Games of the 2000s
The 2000s also saw the emergence of a strong independent games movement and organizations supporting development of games outside of mainstream commercial contexts, including Serious Games and Games for Change (founded in 2004). In 2008, the MacArthur Foundation initiated its Digital Media and Learning initiative, which devoted significant resources to the study and support for games as an integral part of emerging cultural and academic discourses about civic engagement and youth learning. However, within the realm of commercial film and television production, a majority of on-screen games continued to be associated with narratives related to violence, sexuality and social normativity. This path presents a variety of examples in support of these mainstream tropes, while acknowledging the existence of counter-currents and counter-examples of each.