Tim Lenoir is Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Cinema and Digital Media and Science and Technology Studies at the University of California, Davis. Luke Caldwell is a Ph.D. candidate in the Program in Literature and Media Arts + Sciences at Duke University.
Locked and loaded, this astonishing account of the
‘military-entertainment complex’ exposes the links between military
technologies and popular media, the alignments and affinities among
defense agencies, video game companies, and Hollywood studios. With
tactical precision, Tim Lenoir and Luke Caldwell show how the
militarization of contemporary society is driven less by political
interests than by economic interests, revealing the ways in which
the entertainment industry and its commercial practices shape the
imagination of postmodern warfare. This is a provocative,
high-octane book about the war games of everyday life and the
future of digital culture. Epic pwn.
*Colin Milburn, University of California, Davis*
While the term ‘military-entertainment complex’ conjures images of
dystopian collusion, what Lenoir and Caldwell uncover is far more
disturbing: collusion is unnecessary. By avoiding authenticity in
favor of adrenaline, billion-dollar video game franchises, such as
Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, do more to create a cultural
acceptance of war than military PR could ever hope to achieve.
Games have not been co-opted by the military, but rather the
opposite. Civilians have transformed war into a consumer product,
reducing its emotional resonance to that of a theme park ride, all
in service of reaching a larger audience.
*Walt Williams, Lead Writer, Spec Ops: The Line*
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