Fascism, the American far right, and, Wolfenstein the new colossus

[sherbz]

It does amuse me when games companies try to get political. Usually the results can be quite divisive (see Baldurs gate & Dragonspear). And so it seems, this is what Bethesda has sort of done with Wolfenstein the new colossus.

Firstly, i have not played it. I kind of assumed it was going to be a similar nazi killing slug fest. And whilst the last games were actually rather good, i certainly didnt think it warranted a triple A purchase right from the get go. But having read some reviews i am rather intrigued. It seems that the protagonist is in America in the 1960s. Far right extremism is rife. Black people and ethnic minorities have been purged. But it seems theres a lot of filler in there that parodies (or portrays) the nazis with what you can recognise as the American right.

This gets dangerously close to being quite controversial. And it seems that some have not taken too kindly to being forced into a position where they are faced with confronting the possibility that their far right views are not that far removed from the Nazis. Because the Nazi ideology, it seems, has been built on top of pre existing and current American history. Throw into the mix the current political climate, Donald Trump, Charlottesville, Vegas shootings etc. And you seem to have a context that is ripe for such a title to be more than a little bit divisive.

Here is an article that summarises the game:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/2/...s-nazi-white-supremacist-political-commentary

Has anyone played it? Or do any Americans care to offer an opinion on how the far right have been super imposed on top of Nazi ideology? The Americans i have known in my life have always said that there is a significant degree of bashing red necks that goes on in the states. Particularly in various forms of media. Is this another example?

I might have to get this now just to see what the fuss is about

 

[ls612]

From what I remember the story for Wolfenstein was set well over a year ago before the issue of Nazism in America had anywhere near the saliency it has today.

 

[sherbz]

From what I remember the story for Wolfenstein was set well over a year ago before the issue of Nazism in America had anywhere near the saliency it has today.

Im not sure its necessarily "Nazism" thats the issue (or the extreme far right), its more a general belief amongst many of the right in American politics (i.e. many of those who support Trump and the man himself). From what i can gather, its merely building on what many on the right in America already think, and even though it pains me to say it, many mainstream people and politicians also think this and think its a credible policy platform (i.e. ban all Muslims from entering the country because all Muslims are terrorists. And build a wall because, ya'know, that will keep the dirty mexicans out).

I am guessing (again, i have not played, so i do not know) that is a similar theme to Bioshock Infinite. In that game Colombia was clearly a juxtaposition of the deep south in America. The difference being that it was a purely fictional city in the clouds and although overtly racist, did not have connotations or association with a politically toxic ideology like nazism. It seems that some are taking issue with the fact that their form of current day politics is being associated with an ideology like nazism.

 

[Maniacal]

I'm pretty sure it's largely a bunch of totally unrelated stuff that some trolls probably cooked up and maybe some really dumb people might be trying to believe and make a thing, but it isn't a real thing.