the eye of the beholder. In this case, the creator of the SIMS creating the editing options according to what they viewed as necessary in my opinion. I think the internet has become a very interesting place of expression of culture, race, and gender. I know some individuals that loved the SIMS because they were able to create a alternate individual that they desired to be and were able to live a life that they had ultimate control over. I find this notion interesting. I myself have wondered what all the hype was surrounding the SIMS game because I was never an individual that played the game. However this is a great post!!
ReplyDeleteAs Nakamura says, the Internet had hopes of being a nondiscriminatory interactive space, yet, as with any media, individuals come to the plate with pre-existing belief systems. Also, I agree that those in power and producing media reproduce their value systems. As is the case with most mainstream media, we see whiteness and heterosexuality being perpetuated as the standard. Gaming has become a mass media form. I agree that the Internet is a rich and privileged site for the representation and reinforcing of racialized bodies in accordance with hegemony. Gaming via the Internet provides a powerful medium in terms of representation of reality. Nakamura says games have become sites of racialized production of capital, including virtual goods. What's very interesting is the way the interactive space is negotiated and used in comparison to reality. Gaming culture is full of racism, sexism, etc. People may think they are in a different/online context, so it is "ok" to reproduce such notions. Many gamers would say they're just playing a game and it's not the same as the real world, but I would argue there are more similarities than differences between the two especially given that any media form is a socially constructed representation of reality informed by us and our "real world" experiences. The same ideologies of "reality" are going to be perpetuated via virtual media. Post-blog Kelly Necastro
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of people on here, especially Tichina and Olivia. When it comes to the SIMS hegemony is at its best. And the fact that it is a popular game. I did play this when I was younger and often struggled with the fact of why there were very view option that related to how I would identify with a SIM. But my parents encouraged me just to play for fun because I must be aware that will possibly always be a lack of representation of me. We all know how Nakamura has discussed the internet was hoping no have boundaries in regards to race and her idea of social capitalism. And although as the times have evolved and so have society, the construct of race construction virtually is doing so but more slowly.
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