Megan Vrolijk

I think that the video game America's Army affects the amount of recruitment and armed conflicts engaged in by the U.S. as much as the any other media system. While the level of realism within a first person shooter is more intense, a war movie can often serve the same goal as in Top Gun. I think that the role of media as a whole (video, photographs, video games) allow individuals to become detached from the realities of war. Often video and television play a large role in creating heroism having to do with the military. America's Army adds a different dynamic by allowing the player to see what the army portrays serving as. However, what I wonder is how much different is this portrayal than a movie like Black Hawk Down or Saving Private Ryan? Each of these movies embody the heroism that the military relies on. The difference between the video game and the film is how the audience relates to each.