Teens slam 'racist' game, but still love it

IOL ^ | 4/22/04 | Amil Khan

[swilhelm73]

Cairo - Glued to computer screens in a Cairo cybercafe, Egyptian teenagers lead United States forces against China and a shadowy Middle Eastern group, while most of the country seethes in anger against US policy in the region.

The US-produced computer game Command and Conquer: Generals portrays a scenario in which the US and China battle the Global Liberation Army (GLA), a Middle Eastern underground movement with a fondness for chemical weapons.

The teenagers say the game reinforces the western image of Arabs as "terrorists" with introductory scenes showing them gunning down civilians and stealing US aid, but the graphics and high-octane action keeps them hooked.

"I really like the game. I play it every day. I miss it if I don't play it for a day. I know it's racist but what can I do? It's a good game," said 16-year-old Ahmed Mohsen.

The teenagers, all students at an American high school in Cairo, say they are annoyed that games, movies, comics and books from the United States portray Arabs as cruel fanatics but despair that there are no Arab companies that can make products to redress the balance.

"You can't boycott American products because the substitutes are no good. There is no way an Egyptian company can make good quality games," said 18-year-old Ahmed Abdel Qader.

Other Egyptian fans use the virtual characters to take out real-world frustrations.

"Some people enjoy playing as the GLA against America so they can fight the American army," said Mohsen.

Demonstrations in Egypt against US support for Israel or the US-led occupation of Iraq are controlled by security forces. Some activists complain of political arrests or say that protesters are beaten.

Mohsen says he does not play the GLA, not because of any political opinion but because the US forces in the game are superior. "You know they made it and will make their army the best," he said.

The website for Generals, produced by computer game giant Electronic Arts says the armies were "inspired by real-world ideologies".

"The GLA uses weapons like toxic weapons, car bombs and suicide bombers. The game makers make the Arabs look like evil bastards," said 16-year-old Amir al-Gindy, taking a break from intimidating his friends with a huge Chinese army.

In three dimensional battlegrounds spread over Central Asia and the Middle East, US weapons verging on science fiction, such as the supersonic Aurora Bomber, battle the GLA's low-tech poison spraying toxin tractor and the bomb truck.

Although the game does not directly identify the GLA as Arab, the names of the rebels sound vaguely Arabic without being real Arabic names. The characters speak in what could be described as Arabic accents.

In other scenes, different nationalities are drawn into the GLA umbrella.

One scene shows the angry mob the GLA can muster - women in black veils and men wearing Afghan hats.

The Egyptian teenagers say the message is not very subtle.

"The GLA represents all of the US's enemies in one role. They are what the US calls terrorists," said Abdel Qader.

"They might as well make Osama bin Laden one of the generals," said Mohsen, referring to the leader of the al-Qaeda network blamed by the US for the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York.

Zero Hour, an expansion to the game, allows players to assume the personalities of different commanders. One GLA general who specialises in stealth operations wears combat fatigues with an Arab scarf around his head and clutches an AK-47 rifle while snarling at the camera.

Gindy, who has lived and studied in Canada for a large part of his life, says the game's portrayal of the GLA influences young people in the west.

"When you play the game online, young kids about my own age will ask where I am from. When I say 'Egypt', they think I live in a shack," he said.

"The GLA's crappy bases just pushes the idea that Arabs are backwards and people in other countries end up believing this."

In spite of their strong feelings about the portrayal of Arabs, the teenagers say most Egyptians have found a way to enjoy the game with a clear conscience.

"People buy fake versions of the game, so they say 'well at least I'm not giving the game makers any money,'."

[antaresequity]

have found a way to enjoy the game with a clear conscience

When ever I want to clear my conscience I usually rip somthign off too.

[Rome2000]

"You know they made it and will make their army the best,"

No, actually the most potent weapon in the game is the Scud Storm.

[Mr. Mojo]

The teenagers....say they are annoyed that games, movies, comics and books from the United States portray Arabs as cruel fanatics but despair that there are no Arab companies that can make products to redress the balance.

Gee, I wonder why that is? </ rhetorical question>

[cyborg]

"When you play the game online, young kids about my own age will ask where I am from. When I say 'Egypt', they think I live in a shack," he said.


*** Well that's because some people this country can't imagine Africans living in anything other than a shack. Even so, it's a game. If he played Wolfenstein, there's lots of German carnage in that game. There are so many RPGs etc out there.

[cyborg]

But they do have RPGs like what he wants actually.. just ask Arafat!

[Kewlhand`tek]

actually the gla are kinda good. I have far more to fear than the scud storm. Gla has bomb trucks, cammo for their sites,rioters,toxic tractors, a sniper(he kills the driver of your uber vehicle and someone on his side steals it.) and they can make their vehicles look like yours. A freind of mine tears me up every time I play him

[pepperhead]

I guess they haven't made a jewish expansion pack yet. I am guessing he wouldn't see any problems killing guys in IDF uniforms or blowing up school busses.

[Saturnalia]

After all, lighting Nazi zombies on fire is obviously racist violence toward all Germans. /stupid

[MD_Willington_1976]

"People buy fake versions of the game, so they say 'well at least I'm not giving the game makers any money,'."

We have a different word for FAKE, it called pirated...

Only a moron would think that modern Egyptians live in a shack...

[uncitizen]

They're willing to call the game "racist" but not willing to act on that conviction and stop buying/playing the game. Typical liberals. All sound and fury signifying nothing.

[MonroeDNA]

The Koran does not allow modern computer games to be produced, because it is not in the Koran.

Unless it is to attack infidels, not in a game, but for real.

[Rome2000]

The rioters are cool.

[Stakka Skynet]

"The teenagers say the game reinforces the western image of Arabs as "terrorists" with introductory scenes showing them gunning down civilians and stealing US aid"

How dare they portray arabs as terrorists. When has an arab ever killed innocent people?

Actually this is the first game/movie/book that i've seen in a while in which the arabs are portrayed as bad guys. The last instance that I can think of is clancy's "the Sum of all Fears". Hollywood transformed the muslim antogonists into white neo-nazis for the film version, however. I can't think of a single movie post 9-11 in which muslims were the bad guys. Any other examples?

[cyborg]

what?

[dead]

The teenagers say the game reinforces the western image of Arabs as "terrorists"

Yes, the game and terrorism.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Maybe they can make a pro-Islamofacist game and call it "Allah's Army" where you can spread anti-West hate literature to the people to whip them up into a frenzy and then promise them that they will live in a whorehouse in heaven where they can rape 72 virgins a day if they go out and murder some innocents.

[watchin]

"the game reinforces the western image of Arabs as "terrorists""

Daily real-life suicide bombings around the world probably don't help your image any, either, Achmed.

[watchin]

In the game referred to in post #5 ... "Wolfenstein" ... you can "light Nazi zombies on fire", apparently.

I think his point is that no one has complained about Wolfenstein being racist, in spite of that.

[cyborg]

good because that was my point... I wonder about the OTHER games these kids are playing and if they lose sleep over what happens in FICTION. Problem with real world today is that right now hand to hand combat and all that is going on for real Americans vs. Iraqi terrorists, or really the world vs. Wahabi islam.