With the development of technology, the culture is changing too. There is no vast scientific advance that doesn’t leave a trace on the way humans lead their lives. The emergence of the printing press, for instance, opened the door for the profusion of books and magazines being published. We started to peruse newspapers during breakfast, read fairy tales to our kids before they go to sleep, and enjoy gripping novels during lazy weekends.
The development of computers and other machinery let people immerse themselves into the mesmerising world of video games. It barely took a couple of decades for this type of entertainment to become one of the most favourite activities people can do. Nowadays, we have video games for everyone. Both kids and adults can enjoy them.
Video games have changed our culture a lot. They don’t exist in an isolated form, but develop parallelly with the art and traditions we have, becoming an inalienable part of them, say the experts from That Video Game Blog.
The first industry of our culture that has been changed with the emergence of video games is the cinematography. We live in the era of a quick rise of film adaptations of video games. Such movies as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider or Mortal Kombat became one of the most popular films among publics all over the world.
The list of films based on games is very long. Many viewers don’t even know that the movie they adore was inspired by a video game. Both industries: the cinematography and video games sustain each other and are interconnected. The fans of a certain video game eagerly buy cinema tickets to see a movie based on it. Those who love a film, discovering that it’s an adaptation of the game decide to try playing it.
An interesting change that our generation undergoes is the fact that a decade ago, games were considered to be for children only. However, nowadays, the majority of players are adults. Indeed, most games are created for an adult auditory only, which drastically changes our perception of the notion of a game.
But cinematography is not the only sphere changed by digital games. Can you imagine that the omnipresent wave of feministic movement has also been influenced by the emergence of video games? The characters of many of them are female protagonists showing their strength, wisdom, and power. Video games are probably ones of the first cultural products where women were given the features that had been believed to belong to men only.
For instance, the above-mentioned Lara Croft is not only a beautiful woman but a very physically strong and brave protagonist. This also gave a push to other art industries to depict female characters as strong and courageous ones. It has broken our outdated vision of a female figure in art, creating a bigger demand for depicting female power in games, literature, cinematography.
The fashion has undergone changes too. More and more people started liking cosplay. The costumes of game characters are very memorable, unusual, and appealing. There is no wonder why video game fans got so crazy about them. Nowadays, there are many events where game lovers all over the world can show the costume that duplicates the one their favourite character had.
Those who don’t like cosplay still can buy video game merchandise. Some of us are not even aware of the fact that the T-shirt or sweatshirt we are wearing is inspired by the video game. There is a lot of clothing with game emblems or catchphrases we wear today.
The pop idols have changed too. If in the past, most people went crazy for actors and singers who were real people, nowadays the idol doesn’t have to exist in reality at all. Many people become huge fans of protagonists of different video games. They try to copy their manner of speaking or acting, buy the same clothes, forgetting that their heroes have never existed in the world we live in.
Video games have, indeed, opened the door to a new era. We live in the times when reality and hyperreality have mingled together and constantly overlap with each other. To say that games have not changed our culture is to be completely mistaken. Many idiosyncrasies of the way of life modern people have are the result of the emergence of digital games.
It is video games that inaugurated a new history of cinematography, fashion, and helped to evoke feministic voices all over the world. Who knows which more extraordinary trends the digitalisation of our spare time will lead to? Holding our breaths, we are waiting for the new changes in society the future will bring. But we are not aware of the fact that we already live in the future and video games are the first sign of it.
WRITTEN BY OKSANA KOHUT
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