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Army Recruiters' Video Arcade Draws Fire

Simulations ignore 'reality of war itself:' Pulitzer winner Chris Hedges

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 11, 2009 5:26 PM CDT
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(Newser) – The Army Experience Center in Philadelphia—a sort of video arcade/recruiting center—has numerous detractors, and those opponents have an influential ally. “This is just a new version of an old attempt” at recruiting, Pulitzer Prize winner and former New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges tells dscriber. The simulations at the center demonstrate “the empowerment of firing those weapons, but without the reality of war itself,” he says.

Games like “America’s Army,” available on consoles and for download, don’t penalize players much for, say, getting shot. Nor do they convincingly re-create the experience of killing. And nowhere, Hedges says, is “the reality of war itself, which is fear.” The games are “an attempt to socialize people toward industrial violence,” Hedges continues. “And of course to recruit them into the military" without "explaining honestly the reality of war.”

A protester Mdemonstrates against the Army Experience Center in Philadelphia.
A protester Mdemonstrates against the Army Experience Center in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo)
Staff members at the Army Experience Center are seen on a mock Humvee, part of an interactive simulator.
Staff members at the Army Experience Center are seen on a mock Humvee, part of an interactive simulator.   (AP Photo)
Chris Hedges.
Chris Hedges.   (©Lorri37)
Video game stations are seen at the Army Experience Center in Philadelphia.
Video game stations are seen at the Army Experience Center in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo)
The Apache helicopter simulator at the Army Experience Center.
The Apache helicopter simulator at the Army Experience Center.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 5 comments
jagerhans
Sep 12, 2009 8:57 AM CDT
each and every attempt to make war appealing to the young is CRIMINAL to say the least. and you are overvaluing the mental maturity of a 18-years-old lad. not to mention that the same type of propaganda reaches children too. an advice to all you warlike teenagers: if you want to fight in a war, fight your war, at least if you die you'll know the reason.
yummines
Sep 12, 2009 1:40 AM CDT
i dont understand why people still are trying to find reasons to condemn video games. its already been proved that forms of media are influential, but not to the extent that a person does not know the difference between firing a gun in a game and firing a gun in real life. I have shot an actual gun and its obviously 20x harder than it looks in any video game
rkossik
Sep 11, 2009 11:05 AM CDT
The military places this shooting simulation in family venues to glorify the violence of military service. Yup, nothing like some killing to uphold family values!

 
Army recruiting • US military • Pennsylvania • protests • Philadelphia • recruitment • anti war movement • video games • Chris Hedges • Army Experience Center

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