Video Game Characters to Get Out the Vote

Thanks to Gamasutra for the heads up about a political music video starring video game characters that is to start airing on MTV today. The newest "Choose or Lose" video will feature characters from popular video games such as The Sims and BloodRayne and is intended to encourage youth voters to show up at the polls. The video will air for the first time on MTV today on TRL, and afterwards can be seen on the MTV Choose or Lose site. This follows closely on the heels of MTV2's Video Mods series, which uses video game footage for the visuals in music videos.

Comments

If it takes video game characters

[hsmith]

to get people to vote, obviously they don't need to be voting.

An informed public is far better than one that just votes to vote

Re:If it takes video game characters

[BillyZ]

So you are then implying that gamers are uninformed? Simply because someone needs motivation to vote, does not necessarily mean they are also uninformed.

Re:If it takes video game characters

[GoofyBoy]

They are uninformed how important their vote is.

If they lack this basic knowledge, how would they know about the real, deep, political issues are?

Re:If it takes video game characters

[Felinoid]

They are uninformed how important their vote is.

If they lack this basic knowledge, how would they know about the real, deep, political issues are?

Most people I've known who don't vote do so not out of ignorence of the vote but of knowladge.

"My one vote won't make a diffrence"

It's apathy and what most people don't realise is the wise lead by example. Even when it's a bad example.

One less vote becomes 50, becomes 1,000.
But nobody really seams to understand that.

Your one vote dosen't make for a hill of beans. It's the people who vote folowing your example that make it count.

However one might wonder what example is set by a yellow circle with an eating disorder.

Don't blame me

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

... I voted for Lara and Sonic

--
Free gmail invites

By all means vote if you have an opinion

[cerebralsugar]

Another get out and vote drive. It's cool they use video game characters. But I can't help but feel these "public service announcments" are politically motivated.

Before I seem like a troll, lets consider:

Anyone who is not a felon, at least 18, and not an african american from florida, can register to vote. *drumroll*! I'm just kidding. That last part was uncalled for. But disenfranchised voters is another discussion, and a more serious one. So lets just say, most people who are 18 and not in jail can vote. They have the right. Politically motivated disenfranchising laws aside.

Why do we care if people vote or not? Why do we try to chide them into it? If you are directly affected by the policies of your elected officials, you will probably vote. If you don't care, why should you be made to vote?

And then they have these voter drives. Why does MTV care if their viewers vote? I'm guessing somewhere somebody has statistics that shows men 18-24 or whatever their demographic is, is "predominatly left" or "predominantly right". So, lets use propaganda to mobilize them. Lets mobilize a flock of voters that carry our view.

Its dumb, if you care vote, if you don't, don't. I certainly don't care if you do or not. The only crime is if you do care and you don't vote.

A much more serious issue is voter disenfranchisement - people who do care, who would vote, who are silenced. That is a huge issue. Why dont we see any commercials with video game charactars that say "voter disenfranchisment is bad"?

I like civic participation but i'm for civic knowledge first, if you don't care, don't go in and blindly pick because MTV tells you too! That doesn't help anyone.

Re:What next, GI Joe and the Transformers?

[elrick_the_brave]

Lol... whats scary is I can relate totally to this... although I would throw in some Family Guy/Futurama

Scene: Drunken Clam with Peter and Brian at the bar watching TV
Peter (Hand on beer): "Holy crap Brian, there's an election!"
Brian (Sipping martini): "Yeah, doesn't democracy turn your crank?"
TV - Commercial with monster trucks & bikini babes: "Monday Monday Monday.. vote your mind.. see Bush-zilla go against Scary Kerry!"
Peter: "Holy crap Brian, there's monster trucks coming to town!"
Brian: "Yeah, I vote for the babe in the red."
Everyone: "Get out and vote... or miss awesome democratic action.. Monday Monday Monday."

Scene: Fry and Leela in the Hall of Heads - Presidents section.
Fry: "Look Leela! It's former President Bush Jr. and former presidential candidate Kerry."
Leela: "Weren't those guys the odd couple from your century... destroying countries for oil and imposing Western civility on everyone?"
Fry (blank look): "Riiight... something like that."
Bush Jr. Head: "I stand by my decision to defend and pummel their asses!"
Kerry Head: "I stand by him and say I would have made similar but different decisions that saves lives but costs money!"
Everyone: "Vote your conscience! Vote for Candidate Blarg from Ceti-Alpha Six!"