PERCEPTION PERSUASION THROUGH GAMING

Throughout my childhood I played many different games across different platforms, and although I still do, I don't consider myself a 'gamer'. I think this is because I don't fit the stereotypical gamer characteristics such as nerd, overweight, couch potato who rarely leave their room. However, recently I believe there is another reason why I'm not labelled with the gamer tag. It's because almost everybody now plays some form of game or engages in an entertaining app across modern digital media.

"Participatory media culture is not limited to cultural forms such as computer games" (Raessens 2005, p. 374). This exemplifies how people are not categorised under different names due to their use or participation in modern media. Growing up, there were always the gaming nerds and the sporty kids. In recent years, due to the globalisation of digital media, now all types of people have accepted and participate in the growing media culture. This is not restricted to games, but it acts as an effective example of media hegemony.


Artz (2003, p. 4) says that "globalisation of technology stretches the relations of power and communication across the globe", and with this growing force comes the power of 'interpretation', to influence our participation in media cultures and how we interpret that participation.

Raessens' 'four domains' include interpretation, which he connects to cultural texts. "Cultural texts. . . are viewed as open texts that different groups of viewers interpret differently, depending on social, cultural, and other contexts" (2005, p. 275). In this case, cultural texts are in the form of games. Spiderman, for example, both film and game version, emphasise masculinity and always have the protagonist character (Spiderman) saving the weaker, feminine Mary-Jane.

(Source: Comic Vine)

The image exemplifies the typical 'damsel in distress' scenario, as the burly Spiderman in a strong, dominant pose swings Mary-Jane to safety in her pink clothes and submissive stance. In relation to Raessens' interpretation  domain, it is because of our cultural background and context as to how we perceive images like this.

However, one can argue that it is the media itself - whether it be through films, advertising, video games etc. - that shapes our interpretation and leads to a perceptive shift within society's cultural context. I believe participatory media is a combination of both ways, allowing it to become the force it is today.


References:

Artz, L 2003, Globalization, Media Hegemony and Social Class, University of New York Press, retrieved 23 September, 2013, <http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/60803.pdf>

Raessens, J. 2005, ‘Computer games as participatory media culture’, Handbook of Computer Game Studies, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp. 373-388.

Picture:

http://www.comicvine.com/spider-man/4005-1443/forums/spiderman-appreciation-thread-629913/
 Links:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DamselInDistress/VideoGames