The Racialization of Labor in World of Warcraft
“Abstract: This article examines the racialization of informational labor in machinima about Chinese player workers in the massively multiplayer online role playing game World of Warcraft. Such fan-produced video content extends the representational space of the game and produces overtly racist narrative space to attach to a narrative that, while carefully avoiding explicit references to racism or racial conflict in our world, is premised upon a racial war in an imaginary world — the World of Azeroth. This profiling activity is part of a larger biometric turn initiated by digital culture’s informationalization of the body and illustrates the problematics of informationalized capitalism. If late capitalism is characterized by the requirement for subjects to be possessive individuals, to make claims to citizenship based on ownership of property, then player workers are unnatural subjects in that they are unable to obtain avatarial self-possession. The painful paradox of this dynamic lies in the ways that it mirrors the dispossession of information workers in the Fourth Worlds engendered by ongoing processes of globalization. As long as Asian “farmers” are figured as unwanted guest workers within the culture of MMOs, user-produced extensions of MMO-space like machinima will most likely continue to depict Asian culture as threatening to the beauty and desirability of shared virtual space in the World of Warcraft.” Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game: The Racialization of Labor in World of Warcraft, Lisa Nakamura, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Published in Critical Studies in Media Communication. [via]
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One Response
Hm… not a very well written essay…
it is sad that “farming” exists at all… to me it is “Bad sportsmanship” for a player to pay another player with real money for in game items. It cheapens the game experience for all players. (like buying monopoly spots with real money instead of in game money). “farmers” are NOT only asian… I know a guy down my street who did it. It is unfortunate that the stereotype has stuck, and that that type of ’sweat shop gamer’ player is in demand.
However, I don’t think the author has a good grasp on the gaming world and culture; and how it relates to racism.
they seem to be of the opinion that the game has created racism… I believe that racism and longstanding economic circumstances have infected the game. this has been going on long before WOW, and, it is what us companies factory and shoe companies do every day. Fan based content is nothing new… and racist fans will create racist fan content.
also to note… the internet being a forum without the usual inhibitions of face-to-face or academic/serious political interactions, tend to produce. and to ask any internet community to be completely serious is unrealistic.
the author in he conclusion also woe’s the absence of PRO farmer fan-content… I say Why should there be pro farmer content? the author herself finds it a disgusting practice.
Blizzard and fair WOW players.. (and other fair game companys and gamers) are the victims of users who buy in game content and create the demand for farmers.
peace and <3
Erica
p.s.
another painful note which i must correct is a statement made about female dwarfs. the author says they are not popular due to their association with Chinese farmers… this is un true. Female dwarfs have NEVER been popular player characters in fantasy games. why? because short women with beards are not sexy in our society. Start a discussion about body image and fantasy games… THEN talk about female dwares.