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Posted by Chris Stein at 1/16/2005 11:59:00 PM
currently i am amazed and amused by 'grand theft auto san andreas'... i've been playing it a little bit though not too obsessively... what knocks me out about it is its cultural orientation... i'd dealt with the other earlier versions of the game but in them the central characters are less defined, they were a sort of mix of tough guy semi italian gangster types, but here we have the black gangster urban myth sharply etched onto a weirdly retro background; the game begins by telling you its taking place in the early nineties, already ancient history, is this cause the audience is so young or so the music is 'right'?, its funny how fast things turn over... anyway we are/follow the trials and tribulations of 'Carl', archetypal black anti hero as he goes on drive-bys whacks crack dealers and gains 'respect' in the hood... but what weirds me out the most is just the intent of the thing... even more than contemporary films theres something about san andreas that finally puts the black gangster hero on a par with your wild west cowboy scenario, its always been there but here its right in your face... i keep thinking of an army of white geek computer types having heavy identification with this 'dangerous' black model, glamorized out of all reality... here we can live the urban ghetto myth without any of the real problems... i cant tell if its really a good thing but theres something compelling about putting this high end glamour on former social outcasts... if it makes a whole generation of white kids long to be black then i'm all for it even though all the murdering etc is possibly regretful, though we still have john wayne grabbing the indian by the neck and saying "you talk pretty good american for a red skin" something to that effect anyway etc... ok corral is certainly no less violent and is no doubt considered 'respectable' by those who might be detractors of grand theft
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