Immigrant Council Worried Over Portrayal of Eastern Europeans

April 29th, 2008 by Will Prusik in Action, Culture, News, PlayStation 3

It seems that Jack Thompson’s not the only one worried about the impact of Grand Theft Auto IV. The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants is worried about the effects the game will have on the public’s perception of Eastern Europeans. The protagonist of the tale, Niko Bellic, is a recent immigrant attempting to flee his past which includes involvement in the Bosnian war. Of course he becomes embroiled in violence and crime (hey it’s a GTA game, what’d you expect?) and this is what’s caused the commotion. The Council has complained that this game is based on ‘false stereotypes’. It seems to me that there isn’t much in the way of stereotypes regarding Eastern Europeans being violent gangster types. Just because you don’t like how a character is portrayed, doesn’t mean it’s racially motivated.

The only stereotype this plays on is less of a stereotype and more of an archetype: the ex-military man who ends up forced to use his combat training to survive in a situation where he’d much rather never touch a gun again. From some of the reviews I’ve read it seems to have a rather positive spin on the character, portraying him as a man scarred by war who regrets having to do yet more violence.

Tags: Action, Culture, News, PlayStation 3