Unsettling the Military Entertainment Complex: Video Games and a Pedagogy of Peace

Abstract

Amid the cultural, political, and military shifts of post-9-11 American policy, the video game industry has responded with patriotic fervor and released a series of video war games. Virtual war games elicit support for the War on Terror and United States imperialism, providing space where Americans are able to play through their anxiety, anger, and racialized hatred. While commentators cite a post-September 11 th climate as the reason for increasing interest and support for the U.S. military, this article underscores the importance of video games as part of the militarization of everyday life and offers insight into the increasingly close-knit relationship between the U.S. military, universities, and the video game industry. Because video games form an important pedagogical project of U.S. war practices, they must be critically analyzed.