Eugen Pfister

While there are many possible futures, there can only be one past. We therefore believe that it is the work of the historians to unearth this one past, to reconstruct it and teach us about it. In this logic it should therefore be possible to recreate this one historical past in video games for us to relive it. This is at least what some marketing divisions try to sell us. The truth is however, that every generation has its own history, its own past. Our actual view on the Mediaeval Ages differs profoundly from history text books of the 1950s, and not so much because of new evidence but because of our changed interests in the past. History has always been a profoundly ideological subject. It is commonly instrumentalized by political actors to prove that their agenda is validated by the past, especially from a conservative point of view. This also happens in our popular culture and more specifically in video games. History functions as a „myth“ according to Roland Barthes on a subconscious level. The myth is a sign – a statement, which presents an ideology as if it were a ‘natural’ – therefore unchallenged – condition of the world. It perpetuates a distinct idea of society that adheres to political, cultural and social discourses. Consequently, these myths are reproduced and received unconsciously in video games, nevertheless functioning as instruments of political socialization.

Panel discussion. Moderation: Felix Zimmermann