Trivial pursuits? Serious (video) games and the media representation of refugees

This article critically analyses the representational practices of serious (video) games that focus on refugees. It argues that the technological form of serious games can simulate the historical, political and socio-economic factors that shape why refugees leave their home country and their experie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThird world quarterly Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 510 - 526
Main Author Sou, Gemma
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Routledge 04.03.2018
Taylor & Francis, Ltd
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Compassion
Computer & video games
Discourses
Economic factors
Educational software
Games
Human vulnerability
Mass media images
media
Migration
migration and refugees
Pity
Political factors
Politics
Refugees
Representation
representations
serious games
Socioeconomic factors
suffering others
Sympathy
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Summary:This article critically analyses the representational practices of serious (video) games that focus on refugees. It argues that the technological form of serious games can simulate the historical, political and socio-economic factors that shape why refugees leave their home country and their experiences when travelling to host countries. They are able to mobilise intellectual agendas which challenge the de-contextualised representations of refugees typical in traditional media. As such, they challenge players to critically reflect on the complexities of refugee experiences and politics, thereby presenting a potential to move away from grand emotional discourses of pity and compassion.
ISSN:0143-6597
1360-2241
DOI:10.1080/01436597.2017.1401923