One always wonders if the person making such statements has ever touched the video game in question.
According to Polygon citing The Daily Telegraph , former French minister and presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon has slammed the recently released Assassin's Creed Unity .
It's set during the French Revolution and Melenchon says the game is just "propaganda" and presents certain historical figures such as the "cretin" Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI as upstanding people. On the flip side, he claims the game depicts the French masses as savages. For instance, while Ubisoft supposedly shows Robespierre as a monster, Melenchon says he was the "hero of the French Revolution."
"It is propaganda against the people, the people who are (portrayed as) barbarians, bloodthirsty savages. In 1789 there were the poor aristocrats, and they are presented as fine upstanding people."
Melenchon finished by saying the game "presents an image of hatred of the Revolution, hatred of the people, hatred of the republic which is rampant in the far-right milieu (of today)." A few things here, presidential candidate:
Firstly, when mobs riot in the streets, as they absolutely did in the French Revolution, it's not going to be pretty. And it doesn't mean those participating are "savages." Secondly, in fact, the people Arno most frequently helps in the game are the poor and helpless; he's not running around only doing missions for the rich. Actually, throughout this franchise's history, the presentation is often anti -Aristocratic in every sense of the term. The rich are typically portrayed as corrupt, cold and even downright evil; the last time a poor citizen in any Assassin's Creed was portrayed the same way…well, I can't think of it.
Maybe we should add that Ubisoft is a French company , something I seriously doubt Melenchon even knows. I would also be interested to know, considering the current global state, where this "far-right milieu" is "running rampant" because it sure as hell isn't in this country. And how prevalent is it in some of the Socialist countries in Europe? Like, for instance, France? The bottom line is that the French Revolution was a bloody, violent, chaotic uprising, and I think most historians will say the depictions in Unity aren't unrealistic. It's also painfully obvious that this Melenchon character has no idea what this franchise is about, or even what this particular game is about.
Don't these people have advisers and campaign managers and stuff? Do they ever do any research or do they just let the candidate stand up there and make a fool of himself whenever he chooses?
as always politicians and video games do not mix
Actually in parts of Europe (and even in France I believe, though not in the official government) there are a lot of far-right parties/ideologies on the rise so that's probably why he said that and probably why his completely idiotic perception of the game elicited such a strong response.
Still he obviously has never played the game and almost certainly isn't aware that Ubisoft is a French company, and as you said Ben, looks quite silly for making these remarks.
The point of propaganda is to make some people believe that other people are less than human.
The point of a video game is to entertain and sell.
Not sure about where you got your definition of what propaganda is. You might want to look it up again. It can be said that all entertainment is a form of propaganda.
Last edited by AMERICANSHEEPLE on 11/18/2014 6:03:56 PM
You could say that, but it'd be wrong. You can't label all opinions as propaganda. Propaganda is intentionally misleading. That is the essence of it's definition. You can exist logically on either side of an argument with the information you have available, since anything worth discussing is full of grey area and it not be propaganda.
World is right. Propaganda seeks to make the other guys look like idiots/less than human/deceivers. It may do that directly, like in basically any political ad, or it may do so by giving intentionally misleading factoids. Usually the most effective propaganda is "proof" that uses concrete and actual fact but mixes it with just enough opinion and hearsay to prove the conclusion you want to reach.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 11/18/2014 6:15:25 PM
You can create propaganda that is entertainment. Just ask Goebbels or Griffith. In fact, the best propaganda is disguised as something else from the start. A videogame could easily be propaganda, not that I think Unity is, or that I care.
Well…Unity is anything but that. Idiots.
"THIS WORK OF FICTION WAS DESIGNED, DEVELOPED AND PRODUCED BY A MULTICULTURAL TEAM OF VARIOUS RELIGIOUS FAITHS AND BELIEFS"
A bad game is a bad game, but trying to do this with it is just ridiculous. Jean-Luc Melenchon should play the damn game before he opens his mouth.
@Underdog15
Feel free to reread my comment, because nowhere in it do I state anything about opinions being propaganda. NOWHERE! I said and I repeat "All forms of entertainment are forms of propaganda". Funny thing is opinions are a form of propaganda, but that was not my point.
It's clear that you too should also look up the definition of propaganda, so I'll do it for you.
Propaganda: – noun
information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
Not sure where in the definition your finding other guys look like idiots/less than human/deceivers but it's just not there.
Cigarettes make you look cool = propaganda
Drinking soda means your hip = propaganda
Basically any commercial is propaganda.
"All forms of entertainment are forms of propaganda"
no.
"Opinions are a form of propaganda"
no.
I read your post again. You had me worried. I was relieved to see I read it perfectly the first time. If we're gonna start getting ultra-literal about what one another are saying, nowhere (and should I repeat that word in full-caps to really drive home my point?) did I say " finding other guys look like idiots/less than human/deceivers" is the exact definition. I said it was the intention of propaganda. Not the definition of it.
An opinion is not propaganda. You might use propaganda to give more credence to your opinion, but they are not the same. Even using the definition you provided, it's clear a simple opinion is not even close to the true definition of propaganda. That's like saying "faith" and "religion" are the same thing. They might be related… even extremely closely related at times… but they are completely separate concepts.
In my opinion, soccer is the greatest sport in the world. I just really enjoy it more than other sports. <– not propaganda.
Soccer is the greatest sport because it has the most fans across the world. You might like another sport better personally, but you can't possibly be right since a majority of the world disagrees with you. If you don't agree, it's because you just don't understand it. <– (weak) propaganda
Last edited by Underdog15 on 11/18/2014 9:33:37 PM
My my my.
Do you know what entertainment means? It means to occupy the mind. Entertainment is the most widely used form of propaganda on the planet, and the most successful I might add, because it works on the conscious/subconscious mind. For propaganda to work you need both of these elements.
Do you really believe that movie studios, producers, software companies, etc are only in it for the money? Money is a byproduct. The true goal is to occupy your mind. If you think that there is no agenda other than to make boatloads of money then you are deceived.
Where do ideas come from? From people's opinions/beliefs No? Or do they just pop up from nothingness? To have an idea you must first have an opinion on something, No?
And no soccer is not the greatest sport in the world. It is the most popular sport, & that's because it has the most fans. Popularity does not = greatness.
Jean-Luc Melenchon should play the game before spouting off to the press, or at least research a bit about it/the series. Always find it slightly entertaining how idiotic those 'in power' can make themselves seem, however it is a shame that they do so blindly as it means they are not taking note of the world around them.
On a side note – why can some people not work out how to use the reply button?
Anyone who thinks the "far right" isn't "running rampant" here in the US paid absolutely zero attention to the elections this month. Just because we have a moderate liberal in the white house doesn't mean we're some bastion of socialism.
I agree completely.
To be fair to this guy as well, I read somewhere that he added to his comment saying he does believe that video games are a legitimate art form, so while his views on Unity are wildly misguided he isn't all bad for the industry.
I haven't played the game but if the main character does indeed do missions FOR the French aristocrats then there's a problem there.
It would be like having a game where we do missions FOR the nazis or for Hitler himself.
yeah this was silly
happy gaming