Open AccessPlaying the Second World War: Call of Duty and the Telling of History
Author(s) -
Harrison Gish
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
eludamos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1866-6124
DOI - 10.7557/23.6042
Subject(s) - duty , negotiation , representation (politics) , world war ii , history , media studies , visual arts , sociology , art , law , political science , politics , archaeology , social science
Through its interactive representation of the Second World War, the Call of Duty series is emblematic of a contemporary form of historical remembrance. This article analyzes the ways in which the series' cut scenes and game play interrelate and represent history, warfare, and traumatic violence. Using Marita Sturken’s discussion of screen memories as sites of negotiation between differing conceptions of the past, the essay positions Call of Duty as a digital screen memory that actively produces multiple, competing understandings of historical warfare.