Abstract
The two games analysed here—Mafia III (2016) and Gone Home (2013)—provide a counterpoint to the general debates surrounding problematic representation in games, with soundtracks that provide connections to historical progressive movements. From the American culture of the 1960s to third- and fourth-wave feminism, the popular music in these games draws connections that invite their players to reflect on sociocultural issues. This chapter examines the representation of race, gender, and LGBT issues in these two games through their music, and how it relates to issues of intersectionality.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bailey, D. (1999). American Nightmares: The Haunted House Formula in American Popular Fiction. Madison, WI: Popular Press 1.
Berenstein, R. (1996). Attack of the Leading Ladies: Gender, Sexuality and Spectatorship in Classic Horror Cinema. New York: Columbia University Press.
Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Video Games. Cambridge, MA and London, UK: The MIT Press.
Burgess, M., et al. (2011). Playing with Prejudice: The Prevalence and Consequences of Racial Stereotypes in Video Games. Media Psychology, 14, 289–311.
Butler, J. (1999). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York and London: Routledge.
Cassell, J. (2016). Foreword. In Kafai, Y. B., Richard, G. T., & Tynes, B. M. (Eds.), Diversifying Barbie and Mortal Kombat: Intersectional Perspectives and Inclusive Designs in Gaming (pp. vii–viii). Pittsburgh: ETC Press.
Cassell, J., & Jenkins, H. (1998). From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Video Games. Cambridge, MA and London, UK: The MIT Press.
Chamberlain, P. (2017). The Feminist Fourth Wave: Affective Temporality. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Chimelarz, A. (2014, February 4). That One Thing That Pisses Me Off About Gone Home Critics. Retrieved from: http://www.theastronauts.com/2014/02/one-thing-pisses-gone-home-critics/.
Clover, C. J. (1992). Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Cochrane, K. (2013). All the Rebel Women: The Rise of the Fourth Wave of Feminism. London: Guardian Books.
Consalvo, M., Williams, D., et al. (2009). The Virtual Census: Representations of Gender, Race and Age in Video Games. Games and Culture, 11(5). Retrieved from: http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.brunel.ac.uk/doi/10.1177/1461444809105354. Accessed 13 August 2018.
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1(8), 139–167.
Curtis, B. (2008). Dark Places: The Haunted House in Film. London: Reaktion Books.
Davison, J. (2016, August 22). How ‘Mafia 3’ Video Game Scored Kick-Ass Sixties Soundtrack. Rolling Stones. Retrieved from: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/how-mafia-3-video-game-scored-kick-ass-sixties-soundtrack-251088/. Accessed 14 August 2018.
Dietz, T. L. (1998). An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior. Sex Roles, 38(5/6), 425–442.
Elson, M., & Ferguson, C. J. (2014). Twenty-Five Years of Research on Violence in Digital Games and Aggression: Empirical Evidence, Perspectives, and a Debate Gone Astray. European Psychologist, 19(1), 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000147.
ESA. (2018). Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry. Retrieved from: http://www.theesa.com/about-esa/essential-facts-computer-video-game-industry/. Accessed 14 August 2018.
Gaynor, S. (2013, August 14). The Music of Gone Home! Retrieved from: https://fullbright.company/2013/08/14/the-music-of-gone-home/.
Grayson, N. (2015, March 24). Rust Chooses Players’ Race For Them, Things Get Messy. steamed.kotaku.com. Retrieved from: https://steamed.kotaku.com/rust-chooses-players-race-for-them-things-get-messy-1693426299. Last accessed 13 August 2018.
Hitchens, M. (2011). A Survey of First-Person Shooters and Their Avatars. Game Studies, 11(3). Retrieved from: http://gamestudies.org/1103/articles/michael_hitchens/. Last accessed 13 August 2018.
Kearney, M. C. (1997). The Missing Links: Riot Grrl—Feminism—Lesbian Culture. In S. Whiteley (Ed.), Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender (pp. 207–229). London: Routledge.
Kendrick, W. (1991). The Thrill of Fear: 250 Years of Scary Entertainment. New York: Grove Press.
Keogh, B. (2013, August 16). Notes on Gone Home. Retrieved from: http://critdamage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/notes-on-gone-home.html. Last accessed 13 August 2018.
King, S. (1977). The Shining. New York: Doubleday.
Kocurek, C. (2012). The Agony and the Exidy: A History of Video Game Violence and the Legacy of Death Race. Game Studies, 12(1). Retrieved from: http://gamestudies.org/1201/articles/carly_kocurek/. Last accessed 13 August 2018.
Kopas, M. (2017). On Gone Home. In B. Ruberg & A. Shaw (Eds.), Queer Game Studies (pp. 145–149). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
LeJacq, Y. (2014, June 11). Ubisoft in Trouble Over Comments About Female Characters. Retrieved from: https://kotaku.com/ubisoft-in-trouble-over-comments-about-female-character-1589611410. Last accessed 13 August 2018.
Leonard, D. (2006). Not a Hater, Just Keepin’ It Real: The Importance of Race- and Gender-Based Game Studies. Games and Culture, 1(1), 83–88.
Leonard, M. (1997). ‘Rebel Girl, You are the Queen of My World’: Feminism, ‘Subculture’ and Grrrl Power. In S. Whiteley (Ed.), Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender (pp. 230–256). London: Routledge.
