{"product_id":"playing-american-open-world-videogames-and-the-reproduction-of-american-culture-9783111244846","title":"Playing American: Open-World Videogames and the Reproduction of American Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eVideogames have always depicted representations of American culture, but how exactly they feed back into this culture is less obvious. Advocating an action-based understanding of both videogames and culture, this book delineates how aspects of American culture are reproduced transnationally through popular open-world videogames. \u003cem\u003ePlaying American\u003c\/em\u003e proposes an analytic focus on open-world videogames' \"ambient operations\" and traces practices of \"playing American\" through the stages of videogame development, gameplay, and reception. Three case studies - concentrating on the \u003cem\u003eGrand Theft Auto\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eWatch Dogs\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eRed Dead Redemption\u003c\/em\u003e franchises, respectively - highlight different figurations of \"playing American.\" Thematic foci range from public discourses on systemic racism and neoliberal capitalism to the justification of real-world surveillance practices and to the reconfiguration of the Western in the digital age. \u003cem\u003ePlaying American\u003c\/em\u003e provides those interested in either videogames or American culture with a fresh angle and new concepts regarding its subject matters. It demonstrates that videogames are agents of cultural reproduction that do distinct cultural work for American culture in the twenty-first century. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSören Schoppmeier\u003c\/strong\u003e, independent scholar, Berlin, Germany.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Walter de Gruyter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50398991024402,"sku":"9783111244846","price":91.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2272bcc9-498c-466e-8f4c-2d84de792be6.jpg?v=1729086440","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/playing-american-open-world-videogames-and-the-reproduction-of-american-culture-9783111244846","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}