That is the main thrust of Sudhir Venkatesh's assessment of Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest installment of one of the most controversial video game franchises in history. GTA IV has received excellent reviews from nearly every gaming magazine, but Venkatesh isn't concerned with graphics or gameplay. Instead, Venkatesh (a sociologist at Columbia University) compared the game's portrayal of human networks to the reality of life on Chicago's Southside. His conclusions are striking enough that they deserve to be quoted at length:
This may sound strange, but I found that Grand Theft Auto actually offered a less sensational portrait of gangland and ghetto streets than the one put out by most cops, politicians, policymakers, and even academics. There is nuance in the game that exceeds most of the conventional portraits of American cities; the game goes beyond a black-and-white tale of innocent law abiders fending off the obnoxious criminals. Not that I'm suggesting that we turn to GTA IV to solve the gang problem or that we should we make it required viewing in our high schools. The game is a carnival of violence, deceit, and cruelty that makes you slightly nauseated after playing for only a few hours—I had to periodically rest and play a Neil Diamond song just to calm down. But I have to admit that I was surprised a video game had such a well-developed, fine-grained understanding of human nature.
The game's success can be traced to a simple principle: Niko Bellic, the protagonist who roams around Liberty City, making his way in the world by building relationships. Even in a city dominated by warring gangs and unjustifiable carnage, people have to find ways to work together not only to commit crimes but to resolve disputes, respond to injustice, and otherwise fulfill their assigned missions. As you move the dashing Niko through beautifully rendered streets, you build up his network of friends and comrades. Of course, in the exploitative terrain of the black market, you can't trust anyone for long; this is one of the key challenges that animate GTA IV. But the point is that a lone wolf can't survive. Niko has to take a risk and trust somebody.
Even the criminals must follow this rule. In the real Big Apple, the local gangs are made up of self-interested mercenaries who move about as money and circumstances dictate. A Jamaican "posse" may control one project one day, but they'll move over a few blocks if the money is right. A gang member might also become a turncoat and join another outfit, even one run by a former adversary. In other words, free agents abound on Wall Street and ghetto streets. GTA IV's Liberty City gets this fluidity of enmity and alliance exactly right. A friend can become a foe; a gang member can turn on you; an ally is never to be trusted for too long. You can't do it alone, and the game forces you to make your bets.
Here, we can clearly Venkatesh is asserting the primacy of human networks in the impoverished inner city. These networks are highly susceptible to both positive and negative incentives, with fluid power structures and alliances. The social structure of these environments is semi-autonomous and often has few points of direct contact with the established, "legitimate" local authorities and greater society.Venkatesh has become something of a celebrity in sociology circles for the dramatic nature of his written work and the public attention he has received (he was recently interviewed on the Colbert Report for his last book, Gang Leader For a Day). Much of this can be attributed to Venkatesh's ability to free his subject from dry academic rhetoric and offer a richer ethnographic narrative. This approach has enhanced the understanding of the complex and conflicting relationships that underpin daily life in poor urban areas.
I've read quite a bit of Venkatesh's work lately (see his other mentions by Slate here and here) and I believe that his work leads to a new option for public policy. There's a pressing need for a new innovative approach to poverty alleviation within US borders, and traditional programs of purely domestic origin have failed. If America can muster the political will, though, and overcome some deep-seated cultural fears, there may be a way to apply recent government experiences and integrate these urban enclaves into the mainstream of American society.
...But all that will have to wait for another post
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