The grand narratives of video games : Sid Meier's Civilization

Vrtačič, Eva (author)

Sid Meier's Civilization is a popcultural artefact, good to think cultural differences, science and economy, giving us valuable insights in the Western cosmological system, which has relied on (post-)imperial, (post-)colonial and utterly ethnocentric political (and other) traditions at least since the Enlightenment. An anthropologically informed critique of Civilization, inspired by cultural relativism and post-colonial studies, is presented in the text, leading to very problematic conclusions as to what kind of messages the game conveys. The game reinforces enlightened ideals that celebrate reason and logic, presents the notion of progress as universal and unilineal, and portrays others as savages.

• Language: English
• Work type: Not categorized
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2014
• Number of pages: Str. 91-105, 188
• Numbering: Letn. 51, št. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-74602
• UDC: 794-028.23:316.722
• ISSN on article: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 32561757
• Publication date in RUL: 21.12.2015

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Sid Meier's Civilization je popkulturni artefakt, ki je dober primer za premislek o kulturnih razlikah, znanosti in ekonomiji; predstavlja nam kozmološki sistem Zahoda, ki vsaj od razsvetljenstva naprej sloni na (post-)imperialni, (post-)kolonialni in etnocentričnih političnih tradicijah. Antropološko informirana in s strani kulturnega relativizma in postkolonialnih študij navdahnjena kritika Civilizacij vodi do vprašanja problematičnega sporočila videoigre, ki utrjuje razsvetljenske ideale razuma in logike, zgoščeno vsebovane v pojmu napredka kot univerzalnega in unilinearnega procesa, medtem ko druge civilizacije portretira kot divjake.