On page 24 of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s We3, the reader is introduced to the “weapon of the future”. Right away when I saw this futuristic weapon I thought, this is it? What I see when I look at this technology is simply an Xbox 360 controller. The color, function, shape, and layout of the controller and the weapon is essentially the same. It is meant to be held in both hands, with a joystick for each thumb, there are front facing horizontal buttons for the first digits, a center button that I assume provides power, and an antenna/wire that provides a signal to its counterpart. Only one modification remains on the weapon versus the controller and that is the double gamepads and lack of action buttons. Even the “x” shape on the game pads resembles the flexible “x” of the Xbox 360 logo.
So I began to consider, what does this represent? It seems to speak on how our future lies in the development of our technology. In this technological progression, humans interact less according to the opinions of some. Those who are considered to play video games are viewed as “killing zombies”, and are considered to not be fully aware of or feeling the extremely violent death in which they are causing and experiencing virtually. That’s because with a remote control, you are able to kill without being physically present. Therefore, this video game controller representation may be commenting on the desensitization of war, like video games. From a distance, with the press of a button, one can wipe out an entire country, much like nuclear warfare. This distance also makes war less personal. You can no longer instantly see the damage in which you are causing, the faces of those you kill, and you are avoiding all personal risk and danger in your murdering. So with this futuristic weapon, humans do not have to fight their own battles anymore, and in the graphic novel this is emphasized with the government’s use of robotic animals for the controller-weapon’s counterpart.
Did anyone else see this connection to video gaming? Would you argue it’s a social commentary on the desensitization of war?
I totally agree with you. I also wrote about the controller as well(in response to another poster who brought it up), but I didn’t express my thoughts about desensitization quite as well as you did. The thought was swirling around somewhere in my head but I couldn’t articulate it very well. Great post.
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