Summer Research

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Media Representations 

Call of duty modern warfare 2 is a game based on conflict, between the ‘player’ and the ‘enemy’, the representation of this enemy can be very significant. In this case the terrorists

This FPS Shooter represents the American Armed forcesand the British SAS in a positive way as they fight patriotically for each other’s country in the battle against terrorists. Throughout the launch trailer there was a significant amount of times the American flag was shown which reinforces the idea of the soldiers being patriotic as they fight for their country. However throughout all the media texts that I watched not one single women soldier was shown which symbolises a patriarchy society and patriarchy in the workplace, also /portrays/relates to the past where men would fight in the war whilst women would stay at home and look after the kids, therefore being represented negatively also represents war being negatively as it shows the mass killing of people.

Some elements of the game are a fair and accurate representation as it shows what a war would be like through the deaths and killings, weapons and vehicles. However it can be argued that the game isn’t a fair and accurate representation as there are women soldiers which isn’t shown within any of the trailers seen, also doesn’t depict the soldiers feelings, just shows a patriotic one. Also inaccurate as the game allows players to have as many lives as they want as they respawn after they die, this is an inaccurate representation of war in real life. 

Media Languages and Forms

On a visual level, Modern Warfare 2 has one of the best graphics for an fps in this generation Key It's visually stunning and looks incredible in high-definition. The weapons look pretty slick, as you'd expect in a war-based shooter, it’s also clear that Infinity Ward took care of digitally representing dozens of real world firearms making the game seem more realistic, giving audiences a better experience. 

Certain camera angles were shown to convey soldier’s emotions; angles such as close-ups were shown to focus on the soldier’s facial expressions, pure determination and drive was the evident expressions shown throughout the game. 

Music by Hans Zimmer -> very well known composer, major work for big time movies such as inceptions and the dark knight, his music help set the suspense within the text as it told a story as the game went on. Also music was an important in conveying meaning as loud war styled music was played every time there was a shootout.

C- Uniform-> The soldier’s uniform within the game plays a big role; shemagh scarf’s were worn by the enemies and the traditional desert uniforms were worn by the American armed forces, these uniform,  this gave them an identity, so that others can easily identify them, from the good to the bad.  

L- There was a mix between low key lighting and high, between scenes as low key was used to create the suspense, and high key was used to show the action which took place

A- Although the characters were computerised, they played a convincing role in making audiences believe they were real, right through to their movement’s right down to their dialogue

M- Camouflaged make up was used on those soldiers with snipers so that they could blend in with their surroundings so that they could sneak up upon their enemies, guerrilla warfare tactics -> (element of surprise)

P- Helmets, uniform, weapons, kill streaks, -> these elements enhance gaming experience as it bring the game to life, making it seem more real to its audiences from ak-47’s to harrier airstrikes.

S- The setting was a very typical one for a war/shooter game, set in deserted/abandoned places, however setting changed as the story mode progressed, from the deserted buildings in Afghanistan to airport terminals in Russia, this is what made the game so intense and addictive as you did not know what to expect next.

The dominant images and iconography throughout the game was the image of the American flag with portrayed a patriotic image as the soldiers went out to fight for their country, also the more disturbing images of the mass killings of the enemies and some civilians and the heavy weapons used.  

Institutions and Audiences

After the mass success of the first ever modern warfare which sold over 13 million copies institutions infinity ward and activation officially announced the second instalment of the modern warfare series, this brought about hype for the game release, not only did infinity ward and activation enhance the graphics, weapons and game modes but added a unique touch by distributing the game in packages such as standard, hardened, veteran and prestige, this enhanced sales as each package came with the game and an add on. Institutions Infinity ward and Activision may have played a big role in the release of the game, as it was released around early November, purposely targeting those buyers around the Christmas time as the game could be seen as a present to give to someone. Therefore targeting both genders as an audience.

Although the game is rated at an audience of 18, This type of game appeals to a much younger audience around the age of 14-18, groups E, D, C (unemployed/students), main reason for this is because it allows social interaction between teens as they can play competitively against each other online or offline, as features such as the multiplayer and specs ops allow this to happen,. The game also give the opportunity to meet new people via the online multiplayer mode, giving gamers a better communication/interaction skills as they work in teams to win the objective. 

With the growing success of the previous modern warfare, modern warfare 2 has already gained a large audience. In my opinion I think this game has lived up to its expectations, as me the audience find it a diversion (Katz theory) from society, as the game transforms you into a character which you can control. Also social trends have influenced teens to become users of the game as many teens  like myself have a console, so due to this being a popular game, people may buy just because friends have it (keeping up with the trend).




Genre

Genre is one of the principal ways in which audiences, users and producers routinely classify media. The institutions infinity ward and activision are well known game developers within the gaming scene, having brought out most of the call of duty series they have gathered alot of respect within the FPS Scene.

Modern warfare 2 falls under the category of an FPS shooter as you play one of the characters from the game, this gives audiences a sense of diversion as they distracted from the events surround their life and put into the shoes of this character which they control which offers users and audiences  pleasure.

Conventions -> younger target audience, convergence and synergy, cgi and fx’s, Hypereality, Positive narrative outcomes (good guy always wins), narrations

Media Values and Ideology

Although being a very violent game, modern warfare 2 does portray some positive values as it promotes/encourages some teens/adults to become soldiers and fight for their country as the game shows this through the launch trailer, where American flags were shown when soldiers were at war. 

However the game may portray negative values as it encourages violence, which has been a major issue regarding problems within society, such as the Norway shootings as my research has shown that Anders Behring Breivik claims in his manifesto that he used this video game to perpetrate the 2011 Norway attacks. Coop Norway, a chain of retail stores in Norway, removed this video game from its shelves as a result of this attack, Also while looking at all of the media texts derived from this product it is clear this game portrays a male dominant ideology, as it targets its audience with an male dominant force, this may have been done by purpose in order to maximise profits as statistics show that a larger proportion of men play video games compared to women.

Narrative

The audience are positioned it the POV of the character, they are immediately involved as the first missions requires them to get from one post to the other and complete the objective that was set at the beginning of the mission.
Right from the start there was a creation of good and evil, as the objective at the begging of the first mission which was shown on the HUD (Heads up display) was to take out any enemies in sight and protect the innocent civilians.

Sound played a major role within the narrative as it helped audiences get a better/clear understanding of what was happening in each of the different missions, for example in the first mission the sound of screaming civilians were played to help identify that they were in danger. 

close up shots were used to identify each of the characters as small titles were shown when looking at the character, specific music was played at specific times, for example intense music was played when there was a shootout, or victory music was played whenever the mission/objective was completed .