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Being a terrorist: Video game simulations of the other side of the War on Terror

Some of the most theoretically significant moments of video games set in the War on Terror occur in the rare instances when these games allow players to assume a terrorist’s point of view. This perspectival shift raises the possibility that games might offer a humanizing look at the enemies in the War on Terror and that they might give players greater insight into terrorists’ motives and ideologies. This article examines three popular video games that allow players to become terrorists: America’s Army, Modern Warfare 2, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter. The author argues that the simulated experience of being a terrorist holds the potential to deepen players’ understanding of terrorism, but that popular games ultimately deliver experiences of terrorist subjectivities that have virtually no content and that leave terrorists almost indistinguishable from the games’ heroes. The terrorists whose viewpoints are shown are portrayed as people who engage in senseless acts of violence that are disconnected from motives or grievances. This leads the games to confirm the overarching War on Terror narrative that terrorists are irrational and evil enemies who are unworthy of respect.