| 'Killer Games' Versus 'we Will Fund Violence': The Perception of Digital Games and Mass Media in Germany and Australia Contributor(s): Schroeder, Jens (Author) |
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ISBN: 3631606117 ISBN-13: 9783631606117 Publisher: Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der W OUR PRICE: $93.81 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: March 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Media Studies - Art | Business Aspects - Biography & Autobiography |
| Dewey: 302.23 |
| Physical Information: 350 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: While the assessment of digital games in Germany is framed by a high-culture critique, which regards them as an 'illegitimate' activity, they are enjoyed by a wider demographic as a 'legitimate' pastime in Australia. The book analyses the social history of digital gaming in both countries and relates it to their socio-cultural traditions. Concerning social history, Australia almost depicts an inverse mirror image of Germany. Its foundational dynamics, closely associated with different egalitarianisms, led to a different form of distinction than in Germany - a country whose national self-conception was closely related to groups which perpetuated an idealistic notion of Kultur and later integrated it into a rigid class system. The book not only demonstrates how the discourses on games follow long-established patterns of rejection and approval of mass media but also regard them as an access to the inner workings of both societies. How the games are perceived tells us a lot about German and Australian identity. |