Rockstar Games, is an American video game publisher, known for some of the best games of all time. Some of their top selling game series include Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Midnight Club and many more. Growing up, these were some of the best games you can get your hands on. Pre-ordering games and having to wait in line for hours to get a hold of a copy was one of the best experiences growing up. Although, I would spend countless hours playing these games, I was unaware of the lack of representation of minorities. Shawn Allen, a former Rockstar Games employee and game developer, describes his workspace environment as an “industry dominated by white guys.” “I had been really ignorant of the lack of diversity in the workforce in my industry for a while, but once I noticed it I couldn’t stop paying attention to it or stop bringing it up” (Allen). Now, that I am aware of this, it is clear and evident that game developers throw minorities under the bus. Majority of the characters seen in these games are based on stereotypes. These overgeneralization are usually exaggerated and often offensive used to describe a particular group.
For example, in this clip of the game GTA, a youtuber pinpoints whether or not Grand Theft Auto 5 is a racist game that stereotypes specific characters. The game consists of three characters named Trevor, Franklin, and Michael. In the game, Franklin the character in the middle, is depicted as a gangster who is trying to escape that lifestyle. Playing as this character involves gang shoot-outs, robberies, and homicides. Based on the color of the skin of each character, the role and lifestyle changes drastically for each one.
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