Essay - South Park and World of Warcraft - What does it all really mean?

Behind all of the humor and satire that exists within South Park, there are concrete messages that describe human nature. The World of Warcraft episode is no exception to this rule; the message is just being transferred through a different medium. Through the use of technology and specifically the WoW video game, the creators of South Park are teaching the viewers about themselves and the society in which they live. The main elements that covey the message in this episode are the roles of race and gender, the ability of the player to identify with the character, the interactivity of the characters in the game compared to that of the kids outside of the game, the role of power, along with the physical and social effects of the game on society and its values. These individual elements and their relation to each other provides some insight into what motivates people to do certain things and how those individual decisions fit into society as a whole.

In order to understand the message of gender and race roles in our society the viewer can focus on the characters that represent the boys in World of Warcraft. First focusing on the lives of the boys in real life and then comparing them to their characters in the game will allow the message to be revealed. Kyle is Jewish and he is constantly ridiculed by Cartman for being a Jew. He experiences discrimination and name-calling from Cartman in a crudely humorous way. However, this is meant to convey the racism and hatred that still exists for Jews in some places today. It is also a reflection of the racist theories that were developed by Hitler and the Germans. To convey this same inferiority in the game of WoW, Kyle plays a female warrior. He will be seen as weak and inferior in the game, just as he is in real life, if only by Cartman. In that sense Kyle can identify with the female as a minority. The viewer can also learn something from Cartman’s character, a dwarf, and how it relates to him in real life. Dwarfs are very short and cannot perform certain activities that the average person can. Because of physical stature and other physical characteristics they may be looked down upon, or pitied by others. Cartman is a chubby kid, who is commonly referred to as “fat ass” by the other kids. He is constantly cracking jokes on people and insulting his peers as well as adults. This could be a cover-up for his feelings of insignificance or self-esteem issues. He identifies with the different look of the dwarf which makes him stand out amongst the other players. Token, the only Black character on the show plays a Black warrior in the game. He is made out to be the “token” Black guy within the video game world, as he is the “token” Black kid at school. This is mocking the whole idea of often placing one Black person or minority in a film or TV series in order to create so called diversity. This is also evidence that the game is being used to represent elements that exist within our society. Like Kyle and Cartman, Token may have picked this character because he could indentify with him on the basis of race.

Through the discussion of race, gender and other physical characteristics of the characters, the viewer can see that a player’s ability to personally identify with the character is a key element. Finding a player that either represent’s who you are, who you want to be, or that displays some type of characteristic that is similar to you creates a bond. The game creators purposely create different races, genders and abilities not just to make the game interesting, but more importantly to replicate the real world. They want to make sure that everyone can find a character to identify with in some way. This is where the interactivity comes into play. The boys interact with each other in the game just as they do in real life. This can be seen in many ways. Cartman has always been the leader of the group and he is the leader in the game as well. He gives all of the directions concerning the group as a whole along with specific individual actions. Secondly, when the kids are playing the game we do not seem them anymore, we only see their characters. Even when they are having conversations about topics that have nothing to do with the actual game, we hear their voices, but see their characters bodies. Some examples are when Cartman explains how he had to “take a dump” while the others were waiting, when Butters logs on as the exact same character as Cartman and Cartman yells at him before telling him to log back on as a different race, and when Stan and his dad have a heart to heart through the game. There are couple ways to interpret this. It could signify that players become so involved with their characters that they actually do become their characters. It also shows how the game allows players to do and act in a way that they wouldn’t normally act. They can feel free to put themselves out there because they can hide behind the appearance of the character, while doing things that they themselves really want to do. Stan’s dad confesses his fatherly love and feelings toward Stan in the game, instead of telling him in person. This allowed for him to say what he really felt, while still protecting himself. He was able to use the character as a mask and as a medium to say what he himself couldn’t say to his son face to face. This brings up another issue of video games providing a means for the player to compensate for his/her own shortcomings and faults. In the virtual world people are allowed to be who they wish they were and they are capable of doing the things they wish they could actually do.

This idea of compensating for one’s shortcomings and being able to do the unthinkable is something that ties into the role played by the advanced gamer also known as the guy who “has no life.” He reaches a level where he is able to kill anyone, even the admins. He has evolved to a point where the rules no longer apply and his intelligence, abilities and powers have exceeded those of the creators of the world in which he exists. One way to view this is to relate it to the idea that “rules are made to be broken.” When rules are created there is a chance that someday, whether due to change in thought or change in technology, the rule will be deemed unfit or outdated; someone will eventually find a way to go around it, or get rid of it all together. In this case, it took this gamer a year and a half to get around or bypass the rules of the system. This could also imply several things about our society. Maybe those in charge never seem to make concrete rules and regulations that some loophole or carefully planned escape route can’t go around. Another is that we will always have people in society who will spend most of their time and energy finding someway to manipulate or crack the system or governing body. It also says that intelligence and power in the wrong hands can lead to destruction, in this case that would be the wiping out of an entire population. The fact that the gamer never spoke during the game is yet another aspect to be discussed. It shows that the gamer is so powerful that he doesn’t need to speak or explain anything to the other gamers who are inferior and below his level. He just acts and watches as those weaker than him suffer the consequences, with no explanation of why he is attacking them. This reflects another serious problem with those in high ranking positions in our society. Those in power often act and create plans that affect others below them without bothering to explain their actions to those very people. They often feel as though they can make decisions without question because they have “earned” the right to do so. The advanced gamer obnoxiously dances in front of the boys’ characters before he kills them, mocking them and showing how easy it is going to be to kill them. He doesn’t take them seriously because they do not present a threat to him; he is on a much higher level and has far greater power within the WoW.

Finally the physical and social effects that the gaming has on the boys is also important. They gradually become bigger and bigger, and eventually end up looking just like the “guy who has no life.” They have to become him in a sense, in order to outsmart and defeat him. They have to reach his level in the game, but as a consequence they also degrade to his level of physical fitness. They take on his lifestyle of sitting at the computer 24/7, not moving to perform daily activities such as using the bathroom or getting food, and they are suffering from sleep-deprivation. This is a slightly exaggerated way to portray the negative effects that constant gaming can cause. The boys’ entire lives are affected as they become shut-off from the world. They are either locked up in the computer lab at school, glued to their personal computers at home, or hibernating in Cartman’s basement. Socially the boys form of interaction changes, as they go from talking to each other face to face to “socializing” through the video game. This provides a glimpse into the impact that technology is having on our society, specifically the youth. It becomes everything they talk about and all other elements of their lives must be pushed aside in order to make WoW their number one priority. Most of the adults seemed to go right along with it, with the exception of Stan’s mom. This says something about how technology affects the older members of society. For the most part parents seem to just go along with whatever is the latest craze and rave in technology. Sometimes, they may allow their children to push aside school, chores, and other priorities in order for them to play the latest video game. It also says that some parents may not even be aware of what their kids are doing on their computers, while locked in their rooms. They might also be naïve to the negative outcomes, such as addiction that can result from what seems to be a harmless form of entertainment.

This episode showed the effects that video games like World of Warcraft have on young children, adults and society as a whole; it uses the video game as a medium to show how people in our society think and how that thinking has or hasn’t changed. Furthermore, it shows how our values and ideas about what is acceptable are constantly changing, as most aspects of our lives seemed to be completely centered on technology.