The Plight Of Iranians Trying To Make A Video Game About The 1979 Revolution
from the video-games-are-art-and-speech dept
Talk with someone who is from an older generation or someone who does not spend much time playing video games and you'll often hear a common refrain: games aren't art. Or, perhaps you'll get a qualifier, claiming that games aren't a serious form of art, or speech. For some of us, the silliness of those statements has been evident for a long time, particularly given that the courts have stated the opposite. That said, perhaps the problem has been the lack of a definitive example at which to point. Other forms of art have these examples that clearly denote the realm of artwork. The literary world is littered with examples, such as Salman Rushdie and the controversy around The Satanic Verses. Music is also rife with examples, from Bob Dylan to the Pussy Riot fiasco in Russia. Film too has its heroes in speech and art.
I submit that the plight of Iranian nationals attempting to make a game about the 1979 revolution ought to be gaming's example. The story is a fascinating one involving several folks who have taken to hide their identities in order to remain safe while making a game that is likely to result in tension with their home governments. The story focuses on one Iranian who is working under the name Phoenix.
"I started working professionally when I was 17," Phoenix said, in an e-mail exchange mediated by Khonsari. "I wanted to become an animator and thought that was the closest I was going to get to working on games, as there was no gaming industry in Iran to support that kind of work. I yearned to work on video games; I love them and dreamed of working on them…I just didn't think it was possible."The Navid mentioned is Navid Khonsari, who is headlining the 1979 Revolution project. Iran, now actively trying to foster an image of a kinder, softer version of the same theocracy that put a contract on Salman Rushdie's head, has already dubbed Khonsari a spy and refused him any admittance to his home country. There hasn't been any word yet about death sentences, but several team members on the project, including Phoenix, aren't taking any chances.
But it eventually dawned on him that a game like 1979 Revolution would change his life in more sinister ways. The ephemeral nature of the Iranian government's thought policing means that Phoenix doesn't exactly know if he's being targeted. Nevertheless, he didn't want to risk being wrong. After all, in these kinds of scenarios, you never know that you're a person of interest until it's too late. "I'm not sure if anyone is coming after me," Phoenix said. "But I need to be cautious not only for my own safety, but also for that of my family. Also, Navid was written about and if they associated me with him it could be trouble for my family."
Meanwhile, the game, which is still being developed, is already getting tongues wagging. Many commentators are skeptical about the historicity the game will attempt to portray, or the political motivations of the developers, or the fairness of the portrayal of all sides within. If this sounds familiar, it should, because this is the kind of discussion reserved for fictional artwork and speech surrounding the serious topics of our day. In other words, this game, and the plight of its artistic developers, ends the discussion about games as serious speech and artwork. If we believe that the makers of this game deserve protection from the Iranian government's attempts to silence their speech, or discourage their activism, then we're already thinking about this whole story in the framework of art and expression.
That said, it would be a mistake to denigrate the sacrifice these artists are making for their craft.
As for Mr. Phoenix, he doesn't know when it'll be safe to go home again. "There was no space for growth or to further my life experience," Phoenix said. "Don't get me wrong: there are many artists in Iran who are thriving and I have much respect for them. For me, it was about experiencing the world beyond Iran. My hope for this game is that people will learn what happened and have greater understanding for all people. From learning about their experience in the game, they might be more compassionate rather than dismissive."Sounds like an artistic hero to me, one who deserves commendations and support for his art and speech.
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Filed Under: free speech, iran, phoenix, revolution, video game
Reader Comments
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Seriously?
You're jokin', you're jokin'
I can't believe my ears
I really must correct this guy
I'm drownin' in my tears
It's funny, I'm laughing
You really are too much
And now, with your permission
I'm going to do my stuff:
Iran have actually revived the fatwa.
(Lyrics nicked from 'Oogie Boogie's Song' in 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'.)
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Re: Seriously?
Oh, I'm going to hunt you down and persecute you just for trying to make a video game, but I might not bother, in which case you'll never know but fear for your safety either way.
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Is this like the "professionals" working for the Government of the US of A?
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Nothing New.
Seems like another zombie apocalypse. The stupid uneducated Muslim country people are the zombies.
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...just like pol pot and kmer rouge. very similar.
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http://books.google.com/books?id=NboVl-CeYs0C&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=iranian+re volution+majority+came+from+countryside&source=bl&ots=J44SysWYSo&sig=wUjeO8mJkqyrge6COMd 0Y5_sQdI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KNgDU_67DMSGoQTKs4G4Dg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=irania n%20revolution%20majority%20came%20from%20countryside&f=false
"The majority of the draftees came from the countryside and had little education...Khomeini ordered these young conscripts to desert, which they did by the thousands."
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It was the dumb toothless masses who thought that Iran was "westernizing" too rapidly which fell for the Khomeini's cult and promises of a Islamic paradise.
You obviously don't know shit outside your anarcho-libertarian freegan trips to the dumpster, you stupid dumb fuck.
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By the way, and you can read some of these accounts, most of those idiot students later regretted what they did and the monster they put into power. READ A BOOK WIGGA!
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Let's assume for the sake of argument that the majority of the people taking part in the uprising were uneducated. Ok that would indicate a lack of knowledge. There is a word for that, ignorant. But that is not the word you used. You called them stupid. Ignorance and stupidity is not the same thing. Stupidity is the unwillingness to learn. Mere ignorance can't be faulted whereas stupidity on the other hand can. If they were merely ignorant yet you referred to them as stupid simply because they were Muslim, uneducated, and from the countryside where they lacked exposure to modern culture available in the cities, you bestowed on them partially due to their religion a negative label that they didn't deserve which fits the definition of bigotry.
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Same thing here, these were stupid, uneducated fools, who had their heads filled with shit, and they went into the cities, and made war and put Khomeini into power. So yes many were stupid, those that weren't stupid were ignorant, your distinctions are BULLSHIT!
You see the same thing in America today. The south and other areas which are not urbanized have larger populations of both stupid and ignorant people.
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Not enough people were burned alive in my opinion. They should have fire bombed every single German city until the entire country was in ashes.
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They wanted a revolutions so much so badly, just like many of you dumb retards today, that they failed to consider what their world would look like after their so called revolution.
THAT'S STUPIDITY!
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Oh, come on! At least be fair to the guy!
>Are you going to lob 1-year-olds' insults at the Iranians too?
FTFY.
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"I know you are but what am I?"
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