Reddit reviews War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning

Heya. Sorry to hijack the top comment, but I'm coming into the tread late and I suspect this comment will just get buried.

I was a producer for four years at Ubisoft between 2003 and 2007, and I worked exclusively on Tom Clancy games. I definitely feel today the the Clancy games are jingoistic, though it took me a long time to realize it.

Right off the bat, I want to say it's not a conscious decision. The teams I interacted with in four different Ubisoft studios were incredibly diverse in terms of nationalities and backgrounds, so I think overall, for the production teams, American realpolitik was a bit of a fantasy world without much consequence in the real world. I certainly didn't give it much thought back then.

But then, I remember distinctly... I was at an E3 where Ghost Recon 2 was being shown, and amazingly enough, some North Koreans learned that they were the enemies in that game and reacted strongly through official DPRK papers. I initially found this hilarious, but it got me thinking how it must feel to be one of those enemies in a Clancy game. And little by little I grew uncomfortable with my involvement in those games.

That uneasiness grew when, around 2007, Ubisoft became the publisher on consoles for America's Army. I mean, it's one thing to make a war game fantasy a la Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, but to actually publish a game built as a recruitment tool for the U.S. Army? It was a lot to swallow coming from a French company.

I worked close to writers on many of these games and we always tried to infuse some sense of morality, some actual thought about the cost of war and the ethical implications of it. But when your canvas is a team of badass American soldiers going into enemy territory to take out a cartoony villain, there's just so much wiggle room. I think the most successful series to do this was Splinter Cell, because Fisher was always caught in the consequences of his actions up close.

(Slight disgression here: yes, Ironside helped shape the character through his performance, but he had little if no influence in shaping the character besides suggesting some line rewrites in the sound booth. Him talking about defining Fisher is just playing off for the camera.)

Anyway, to come back to modern-day Clancy jingoism: I think what you're seeing is just developers playing to what they think the audience wants. They get inspired by Hollywood and other games, not the least, I suspect, being the CoD franchise. Based on my personal experience I don't think it's 1) a new thing at all, nor 2) a premeditated thing beyond wanting to give the fans what they think they want.

I'm glad I'm not on these games all the same, because I realize that, as innocent as the intent is, they feed into a collective, multimedia fantasy about the meaning and impact of military intervention abroad. And the older I get, the less comfortable I am with that.

A few years ago I read War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges and that shook me to my core as it made me realize the deep impact of war, what the experience truly is, and how we play it off for fun and patriotism in a way that's almost perverse. I'll admit I'm still involved in games that portray violence or fantasy war, but I'm glad I'm no longer feeding the perception of war in the present or near-future.

> Again and again, he has urged the reader to bask in awesome feel-good moments of warmongering, such as Robb’s “King in the North” crowning, Dany’s “Dracarys” in Astapor, and Doran’s “Fire and Blood” speech to Arianne…

I like this a lot, because IMO there is something innate within humanity which loves conflict. We feel a mini adrenaline rush at those scenes, because it's a mini version of what war is like. As Chris Hedges wrote in fantastic book War is a Force Which Gives Us Meaning

> The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.

In actual combat, this magnified many, many times over, but reading (and seeing) the Dracarys scene gave me a familiar "Fuck yeah!" feeling at watching people buy it. And sure, they were reprehensible, but I mean we are reading/watching people burn to death. Even your quote to end this blog post gave me this feeling.

> The dragons are now unchained, and the gloves are off.

Anyways, fantastic post, great series, looking forward to the next part. Cheers

>What is it with these types and war metaphors?

War Is A Force That Gives Them Meaning

I highly, highly recommend Hedges' book "War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning."

http://www.amazon.com/War-Force-that-Gives-Meaning/dp/1400034639

Chris Hedges actually wrote a book about his experience in war zones, how some of his fellow journalists literally becoming addicted to the action. The books called War Is a force that gives us meaning. He called it a drug, a very potent one in fact. I'm simply borrowing the phrase as I've never seen combat myself. But it's not exactly a controversial view or anything.

There seems to be two types of people who goto war, those, like Smedley Butler who see war for what it is, largely an unglamorous and unvirtuous means for men in power to dominate the resources of those without it. And there is this dude, who buys into the myth his fathers and grandfathers have drummed into his head, that War is Glorious. That it makes you a Man. etc.

Chris Hedges has a great book based on his life as a war reporter, War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. As you say, people in those situations feel a heightened sense of life, and then have a hard time adjusting to the world without that struggle.

'War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning', very much worth a read.

https://www.amazon.com/War-Force-that-Gives-Meaning/dp/1400034639

I'd recommend reading War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning. Pretty short read and you can find paperbacks for less than five bucks.

War is a force that gives us meaning.

Victory Point: Talks about Operations Red Wings and Whalers; really good book that tells you the other side about Lone Survivor, and how the Navy Seals were so into themselves that they ignored all recommendations about how to perform the operation.

War is a Force that gives up Meaning: Talks about those who experience war and how they become dependent on it (having served combat in Iraq, this book really stuck with me).

War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning

War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges.

A succinct essay about the horror of war and its paradoxical allure.

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes.

Probably one of the best war novels I've ever read. Based on the author's own experiences as a platoon leader in Vietnam.

Pretty amazing book about this very topic. Not as much about the logistics but the philosophy of the topic. Not a happy read but worth it.

http://www.amazon.com/War-Force-that-Gives-Meaning/dp/1400034639

I actually guessed Cyprus from reading Chris Hedges book War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. Thanks; I love stuff like this.

"War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning"

Great book

http://www.amazon.com/War-Force-that-Gives-Meaning/dp/1400034639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393981296&sr=8-1&keywords=war+is+a+force+that+gives+us+meaning

War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning

--Chris Hedges

http://www.amazon.com/War-Force-that-Gives-Meaning/dp/1400034639

The truth is that we pink monkeys crave war and seek to create the conditions for it.

The historical mess in the middle east will not be resolved until something drastic happens; the history of Israel in the region is one of repeated bellus interruptus (to coin a phrase) where hostilities started, but were stopped by external forces before being resolved...

At least that's what I think on more cynical days. (like today)

No I'm not trolling and yes, I'm a poor student of propaganda.

Start here... educate yourself. http://www.amazon.com/War-Force-that-Gives-Meaning/dp/1400034639

We need not be complicit in recruiting young men to die for the wealthy. Crap like this kills people. Literally. Crap like this kills young men.