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ERIC Number: EJ1329303
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Dec
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-2133
EISSN: N/A
Take Them Down: The Construction and Contestation of Mexicans and Drug Cartels in Videogames
Ponce de la Vega, Lidia
Hispania, v104 n4 p653-669 Dec 2021
This article explores gaming manifestations of the US-centric Mexican threat narrative in the context of the so-called drug war, by analyzing Manichean representations of characters, settings, and language (English and Spanish). It argues that videogames construct the concept of the Mexican subject in direct opposition to the US subject--in a decontextualized enemy-hero dialectic--fueling damaging stereotypes that have important repercussions in social, economic, and political discourses in and about Mexico and the United States. This paper examines the stereotypes of Mexican peoples and cartels in videogames depicting the drug conflict and released between 2011 and 2016: "Call of Juarez: The Cartel," "Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel," "Grand Theft Auto V," and "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands." Additionally, it reflects on projects such as "NarcoGuerra," which aims at counteracting stereotyped hegemonic discourses by promoting informed and empathetic representations of the so-called war on drugs. The overarching goal of this analysis is to provide an insight into gaming representations of the relationship between Mexico and the United States, the geopolitics of drug trafficking, and the neocolonial hegemonic frameworks that fuel them.
American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Inc. 900 Ladd Road, Walled Lake, MI 48390. Tel: 248-960-2180; Fax: 248-960-9570; e-mail: AATSPoffice@aatsp.org; Web site: http://www.aatsp.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States; Mexico
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A