The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto: Critical Essays

Grand Theft Auto is among the most culturally significant video game franchises in history. Popular among adult gamers, the games have become icons for child endangerment, and are frequently cited in political rhetoric directed against exposing violence and indecency to minors. This work, the first academic book to focus exclusively on a single game series, presents essays that examine the complex and popular GTA phenomenon. Part 1 discusses issues of censorship, satire and the intellectual impact of GTA. Part 2 studies how players meaningfully and purposefully play Grand Theft Auto games.

Seventeen international academics, researchers, and independent scholars contribute 14 essays designed to help academic game studies bridge the boundaries of academia to speak directly to the gaming public and other interested parties, including politicians, journalists, review boards, and parents. Focusing on the immensely popular and controversial Grand Theft Auto series of digital games, the initial essays examine how adult-oriented digital games have entered society and the controversies surrounding them. The text then approaches the games as they might be studied absent the controversy, examining how players meaningfully and purposefully play Grand Theft Auto games, including the ways that elements of daily life are represented and that players mediate the symbols in a game with their minds, computers, and controllers. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The immensely popular Grand Theft Auto game series has inspired a range of reactions among players and commentators, and a hot debate in the popular media. These essays from diverse theoretical perspectives expand the discussion by focusing scholarly analysis on the games, particularly Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Part One of the book discusses the fears, lawsuits, legislative proposals, and other public reactions to Grand Theft Auto, detailing the conflict between the developers of adult oriented games and various new forms of censorship. Depictions of race and violence, the pleasure of the carnivalistic gameplay, and the significance of sociopolitical satire in the series are all important elements in this controversy. The second section of the book approaches the games as they might be studied absent of the controversy. These essays study why and how players meaningfully play Grand Theft Auto games.