Bad Object 2.0: Games and GamersMain MenuIntroductionBad Object 1.0: TelevisionHollywood's critique of TVGames of the 1970sThe earliest depictions of video games on filmGames of the 1980sExperimentation and dispensationGames of the 1990sCultural anxieties and responsesGames of the 2000sViolence, sexuality and social normativityCounter-currentsExceptions and reconfigurationsSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805G|A|M|E Journal
Media Chronology
12014-09-05T14:17:07-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805302523A chronological gallery of all media included in this projectstructured_gallery2014-09-09T07:35:30-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
Contents of this path:
12014-08-29T13:22:22-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805An experimental television broadcast signal is converted in to a death ray in Murder by Television1In this climactic scene, Bela Lugosi reveals how a TV broadcast signal is used to commit murderplain2014-08-29T13:22:22-07:00Critical Commons1935VideoMurder by Television2014-08-29T19:08:23ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-29T14:47:59-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805A critique of the conjunction of television and politics in A Face in the Crowd1Andy Griffith reforms a presidential candidate's public profile by appealing to the lowest common denominator: moronic TV viewersplain2014-08-29T14:47:59-07:00Critical Commons1957VideoA Face in the Crowd2014-08-29T21:39:15ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-28T11:19:52-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Home video game arcade console as class signifier in Soylent Green1In the year 2022 a videogame "toy" amuses the youthful mistress of a wealthy aristocrat in a dystopian future plagued by overpopulationplain2014-08-28T11:19:52-07:00Critical Commons1973VideoSoylent Green2014-08-28T18:09:11ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-07T10:43:10-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Parallax View psychology lab test1A clinical psychology lab in 1974 includes a pong game for playing with the chimpsplain2014-08-07T10:43:10-07:00Critical Commons1974VideoThe Parallax View2013-09-17T02:24:07ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-09T07:29:52-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Point system for road race game in Death Race 20001A TV analyst describes the revised scoring system for civilian deaths in Death Race 2000plain2014-09-09T07:29:52-07:00Critical Commons1975VideoDeath Race 20002014-09-09T14:20:07ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-29T13:21:04-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805A condemnation of television by television on film1TV personality Howard Beale rants against the stupidity of TV viewers and the corruption of television and corporate Americaplain2014-08-29T13:21:04-07:00Critical Commons1976VideoNetwork2014-08-29T19:47:37ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-29T13:21:20-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Opening title sequence of Being There1Peter Sellars portrays the ideal television viewer who is disconnected from reality and mindlessly imitates actions on TVplain2014-08-29T13:21:20-07:00Critical Commons1979VideoBeing There2014-08-29T20:03:33ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-28T14:17:27-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Prototypical, gamer hacker on Simon & Simon1An early televisual association between online fantasy games and computer hackingplain2014-08-28T14:17:27-07:00Critical Commons1981VideoSimon and Simon S1E3 "Trapdoors" 2014-08-28T21:03:38ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-02T14:09:26-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Tron and the Fetish of User Control1A hacker's program is represented as an obedient and faithful servant to its user, even in the face of deletion by a totalitarian super-computer.plain2014-09-02T14:09:26-07:00Critical Commons1982VideoTron2010-08-06T22:33:30ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-29T11:49:10-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805An evil spirit enters the home through a family TV set that is connected to an Atari game console1The threat posed by games and television to American homes and families is metaphorically represented by a spirit who enters through the TVplain2014-08-29T11:49:10-07:00Critical Commons1982VideoPoltergeist2014-08-29T18:37:17ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-29T11:49:24-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805A TV set connected to an Atari game console and beta videotape deck provokes a hallucination in Videodrome2As the videodrome signal becomes more real than reality, James Woods is literally swallowed by the TV screenplain2014-09-03T15:06:45-07:00Critical