INTRODUCED BY/INTRODOTTO DA MATTEO BITTANTI
SPECIAL SCREENING ON MARCH 25 2023 AT MIC: PURCHASE YOUR TICKET
PROIEZIONE SPECIALE IL 25 MARZO 2025: ACQUISTA IL BIGLIETTO
The politics of gaming program delves into the complex intersections between video games, the gaming industry, and socio-political issues. While video games are often seen as a form of entertainment, they also contain cultural and ideological elements that reflect and reinforce various social and political norms. Some games perpetuate damaging stereotypes and uphold gender or racial biases, while others offer empowering representations of marginalized groups and challenge established power structures. Moreover, the gaming industry itself is subject to the influence of political and economic forces, such as government regulations, corporate interests, and labor issues.
Examining the politics of gaming also entails exploring issues related to gaming culture, including the organization of gaming communities and their interactions with the wider society. Gaming communities can sometimes serve as sites of exclusion and harassment, but they can also be spaces that promote inclusivity and support for diverse perspectives and identities. Understanding the politics of gaming thus requires a nuanced and multifaceted approach that takes into account the many complex ways in which video games and gaming culture intersect with broader social and political concerns.
The program features two Italian premieres: Lucas Azémar’s Life on Earth (2019) and Soren Thilo Funder’s GAME Engine (Orange Bulletproof Kids) (2021).
The latter is a thought-provoking and multi-layered exploration of the intersection between gaming and reality. This immersive installation hereby presented as a single channel video, takes the viewers on a journey to an undisclosed location, where they are invited to an exclusive press meeting with a game developer.
Azémar’s Life on Earth introduces the elusive, Guess Who’s Back, a hacker known for his online hoaxes, who has caused the death of a man. Nobody knows since when the hacker operates, but everyone can meet him through his avatar at the Club des Crocos in the video game Life On Earth. This film presents a clash of real and virtual worlds in a universe of pixels, invented from scratch, funny and disturbing.
These special screenings are presented by Reset. Politics and Videogames, a collective editorial and research project.