Lynch, T., Tompkins, J. E., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (2016). Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games Across 31 Years. Journal of Communication, 66(4), 564–584.
Middleton, R. (1990). Studying Popular Music. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Miller, K. (2012). Playing Along: Digital Games, YouTube and Virtual Performance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Monson, M. (2012). Race-Based Fantasy Realm: Essentialism in the World of Warcraft. Games and Culture, 7(1), 48–71.
Mortensen, T. E. (2016). Anger, Fear, and Games: The Long Event of #GamerGate. Games and Culture. Retrieved from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1555412016640408. Last accessed 14 August 2018.
Mullis, S. (2013, December 26). A Game with Heart, Gone Home Is a Bold Step in Storytelling. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/12/22/256345375/a-game-with-heart-gone-home-is-a-bold-step-in-storytelling.
Munro, E. (2013). Feminism: A Fourth Wave? Political Insight, 4(13), 22–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-9066.12021.
Rosenberg, J., & Garofalo, G. (1998). Riot Grrrl: Revolutions from Within. Signs, 23(3), 241–809.
Shary, T. (2002). Generation Multiplex: The Image of Youth in Contemporary American Cinema. Texas: University of Texas Press.
Shuker, R. (1994). Understanding Popular Music. London and New York: Routledge.
Sloan, R. (2015). Videogames as Remediated Memories: Commodified Nostalgia and Hyperreality in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Gone Home. Games and Culture, 10(6), 525–550.
Snyder, R. C. (2008). What Is Third-Wave Feminism? A New Directions Essay. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 34(1), 175–196.
Stoker, B. (1897/1993). Dracula. Ware, UK: Wordsworth Classics.
Suellentrop, C. (2013, August 18). Student’s Trip Ends; A Mystery Just Begins: In Gone Home, a Family Mystery Unfolds. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/arts/video-games/in-gone-home-a-family-mystery-unfolds.html?_r=3&.
Vogrinčič, A. (2008). The Novel-Reading Panic in 18th-Century in England: An Outline of an Early Moral Media Panic. Medijska Istraživanja, 14(2), 103–124.
Whiteley, S. (1992). The Space Between the Notes. London and New York: Routledge.
Media References
Amnesia: The Dark Descent. (2010). Frictional Games [Video Game]. Sweden: Frictional Games.
Assassin’s Creed Series. (2007–present). Multiple Developers [Video Games]. France: Ubisoft.
Boyz n the Hood. (1991). Dir. John Singleton [Film]. USA: Columbia Pictures.
Carrie. (1976). Dir. Brian DePalma [Film]. USA: United Artists.
Criminal. (2014). Hosted by Phoebe Judge [Podcast]. USA: Radiotopia.
Death Race. (1976). Exidy [Video Game]. USA: Exidy.
Forrest Gump. (1994). Dir. Robert Zemeckis [Film]. USA: Paramount Pictures.
Ginger Snaps. (2000). Dir. John Fawcett [Film]. USA: Motion International.
Gone Home. (2013). The Fullbright Company [Video Game]. USA: The Fullbright Company.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. (2004). Rockstar North [Video Game]. UK: Rockstar Games.
Halloween. (1978). Dir. John Carpenter [Film]. USA: Compass International Pictures.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. (2017). Ninja Theory [Video Game]. UK: Ninja Theory.
Horizon Zero Dawn. (2017). Guerrilla Games [Video Game]. USA: Sony Interactive Entertainment.
L.A. Noire. (2012). Team Bondi [Video Game]. USA: Rockstar Games.
Life Is Strange. (2015). Dontnod Entertainment [Video Game]. Japan: Square Enix.
Mafia III. (2016). Hangar 13 [Video Game]. USA: 2K Games.
Making a Murderer. (2015). Written and Directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos [Television Series]. USA: Netflix.
Nier: Automata. (2017). PlatinumGames [Video Game]. Japan: Square Enix.
Resident Evil. (1996). Capcom [Video Game]. Japan: Capcom.
Rosemary’s Baby. (1968). Dir. Roman Polanski [Film]. USA: Paramount Pictures.
Rust. (2018). Facepunch Studios [Video Game]. UK: Facepunch Studios.
Scream. (1996). Dir. Wes Craven [Film]. USA: Dimension Films.
Slender: The Eight Pages. (2012). Parsec Productions [Video Game]. US: Parsec Productions.
South Park: The Fractured but Whole. (2017). Ubisoft San Francisco [Video Game]. USA: Ubisoft.
The Amityville Horror. (1979). Dir. Stuart Rosenberg [Film]. USA: American International Pictures.
The Blair Witch Project. (1999). Dir. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez [Film]. USA: Artisan Entertainment.
The Last of Us. (2013). Naughty Dog [Video Game]. USA: Sony Computer Entertainment.
The Shining. (1980). Dir. Stanley Kubrick [Film]. USA: Warner Bros.
The Sopranos. (1999–2007). Created by David Chase [Television Series]. USA: HBO.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ivănescu, A. (2019). Games on Society: Playable Anxieties. In: Popular Music in the Nostalgia Video Game. Palgrave Studies in Audio-Visual Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04281-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04281-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04280-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04281-3
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)