Commons1983VideoVideodrome2014-08-29T18:37:17ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-28T15:26:50-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Video game play merges with real life in Superman 31Atari produced these video game play animation sequences but never released a game based on the filmplain2014-08-28T15:26:50-07:00Critical Commons1983VideoSuperman 32014-08-28T22:14:05ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-26T21:44:58-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805A domestic video arcade signifies evil in Never Say Never Again1A Bond villain's home is outfitted with arcade consoles for Centipede and Gravitarplain2014-08-26T21:44:58-07:00Critical Commons1983VideoNever Say Never Again2014-08-27T04:03:01ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-26T17:28:09-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805James Bond video game showdown1James Bond and the bad guy face off over a glorified two-player version of Missile Command in Never Say Never Againplain2014-08-26T17:28:09-07:00Critical Commons1983VideoNever Say Never Again2014-08-27T00:18:44ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-28T14:26:23-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805WarGames and Dialing-In1The state of the art in home network interfaces (and geek seduction) circa 1983: a phone modem and automatic dialerplain2014-08-28T14:26:23-07:00Critical Commons1983VideoWarGames2010-08-13T10:31:47ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-07T10:37:10-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805WarGames, AI, and the Millitary-Entertainment Complex1The fate of the world depends on the ability of a super-computer to "learn" the parallels between the unwinnable game of Tic-Tac-Toe and the lose-lose situation of the Cold War.plain2014-08-07T10:37:10-07:00Critical Commons1983VideoWarGames2010-08-05T23:28:59ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-02T13:54:01-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Introduction to the CBS series Whiz Kids1Inspired by the success of WarGames, the short-lived TV series Whiz Kids explored the televisual potentials of teenaged computer experts as detectivesplain2014-09-02T13:54:01-07:00Critical Commons1983VideoWhiz Kids2014-09-02T20:45:08ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-26T17:57:48-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Computers vs. Video games on Knight Rider1KITT explains the difference between video games and computers to his human operatorplain2014-08-26T17:57:48-07:00Critical Commons1983VideoKnight Rider2014-08-27T00:49:15ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-26T17:46:18-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Games and generational conflict in Coak and Dagger1A father and son conflict over the value of game play in the domestic sphereplain2014-08-26T17:46:18-07:00Critical Commons1984VideoCloak and Dagger2014-08-27T00:35:53ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-28T15:01:08-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Video game play as generational and gender conflict in Night of the Comet1A teenage girl uses her prowess at the arcade game Tempest as a vehicle to independenceplain2014-08-28T15:01:08-07:00Critical Commons1984VideoNight of the Comet2014-08-28T21:38:29ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-28T16:12:45-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Arcade game record breaking brings intergenerational harmony in The Last Starfighter1Although video game play creates problems for a teenage romance, a high score galvanizes the communityplain2014-08-28T16:12:45-07:00Critical Commons1984VideoThe Last Starfighter2014-08-28T23:03:41ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-28T16:39:26-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805An android boy discovers his inhumanity when playing video games in D.A.R.Y.L.1An Atari computer appears in the bedroom of an average American teenage girlplain2014-08-28T16:39:26-07:00Critical Commons1985VideoD.A.R.Y.L.2014-08-28T23:29:50ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-02T10:54:42-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Precredit video game play opening of The Princess Bride1A gratuitous video game sequence precedes the primary action of the film, which implicitly favors reading and cinematic storytelling over videogame playplain2014-09-02T10:54:42-07:00Critical Commons1987VideoThe Princess Bride2014-09-02T17:45:10ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-26T21:43:07-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Precredit PC game sequence from Big1A boy who is soon to be transported into the body of a grown man unsuccessfully plays the fictional PC game Cavern of the Evil Wizardplain2014-08-26T21:43:08-07:00Critical Commons1988VideoBig2014-08-27T04:18:16ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-07T10:37:10-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805The