Grand Theft Auto has been around for 26 years now. Having become a monster of video games, the latest trailer of GTA 6 has created a huge excitement among fans by satirizing the current society. It has become a habit of the saga throughout its different episodes, as we will see.
The GTA 6 trailer released on December 5th generated a lot of excitement. In addition to getting a huge number of views (over 140 million views which surpasses those of GTA 5), Internet users also reacted to this trailer anchored more than ever in the news. The video allowed us to see the portrait of a decadent America due to image culture and the omnipresence of social networks. It’s no wonder that Rockstar Games is known for building a satire on the company through its licensing.
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Basically, GTAs have always been the exact opposite of games as we know them. Instead of presenting a hero on the right side of the law, Rockstar prefers to give us a marginal person who has to face socially accepted norms.. For example in GTA Vice City, the player plays Tommy Vercetti, former member of the Forelli family (Italian-American mafia criminal organization) and leader of the Vercetti Gang. In GTA IV, the player controls Niko Bellic, a Serbian immigrant on the run from his questionable past. For San Andreas, it is Carl Johnson, an African-American member of the Grove Street family, who serves as the player’s avatar. If we have always played this type of character in GTA, it is above all the third work in the series that will upset everything in the license.
On September 11, 2001, the world was in shock after the attacks on the World Trade Center. However, GTA III should have been released in these waters. So as not to shock the still grieving American people, Rockstar teams made last minute changes. For example, dismemberment of NPCs, especially using the sniper rifle or assault rifle, has been disabled in the PS2 version and it is impossible to destroy airliners. According to the developers, 1% of the title’s content has been censored. If Vice City came out a year later, it was above all with GTA San Andreas in 2004 that the saga offered a real criticism of contemporary America.
GTA San Andreas: between corrupt cops, racism and poverty
GTA San Andreas is the first title in the saga to criticize American society in a more marked way. Start, the studio chose to offer the player control of a black character, namely Carl Johnson aka CJ. Suffice it to say, this was a very unusual thing in 2004, when playable main characters of color were still rare in video games. Apart from this, the scenario will also develop the problem of disadvantaged neighborhoods in the United States. CJ will be thrown into a hot city in the middle of gang wars.
Our hero will also have to deal with corrupt police officers who will blame him for the murder of Ralph Pendelbury, another police officer. The police often put pressure on him by forcing him to work for them. Thereby, the whole issue of the laxity of justice towards guilty police officers is also denounced. Besides that, the scenario shows that a young man from a neighborhood like Los Santos will always fall into crime because he is marginalized by society.
Despite his message, GTA San Andreas had to deal with American puritanism due to a hidden mode removed at the last minute that allowed you to have sex. The story was traced back to Hillary Clinton, then a New York State Senator, who had called for new legislation following the story. “ We were getting attacked for support, which seemed a little unfair. If all this had been put into a book or a movie, people wouldn’t have batted an eye. There are much bigger problems in society. » Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar, regretted it in the columns of The Guardians. He also highlighted the fact that for some, sex is considered more serious than violence. Enough to demonstrate a certain hypocrisy in American society regarding firearms.
GTA 4 or the illusion of the American dream
In 2008, GTA 4 returned to this scandal through the Statue of Happiness, an obvious parody of New York’s Statue of Liberty. The statue has a face reminiscent of Hillary Clinton and is holding a steaming cup of coffee. But what is important about the monument is that it represents a harsh critique of the American dream. By parodying this sculpture, the developers will directly attack what it represents. The statue is the symbol of freedom and emancipation from oppression. After all, it is the first sight of the United States for millions of immigrants after a long crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Except, in GTA IV, the game’s manual describes the iconic landmark as a “gift from the French at the end of the 19th century, which evokes a bittersweet mix of patriotism and xenophobia“. This complaint comes down to the small details. In real life, on the tablet, we find the date of the United States Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 (“JULY IV MDCCLXXVI”). But in Liberty City this event is replaced by a much more cynical message:
Send us the brightest, the smartest, the smartest, who aspire to breathe free and submit to our authority. Look how we trick them into wiping rich people’s asses, while we convince them that this is a land of opportunity.
GTA 4 also marks a turning point in the saga by being the most serious title in the license. The artistic direction changes drastically. The license goes from a cartoon style with a bright, even flashy color palette with GTA Vice City, to darker colors, presenting Liberty City with gray and moody tones. This change of direction comes from the fact that the developers wanted to make their voices heard through this medium. « I don’t want to exaggerate, but with GTA IV we wanted to try to find something that could be better than the films, in a way: more alive and more vibrant. It was time to move on and do our own thing » Dan Houser explained at the time, in an interview for The Guardians.
The game sets the tone by asking us to play as Niko Bellic, a Serbian immigrant who fled his country and grew up in brutality participating in the Bosnian War. The character emerges marked by the atrocities he has experienced which leads him to a certain cynicism towards life, with a certain emotional detachment and numerous depressions. To abandon his daily life full of unhappiness, he goes to the United States on the advice of his cousin Roman. Thinking he can get rich, Niko Bellic will soon be disappointed. The American dream is replaced by a city consumed by violence, gangs and corruption that make it impossible to climb the social ladder without falling into crime..
GTA 5: social networks in an increasingly divided America
With Grand Theft Auto V the developers have once again struck hard by denouncing the excesses of their time. Social networks are highlighted in an unflattering way with Lifeinvader meant to be a parody of Facebook. It’s all in the name (invader of life) which is even more supported by an advertisement that presents the product: “ If you too dream of seeing your personal data finally accessible to the whole world, join us on Life Invader ».
Nevertheless, the most important message lies not in the criticism of these platforms, but in a society that no longer believes in the current economic system. « People have felt the great illusions and disappointments of capitalism like never before and that’s what we wanted to highlight. At the same time, we wanted to present money in all its macabre glory and make it an important aspect of the game. It’s a mechanic that still works well, but in a way that also reflects a world where it’s increasingly difficult to achieve. get out », observes Dan Houser in Libération.
GTA V also highlights an America divided between Republicans and Democrats. The city was built to support this vision. “ We’ve integrated this dichotomy into the heart of the game: the city map has a “blue” (Democratic) neighborhood with Los Santos and a “red” (Republican) neighborhood with Blaine County. It was really fun to show the juxtaposition of these two Americas in one game », continues the Rockstar co-founder. This social fraction is also supported by the different neighborhoods of the city. At the extremes, for example, is the very wealthy Richman area (note the name) where Vinewood celebrities live and play golf, as opposed to South Los Santos. This is the poorest and most dangerous neighborhood in the game, with its dilapidated buildings and gang wars. Additionally, residents of the Chamberlain Hills, Strawberry, and Davis neighborhoods are predominantly African-American, while Rancho is primarily composed of Hispanics, further exposing the social exclusion of minorities.
GTA 6 should continue what the series offers, according to the first trailer images. The trailer presents us with a Vice City of lust that does not prevent the presence of social inequalities with the problem of poverty for example. From what we’ve seen, the city is in a permanent state of debauchery, which particularly results in the hypersexualization of women. In this context, playing a female protagonist with Lucia is the ideal opportunity to offer a critique of this vision. And then, to stay updated and in the continuity of GTA 5, even social networks should not be spared. In any case response in 2025.
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2024-01-01 05:05:02
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