Orientalism in the digital age

Orientalism in the digital age

Video games inherently provide a schematized image of the world.
From this point of view, we can say that games depict only certain aspects of a culture, and base the whole scenery/theme around them. This might mean that some cultures are depicted in a false way, not true to reality, but true to the perception the we ( the world in general, and the western nations in particular) have about that specific culture. This is the case when it comes to especially the oriental cultures.

"Edward Said's classic work has analysed the Orientalist discourse of the 19th and early 20th century, which recreates Islamic society as a timeless and exotic entity". To create a "Middle Eastern impression" in games, the creators have used certain motifs, which are commonly accepted as describing the "Orientals", such as headscarves, turbans, tiles and camels. The characters are mainly caliphs, bedouins, belly dancers.

"Games portraying a contemporary and a historical and fantastical Middle East, constitute separate categories, mostly using different imagery, narrative and gameplay."

"Roland Barthes gives a diagnosis of how imitative arts comprise two messages: a denoted message, which is the analogon itself and a connoted message, which is the matter in which the society, to a certain extent, communicates what it thinks of it."
So, I think, that, even though, games are built around oriental cultures, trying to depict reality as much as possible, most game developers are based in the west, and they might have a distorted vision of this reality. Also, messages sent out through the games are mixed as well, depending who plays the game and what cultural background they have. In most games, the narrative is very similar - a girl (daughter, sister, princess) is being kidnapped by the evil (vizier, caliph, demon), and the hero is on a quest to save her. But these narratives are typical for common medieval, fantasy settings, such imagery being particularly dominant when relating to the 'Middle East', reinforcing stereotypical notions of arbitrary cruelty and barbarism. This what I am referring to when I'm saying "mixed messages". For the western cultures, the 'Middle Eastern' are seen as barbaric and cruel, because the way we were brought up, and the values we were taught and accept as "normal",  but I'm pretty sure that looking at the same set up from a middle eastern point of view,  the same "barbaric" situation is seen as just"normal", this for them is ok, if they are fighting, they are probably doing it to defend honour, to make sure the good prevails, etc.

And this introduces the concept of "Others". This is a very complex concept, which in video games is being simplified by the fact that, even though most action games have got as a preferred virtual battle ground the Middle East, "generally, the player controls ( in a first person shooter game) the American or coalition forces, while enemy units are controlled by the computer. Usually playing for the other side is not allowed" "In many cases, the in-game narrative links the elements used to describe the enemy (head scarves, dark skin colour, loose clothes) to international terrorism and/or Islamist extremism"

A different example id Delta Force : Land Warrior which  "presents a scenario in which Arabs from several countries have banded together into a terrorist organization bent on undermining the activities of the US. Full Spectrum Warrior is set in the fictional but overtly Muslim country of 'Tazikhstan', 'a haven for terrorists and extremists' (Leonard, 2004). While the US or coalition soldiers usually are humanized and individualized by their nicknames or specific visual characteristics, the enemy is collectivized and linguistically functionalized as 'various terrorist groups', 'militants' and 'insurgents' (Machin and Suleiman, 2006). At the same time, the moral mission, professionalism and courage of the forces controlled by the player are emphasized by the in-game narrative and scripts. However, the enemies are presented in a way that suggests they are not 'real' soldiers, thereby removing the legitimacy of their actions (Machin and Suleiman, 2006).