Wizard- "I love the Power Glove"1Scene from the 1989 film "The Wizard" displays gender roles and superiority in context of a video game controller.plain2014-08-07T10:37:10-07:00Critical Commons1989VideoThe Wizard2012-08-31T18:41:50ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-02T11:57:27-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Climactic videogame play sequence introduces Super Mario Bros. 3 in The Wizard1The Video Armageddon final showdown imagines video games as a spectator sportplain2014-09-02T11:57:27-07:00Critical Commons1989VideoThe Wizard2014-09-02T18:48:24ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-30T13:30:44-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Commander Riker becomes addicted to a video game delivered by AR glasses1An augmented reality game is linked with sexual pleasure in Star Trek TNG "The Game"plain2014-08-30T13:30:44-07:00Critical Commons1991VideoStar Trek TNG S5E6 "The Game" 2014-08-30T19:44:41ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-30T13:30:45-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805An augmented reality game takes over the crew of the Enterprise1Teenagers are the only ones able to resist the allure of an addictive video game on the Star Trek TNG episode "The Game"plain2014-08-30T13:30:45-07:00Critical Commons1991VideoStar Trek TNG S5E6 "The Game" 2014-08-30T20:21:23ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-30T14:23:25-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805A software expert discovers a virus in video game code in The Net1Sandra Bullock plays Wolfenstein 3D in order to look for a dangerous bugplain2014-08-30T14:23:25-07:00Critical Commons1995VideoThe Net2014-08-30T21:07:05ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-03T08:24:12-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Videogames as geek seduction in Hackers1Videogames and gender competition are coextensive with 1990s teenage technology hackingplain2014-09-03T08:24:12-07:00Critical Commons1995VideoHackers2014-09-03T15:13:35ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-01T15:44:06-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Stereotypical video gamer dudes mix homophobia with profanity and violence1Videogame violence features prominently in this cinematic critique of games and gamersplain2014-09-01T15:44:06-07:00Critical Commons1996VideoSwingers2014-09-01T22:10:27ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-04T14:28:27-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Holographic video games as therapy in Deep Space 91The season 7 episode "It's Only a Paper Moon" debates the usefulness of immersive games for adolescent therapyplain2014-09-04T14:28:27-07:00Critical Commons1998VideoStar Trek: Deep Space Nine S7E102014-09-04T20:21:52ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-07T10:37:06-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805eXistenZ interface1Characters in a virtual reality game begin to feel slippage between the "real" and "virtual" worldsplain2014-08-07T10:37:06-07:00Critical Commons1999VideoeXistenZ2012-09-13T22:03:47ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-07T10:37:08-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Gamer stereotypes on the X-Files FPS1Stereotypes of gamers and digitally generated cybervixens abound when video games are depicted on televisionplain2014-08-07T10:37:08-07:00Critical Commons2000VideoX-Files S7E13 "First Person Shooter" 2012-08-31T18:44:12ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-02T17:15:47-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805X-files FPS showdown and didactic ending1Irony competes with deadly earnestness at the end of William Gibson's "First Person Shooter" for the X-Filesplain2014-09-02T17:15:47-07:00Critical Commons2000VideoX-Files "First Person Shooter" 2012-08-31T18:44:12ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-01T15:45:41-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Series 7: The Contenders introduction1Narrative exposition setting up the death match reality TV premiseplain2014-09-01T15:45:41-07:00Critical Commons2001VideoSeries 7: The Contenders2014-09-01T20:53:25ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-30T14:59:32-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805A computer genius uses a GameBoy to avert a meltdown in a nuclear plant1A handheld video game helps save the world from a homicidal supercomputer AI in Terminal Errorplain2014-08-30T14:59:32-07:00Critical Commons2002VideoTerminal Error2014-08-30T21:50:34ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-03T09:16:18-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Teenagers play piano and video games before committing mass murder in Elephant1A first person shooter game creates a direct link between screen violence and real world violenceplain2014-09-03T09:16:18-07:00Critical