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Last week I wrote a letter to the venezuelan embassy in london, complaining about their
banning of video games. Erm.
The venezuelan government, and seeing as it's an open letter, I'll read it out for you.
so.
Dear government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,
I am appalled by your decision last summer to outlaw all 'violent'
video games in Venezuela. Admittedly I may be biased against this as
my only souce of information is the western media. If anyone er, from venezuela, knows
anything more about this, could you possibly contact me in the comments? Down there. Or
on Twitter, SocialistGamer is my username. Um, and you are by no
means obliged to read this as I am only a complaining foreigner.
However, as a socialist and a gamer I must urge you to reconsider.
Video games as a medium for storytelling are in their infancy. But
they are no different to the trials that of cinema faced in the 1920s.
Thankfully for Russian culture Lenin saw the potential of cinema and
encouraged it. The result were brilliant works by visionaries such as
Vsevoldod Pudovkin, if I've said that right... Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Aleksandrov.
These works in turn resulted in the cultural enlightenment
of the Russian people.
The idea that video games cause violence is a lie. As with any new art
form the only reason it is shunned is because the establishment does
not understand it. Had you actually played any game in the Grand Theft
Auto series you would have understood that it's a subtle critique of
North American society er Noth American, United States society. This short-sighted dismissal
is uncharacteristic of a government that calls
itself revolutionary.
Games are popular among young people and I recommend that you command
that influence rather than refuse it. If you're worried that the
subjects of games are dominated by a capitalist hegemony then develop
your own games. Use the medium, don't reject it.
Also interesing this week, Snow happened. Snow outside.
Lots of it.