Title Page, Table of Contents, Abstract

Full Spectrum Propaganda: The U.S. Military, Video
Games, and the Genre of the Military-Themed Shooter
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David A. Clearwater
Department of Art History and Communications Studies
McGill University, Montreal
May, 2006
A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
© David A. Clearwater, 2006
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements .................................................................................... iv
Abstract...................................................................................................... v
Preface ....................................................................................................... vii
1. Twentieth Century War, Media, and Popular Culture ............................. 1
2. Spectatorship and the Shift from Total to Limited War .......................... 51
3. A Synopsis of the Video Game Industry.................................................. 79
4. The U.S. Military, Recruiting and the Video Game Industry .................... 103
5. Genre, Video Game Studies and the Military-Themed Shooter............... 133
Image File (Chapter 6) ..................................................................... 169
6. The Military-Themed Shooter Genre and Game Structure ...................... 175
Image File (Chapter 7) ..................................................................... 207
7. Authenticity and Realism in Military-Themed Shooters .......................... 213
8. The Politics of Gameplay ........................................................................ 239
9. Conclusion: War, Militainment, and Simulation ..................................... 269
Bibliography / Gameography...................................................................... 285
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Acknowledgements
The path leading to this dissertation has been long and circuitous. It started in 1998 in
Montreal, with enrolment at McGill’s Graduate Program in Communications (which
later became the Department of Art History and Communications Studies after a
departmental merger) and continued with a teaching appointment commencing in
2001 at the Department of New Media in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of
Lethbridge. This path, and the fact that a final draft would not emerge until August of
2005, meant that many individuals have influenced this dissertation. At McGill, I would
like to thank Will Straw (AHCS) and Berkeley Kaite (Department of English) for their
guidance and patience throughout this process, as well as Charles Levin, Yehudi
Lindeman, David Crowley, and Gertrude Robinson for their knowledge and inspiration.
At McLennan Library (McGill), I need to acknowledge David McKnight and a warm
‘thank you’ goes to Marilyn Berger and Bozena Latincic at the Blackader-Lauterman
Library of Architecture and Art. Friends and fellow students in Montreal were integral.
I would like to thank Brennan Wauters, Christopher Hills-Wright, ‘Jessica Rabbit,’ and
Allain Julfayan for endless and immensely enjoyable discussions of film, history, media
and ‘point of view.’ To Crystal Beliveau, Anita Slominska, Jennifer Varkonyi, Tammy
Schachter, Joya Balfour, Geoff Stahl, Bianca Hook, Kim Diggins, and Ingrid Bejerman: I
thank you for your inspiration and diverse knowledge of the world. For their friendship
and knowledge of libraries as well as reference and research expertise, I would like to
sincerely thank Robin Canuel and Carl Reglar.
Moving to Lethbridge focused my interest in interactive media, popular culture,
and video games. Consequently, colleagues and students were important influences
and constant sources of information. Special thanks to Neal Thomas, James Graham,
Anna Pickering, and Bob Cousins in the Department of New Media and Chess Skinner,
Dean of Fine Arts. I also need to acknowledge the encouragement and solidarity felt
while at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference in Atlanta in 2004 where
early work was presented. No less significant is the contribution made by the staff of
EB Games in Lethbridge (especially Carley and Mike) for their assistance in tracking
down games and for steering interesting titles my way. Finally, I would like to thank
my family for always putting up with me.
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Abstract
Full Spectrum Propaganda: The U.S. Military, Video Games, and the
Genre of the Military-Themed Shooter
This dissertation explores the emerging relationship between the U.S. military and the
commercial video game market. Specifically, this study situates this relationship in
terms of the U.S. military’s evolving role in a variety of media—such as Hollywood
feature films, television, and television news—for the purposes of propaganda and the
influencing of public opinion. Consequently, an analysis and critique of the U.S.
military’s production and commissioning of commercial video games will be advanced
that takes into account contemporary analyses and media critiques with respect to war
and representation. Since these games are also a part of the larger field of
entertainment and cultural production, this study will attempt to understand these
products for the complex ways they combine cultural expression, modern spectatorship
and the desire to influence or mediate popular conceptions of war. Consideration will
also be given to situating these products within the emerging field of video game
studies and aesthetics, as well as questions concerning genre, realism, historical
revisionism, and the ethics of simulation.
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La propagande « Full Spectrum » : L’armée américaine, les jeux vidéo
et le genre du tireur militaire
La présente dissertation explore la relation naissante entre l’armée américaine et le
marché du jeu vidéo. Plus précisément, elle situe cette relation en fonction de
l’évolution du rôle de l’armée américaine dans une variété de médias, tel les films
hollywoodiens, la télévision et les nouvelles, dans le but d’influencer l’opinion publique
par le biais de la propagande. Par conséquent, nous présenterons une analyse et une
critique de la production et de la commande par l’armée américaine de jeux vidéo, en
tenant compte des analyses et des critiques de médias actuelles sur la guerre et sa
représentation. Étant donné que ces jeux font également partie du domaine plus large
du divertissement et des produits culturels, cette étude tentera de comprendre la
manière complexe dont ces produits allient expression culturelle, spectacle moderne et
désir d’influencer la conception populaire de la guerre. Nous tâcherons également
d’identifier la place qu’occupent ces produits dans les théories récentes sur les jeux
vidéo et leur esthétique, et nous nous questionnerons sur le genre, le réalisme, le
révisionnisme historique et l’éthique de la simulation.
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