Fri 2/9 @ 6-8PM
The exhibit War Games: Tactical Media, opening at the Sears think[box] Gallery on the first floor of the Richey Mixon Bldg on the Case Western Reserve campus has an intriguing premise: it looks at the long history of the relationship between the U.S. military and video games and how military-themed games have come to dominate the gaming culture and served as a promotional vehicle for the military as they glamorize and valorize warfare in a low-stakes situation.
Curated by CWRU Art Studio Faculty Kerry Richardson and Steve Ciampaglia, War Games includes interviews with game developers and military personnel, footage of soldiers training in VR gaming simulations, displays showing how the military uses video games and esports tournaments to capture the attention and imagination of young people, and actual military-themed videogames you can play as well as Discharged, an artist-created arcade game that pushes back against the military’s videogame marketing program.
“As war is conflated with fun and games, moral and ethical concerns are eclipsed,” the event’s promotion points out. The exhibition is intended for mature viewers. Get more information here.