ESSAY PLAN

Critical Investigation- Why are villains in video games such as Call of Duty represented to be of a foreign background?

1. Introduction - A brief description of my independent study and a discussion based on representation and stereotypes

My critical investigation will focus on the representations of villains in the video game genre of first person shooters mainly in the game Call of Duty and how they are stereotypically portrayed within the text. I will be investigating how representations of Muslim group are stereotypically portrayed as the villain and how they are viewed by the player. (R)

·         Representations of Muslims

·         Call of Duty

“In-game representations of Arabs and Muslims have to be contextualized in a broader narrative structure that covers Islam as it appears in news and popular media (Karim, 2006; Pintak, 2006; Poole, 2006; Said, 1997; Shaheen, 2000; Wingfield and Karaman, 2002). The dominant mode of representation of Arab and Muslim cultures in European and American media generally exploits stereotypical generalizations and clichés.”

2. Media representations of foreign minorities reinforce stereotypes

Within many texts whether it be on television, film or in this case in video games, ethnic minorities are constantly stereotyped in the media and

"Stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in the media are not new. They have been a persistent part of discussing the Middle East, terrorism, and Islam... These stereotypes are not restricted to Hollywood films or news media broadcast but also occur in video games."

3. Moral panics and stereotyping

Representing specific cultral groups in a particular way in the media, leading to a pandemic or moral panic.

The Call of Duty franchise represents the muslim people to be the villains and leaders of violence, this develops the concern thus creating a moral panic in our society.