Commons2003VideoElephant2014-09-03T16:06:02ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-07T18:01:31-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805A third person perspective following shot evokes video game aesthetics in Elephant1Gus Van Sant uses multiple long take following shots to set up intersecting narrative momentsplain2014-09-07T18:01:31-07:00Critical Commons2003VideoElephant2014-09-08T00:52:20ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-01T15:44:25-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Stereotypical gamer dude homophobia is intercut with attempted heterosexual romance in The 40 Year Old Virgin1This extended sequence crystallizes many of the social tensions that surround depictions of video games on filmplain2014-09-01T15:44:25-07:00Critical Commons2005VideoThe 40 Year Old Virgin2014-09-01T21:36:49ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-30T13:31:10-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Video games and domestic strife in The Breakup1Male bonding over a home console videogame conflicts with sex and domestic harmonyplain2014-08-30T13:31:10-07:00Critical Commons2006VideoThe Breakup2014-08-30T18:58:49ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-06T10:03:38-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805The Big Bang Theory competition between Halo 3 and casual sex1Four geeks are so absorbed in the multiplayer video game Halo 3 that they miss an opportunity for sexplain2014-09-06T10:03:38-07:00Critical Commons2007VideoBig Bang Theory, "The Dumpling Paradox" 2014-09-06T16:49:29ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-30T13:31:24-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Male bonding comes before relationship therapy in Couples Retreat1A Guitar Hero showdown serves as a platform for masculine prowess and redemption via video gamesplain2014-08-30T13:31:24-07:00Critical Commons2009VideoCouples Retreat2014-08-30T19:08:20ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-08T16:32:48-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805A debauched vision of gamers and game play from the movie Gamer1Obese shut-ins, sexual deviants and elderly occupy the game world of Societyplain2014-09-08T16:32:48-07:00Critical Commons2009VideoGamer2014-09-08T23:22:48ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-07T10:37:09-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Gamer talk show interview1Crass popular culture aesthetics of TV and virtual reality are highlighted in this expository sequence from the movie Gamerplain2014-08-07T10:37:09-07:00Critical Commons2009VideoGamer2012-08-31T18:43:15ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-07T10:37:09-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Scott Pilgrim transmedia styles1An audio-visual cacophony of transmedia stylesplain2014-08-07T10:37:09-07:00Critical Commons2010VideoScott Pilgrim vs. The World2012-08-31T18:43:40ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-01T15:44:54-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Videogame violence is coextensive with real world violence in Breaking Bad1While playing the hyper-violent first person shooter Rage, Jesse Pinkman experiences flashbacks to a similar murder he committed in the real worldplain2014-09-01T15:44:54-07:00Critical Commons2011VideoBreaking Bad S4 "Problem Dog" 2014-09-01T21:26:34ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-30T14:38:02-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Videogames help to reconstitute a family in Real Steel1The ability to play video games is crucial to recapturing a father's loveplain2014-08-30T14:38:02-07:00Critical Commons2011VideoReal Steel2014-08-30T21:26:43ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-08-07T10:37:11-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Fascist iconography in The Hunger Games1The opening ceremonies for the Hunger Games are choreographed to look like a Nazi rally photographed by Leni Riefenstahlplain2014-08-07T10:37:11-07:00Critical Commons2012VideoThe Hunger Games2012-11-02T00:49:32ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-04T14:28:11-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Military training on tablet computers in Ender's Game1Cadets in a military officers academy are trained to use violence to succeed in video game simulationsplain2014-09-04T14:28:11-07:00Critical Commons2013VideoEnder's Game2014-09-04T19:55:11ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805
12014-09-08T11:13:48-07:00Steve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805Videogame play is seamlessly integrated with an artificially intelligent operating system in Her1A profane but loveable video game character interacts seamlessly with the player and an AI based computer operating systemplain2014-09-08T11:13:48-07:00Critical Commons2013VideoHer2014-09-08T18:01:17ZSteve Anderson3e015d75989f7e2d586f4e456beb811c3220a805