Can Grand Theft Auto Still Be Considered Satire?

If you, like me, grew up through the late 90s and early 2000s, you will probably know of the anarchic, headline grabbing, fear mongering series of video games known as Grand Theft Auto. Whilst starting out as a top down 2D riot, the series progressively became more of a commentary and satire on American culture. GTA: Vice City looked to the cocaine fuelled 80s for its rendition of Miami; GTA: San Andreas was set in a 90s era parody of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, and looked at the plight of African Americans during this time, in the form of the corrupt and heavy handed LAPD (see the 1992 Rodney King riots); GTA IV examined the contemporary immigrant perspective of the “American Dream”, and discovering that it is failing.

So what of the latest entry, GTA V? Well, that is a little more difficult to decipher.

Firstly, let’s look to the characters, of which the player can chose from three to inhabit throughout the story. Whilst novel for the series, there is nothing particularly interesting about two out of the three: Michael is the stereotypical baby boomer, clinging to his past as a bank robber for a sense of purpose and achievement; Franklin, meanwhile, is a 20 something African American trying to make it out of south central Los Santos (the in game stand in for LA) legitimately, but gets sucked into a life of crime anyway.

These characters are simply tropes that the player and non-gamers see every day, pulled from Hollywood and television. Perhaps this is the point, given GTA V’s location. But if the game is a satire, surely these characters will be subverted? Arguable they are not, as Michael and Franklin never really demonstrate self-awareness, or grow as characters. Michael does display a modicum of self-awareness in his therapy sessions, but these are largely player driven and, as stated above, Michael does nothing to change his behaviour.

Rockstar, 2013

Some effort is made, however, in the presentation and deconstruction of the “American Dream”. Michael actually lives the “Dream”, with a big house in the suburbs, a wife, a son, and a daughter. But his dream is a sham: his house is paid for by a corrupt police officer abusing the witness protection programme; his wife continually cheats on him because Michael is too wrapped up in his past glory to really notice her; the two kids have become the narcissistic, fame and video game obsessed millennial stereotype.

A millennial writing about video games on the internet hoping strangers give a damn about what he’s saying? No, the irony is not lost on me.

Franklin, too, sees the failing of the “American Dream”. Yes, he manages to leave south central LS, but only because of the proceeds of crime and shady dealings with government officials. All the while, he is in danger of his criminal life having consequences. The “American Dream” is supposedly built on the idea that working hard and playing by the rules will get you places in the United States, but the player sees this to be a falsehood through Michael and Franklin, and many of the other characters in the game, particularly law enforcement and government officials.

Rockstar, 2013

The only really interesting character is Trevor, who is a subversion of the player themselves, or rather, how everyone thinks gamers play Grand Theft Auto. Where Michael and Franklin’s characters are ripped from film and television drama, Trevor is ripped from reactionary news headlines, politicians, and petitions calling for the game to be banned. Whilst the player is derided for having the ability to have sex with a prostitute, kill her, and steal her money, Trevor can pick up hitchhikers to deliver them to a murderous cult. He often wakes up drunk, wearing nothing but his underwear, surrounded by dead bodies. Trevor is obsessed with and revels in sex, drugs, and violence. In way then, Trevor is Rockstar holding up a mirror to the player and their actions, and often to comedic fashion.

Trevor is also able to hold up a mirror to one other aspect of the United States, and that is the attitudes of federal law enforcement regarding torture. That’s right, it’s the return of the endlessly fun and my personal favourite topic; the “War on Terror”! The player, through Trevor, is coerced into torturing a kidnapped man for information on behalf of the FIB (the amusingly re-acronymed FBI), despite the man already giving up the information willingly. This is both a commentary on the extraordinary rendition tactics and the “enhanced interrogation” techniques employed by the CIA and other intelligence agencies. The game goes as far as to suggest that the torturing of terror suspects isn’t about the intelligence at all, but rather that the torturer enjoys the sadistic power of the situation.

Rockstar, 2013

But this is the closest GTA V comes to really commentating on the nuances of modern American life, favouring the path of simulation instead. The game features traffic cycles that fluctuate with the time of day, creating rush hour traffic; the weather is dynamic; the player can get drunk, and even partake in hobbies like mountain biking, hiking, hunting, or playing golf. One activity, though, does retain some level of parody, and that is the consumption of media.

The radio stations continue to be a big draw of GTA, providing a digetic soundtrack (a soundtrack that exists for the character as well as the player) as the player drives through the city and countryside. Not just this, but there are talk radio stations that focus on social commentary. West Coast Talk Radio takes aim at new age hippies, hipsters, life coaches, and faith healers, pointing out the sheer ridiculousness and arrogance of some of these people.

The second talk radio station, Blaine County Talk Radio, is a bizarre conspiracy theorists radio station with heavy redneck stereotyping (its moto is “Heritage, not hate … well, maybe some hate”). But rather than making fun of US society as a whole, these radio stations take cheap shots against people who are already very widely made fun off, and this is perhaps the main issue I have with GTA V’s idea of satire. The in game television shows offer the same base parody of pariah-esque groups, particularly “Fame or Shame”, the game’s reality TV show, modelled after American Idol. The screeching contestants, only interested in their own fame and displaying no real talent, again only really serve as cheap shots, along with the cold and abusive judges.

Rockstar, 2013

In GTA IV Rockstar introduced Weazel News into the world of GTA as a direct parody of Fox News and the reactionary 24 hours TV news industry. Its right wing voice provided endless amusement as it hit the right tone for Rockstar’s universe. However, it’s continuation into GTA V is extremely lacklustre compared to its previous incarnation. It’s still humorous, but in the way that it is absurd rather than uncanny; there is no real parody left in the news reports, just ridiculous stories.

I actually really didn’t want to come to this conclusion. In the past GTA has been a beacon of snarky, satirical humour that had a genuine impact on those that played it, culminating in GTA IV. Now though, with GTA V, I have to say that the satire has been replaced with lazy humour and a greater focus on the simulation. Whilst the gameplay is still anarchic and fun, the greater world lacks that social commentary that made previous titles great; any commentary that begins to be made ultimately gets brushed aside with a joke and never looked at again. It’s a shame, and I hope Rockstar find their satirical flair in time for GTA VI, whenever that comes out.

All images sourced from igtav.com