The virtual prison as a digital cultural object: Digital mediation of political opinion in simulation gaming

Abstract

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(Mis)Representations of Prison: Gender- and Prison-Themed Video Games

“…Ultimately, as noted by Moran and Etchegoyen (2017), games are a sum of the experiences of the network of individuals involved. Players are limited not just by their own experiences and ideas but also by the constructs of the game developers and, in cases of multiplayer games, other individual gamers.…”

“…They make the argument that, like other forms of media, games are an important element of culture and suggest that comparisons are warranted even if disciplinarily approaches differ. Video games operate as a medium for a dialogue about society, not as an alternative world necessarily but as a social ecosystem that reproduces norms, attitudes, and behaviors (Moran & Etchegoyen, 2017). For instance, Sim games may both reflect and reproduce cultural and political meaning (Moran & Etchegoyen, 2017).…”

“…Video games operate as a medium for a dialogue about society, not as an alternative world necessarily but as a social ecosystem that reproduces norms, attitudes, and behaviors (Moran & Etchegoyen, 2017). For instance, Sim games may both reflect and reproduce cultural and political meaning (Moran & Etchegoyen, 2017). They may wield power in that games are useful vehicles in which to model reality but may also offer the potential of critiquing existing institutions and offering alternative solutions (Moran & Etchegoyen, 2017).…”

“…For instance, Sim games may both reflect and reproduce cultural and political meaning (Moran & Etchegoyen, 2017). They may wield power in that games are useful vehicles in which to model reality but may also offer the potential of critiquing existing institutions and offering alternative solutions (Moran & Etchegoyen, 2017). Here, we contend that games inform a broader cultural representation of prison (particularly with respect to gender).…”

“…Prison video games are a relatively new line of research (see, e.g., Downing & Levan, 2016; Levan & Downing, 2016; Macmillan & Page, 2009; Moran & Etchegoyen, 2017; Oleszkiewicz, Kanonowicz, Sorokowski, & Sorokowska, 2018). Such games have the potential to be spaces of double exclusion (Crawford, 2005) and masculinization: Players exist in a fictional masculinized space (prison) within another masculinized virtual space (video game).…”