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Digital Arabs: Representation in video games
[journal article]
Abstract This article presents the ways in which Muslims and Arabs are represented and represent themselves in video games. First, it analyses how various genres of European and American video games have constructed the Arab or Muslim Other. Within these games, it demonstrates how the diverse ethnic and reli... view more
This article presents the ways in which Muslims and Arabs are represented and represent themselves in video games. First, it analyses how various genres of European and American video games have constructed the Arab or Muslim Other. Within these games, it demonstrates how the diverse ethnic and religious identities of the Islamic world have been flattened out and reconstructed into a series of social typologies operating within a broader framework of terrorism and hostility. It then contrasts these broader trends in western digital representation with selected video games produced in the Arab world, whose authors have knowingly subverted and refashioned these stereotypes in two unique and quite different fashions. In conclusion, it considers the significance of western attempts to transcend simplified patterns of representation that have dominated the video game industry by offering what are known as 'serious' games.... view less
Classification
Sociology of Communication, Sociology of Language, Sociolinguistics
Interactive, electronic Media
Free Keywords
Arabs; Islamic games; Muslims; racial stereotypes; representation; serious games; video games;
Document language
English
Publication Year
2008
Page/Pages
p. 203-220
Journal
European Journal of Cultural Studies, 11 (2008) 2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549407088333
Status
Postprint; peer reviewed
Licence
PEER Licence Agreement (applicable only to documents from PEER project)