Playing with Controversial Images in Videogames: The Terrorist Mission Controversy in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Abstract

This chapter explores questions about controversial images in videogames. It is centred on a significant media controversy surrounding the biggest selling videogame of 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision). The game generated public criticism over one specific mission depicting a terrorist massacre and fire fight in which players can participate. In the context of this volume, this alone would make it worthy for consideration as a starting point in thinking about the nature of controversial images in videogames. However, the specific form of the ‘controversial images’ in this individual game offers additional insights into fundamental questions about the nature of videogame controversies, and why, given videogames increasing predominance in popular culture and everyday life, there may be more potential for controversy over imagery than in other media. The chapter is not concerned with debates about videogame effects, not only because of the intrinsically problematic approaches in media effects research that apply as much to videogame effects research as to other media (Poole 2000; Tavinor 2009), but also because videogame content can often be seen as problematic regardless of potential behavioural consequences (Tavinor 2009: 159). Objections to Modern Warfare 2 were less to do with traditional complaints about encouraging violent copycat behaviour than with moral condemnation of the narrative context offered in the specific mission framing the gameplay.