The intelligentsia certainly have their place. The pursuit of knowledge is one of mankind's most noble endeavours, but that's on the condition that when it's done, it's done right.

Inviting a bunch of academics to comment on Grand Theft Auto is not doing it right.

'The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto: Critical Essays' has done just that, and the results are either distressing or comedic, depending on how you feel about the game and whether you can actually understand what they're saying.

Some "highlights" include:

In both the demonization and celebration of the virtual reality offered through the GTA series, the horror and praise resulting from suburban bodies entering the otherwise impenetrable (segregated) world of gangstas, thugs, hip-hop, and ghettos, and the surrounding discourse of reception, dominant understandings of race, hegemonic rationalization (explanations) of contemporary social inequality, and the advizable methods (policies) needed to address current issues become visible.

GTA is symptomatic of the historical erasure of the mythmaking process; it is reactionary politicized speech meant to satirize through the reformation of identity and participation in the metaphoric destruction of societal obstacles. It is the mirrored fantasy space in which silenced voices are annunciated and performed.

It is tempting, given the degree to which this world is fleshed out, to consider GTA:SA in the light of Jean Baudrillard's concepts of the hyperreal and the simulacrum...

These gems and more can be found within essays with titles like 'Cruising in San Andreas: Ludic Space and Urban Aesthetics in Grand Theft Auto' ,and 'Positioning and Creating the Semiotic Self in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'.

Guys, guys, you're thinking too hard. It's about stealing cars and beating hookers. That's it. Luke Plunkett

Top 10 things you never knew about Grand Theft Auto (because you're not brainy enough) [Tech Digest]

Send an email to the author of this post at .