So today I have been laying in bed sick. During this time, it is rough to sit up and do anything other than watch TV or sit back with a controller in my hands playing a console game. Since Saturday, I have been playing Grand Theft Auto 5 as I was finally able to purchase this (a week after launch). While playing the game, I happened to notice quite a few things that struck me as closer to real life than I expected from this game.
Firstly, let's talk about the general politics that are present in the game, be it discussed or alluded to. First off, we have Debt Ceiling talks on the radio. The conversations regarding the "Debt Ceiling" kind of make you think "what if" a lot if you really listen to it. Yeah, it's made comedic by the radio host's display of ignorance (talking about how he likes ceilings and he likes to stare at ceilings all day, even mentioning the ceiling tiles that you can push up etc.) but he makes valid points regarding the "Debt Ceiling" which I really wont get into here (I'm not a fan of discussing politics on the internet). Just the discussion itself brought me back to the real world, re-evaluating everything I was thinking politically.
Moving on, I'm going to briefly mention that a couple years back I used to drive a tow-truck. In GTA5, you have the option to do side-missions where you drive and operate a Tow Truck to help out a "friend" (despite the lack of state licensing) and in true GTA style, the situations are a parody of our society. In one of these side-missions, you receive a text from the girl who sends you on these missions asking you to pick up a car that broke down. Not much information is given but once you hop in the truck and begin to drive off, you are told where the person is so you are then on your way. Upon arriving, you are greeted by a not-so pleasant customer who is stating how long he had to wait and how that is poor service, to no fault of your own, mind you. Your character then offers the man that he can either walk or shut up and the customer tries to justify his statement with "well its no fault of yours, its your bosses" and continues to talk about how he keeps writing his complaints, referring to what seems to me likely a yelp.com type of place where people write their seemingly overly-entitled complaints and review the company, talking about how they will never shop or use some companies services again (which in my honest opinion, websites like these only serve to create a community of whiny, self-important bitches with only a few honest, thought provoking and helpful users to really make the website worth looking at). As you can tell of my opinion regarding yelp and sites similar, I've got a real problem with things like that and this non-playable character in this game really made me laugh at how the main character reacted to it, almost as if Rockstar Games think about this consumer oriented society the same way that I do.
Now, don't think that I'm trashing on people because they feel entitled to something because justifiably, some people are. If you order a sandwich with lettuce and it has no lettuce, dammit that company better make it right. If you call up your cable company and ask them to trim the trees around a cable line and get told no, don't go online to complain about how your cable company doesn't care about their customers. That tree is your property and your responsibility.
Of course, here I am rambling. I've got strong opinions, what can I say! Regardless, these were a couple things that hit me when I was playing it and thought I would share it. The next time you play Grand Theft Auto 5, really sit and read the signs and listen to the dialog all around you on the radio or even random non-playable characters. You will hear talk about all sorts of things that will really make you think. This game is truly a parody of our American society and may make you think.
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