Glued to computer screens in a Cairo cybercafe, Egyptian teenagers lead United States forces against China and a shadowy Middle Eastern group, while most of the country seethes in anger against US policy in the region. The US-produced computer game Command and Conquer: Generals portrays a scenario in which the US and China battle the Global Liberation Army (GLA), a Middle Eastern underground movement with a fondness for chemical weapons. The teenagers say the game reinforces the western image of Arabs as "terrorists" with introductory scenes showing them gunning down civilians and stealing US aid, but the graphics and high-octane action keeps them hooked. "I really like the game. I play it every day. I miss it if I don’t play it for a day. I know it’s racist but what can I do? It’s a good game," said 16-year-old Ahmed Mohsen. The teenagers, all students at an American high school in Cairo, say they are annoyed that games, movies, comics and books from the United States portray Arabs as cruel fanatics but despair that there are no Arab companies that can make products to redress the balance.
| There's probably a reason for that... |
"You can’t boycott American products because the substitutes are no good. There is no way an Egyptian company can make good quality games," said 18-year-old Ahmed Abdel Qader.
| "I think it comes from having to whack your head on the floor five times a day..." |
Other Egyptian fans use the virtual characters to take out real-world frustrations. "Some people enjoy playing as the GLA against America so they can fight the American army," said Mohsen. Mohsen says he does not play the GLA, not because of any political opinion but because the US forces in the game are superior. "You know they made it and will make their army the best," he said. The website for Generals, produced by computer game giant Electronic Arts says the armies were "inspired by real-world ideologies". "The GLA uses weapons like toxic weapons, car bombs and suicide bombers. The game makers make the Arabs look like evil bastards," said 16-year-old Amir al-Gindy, taking a break from intimidating his friends with a huge Chinese army.
| "... but that's just propaganda. Really, we're nice fellows." |
In three dimensional battlegrounds spread over Central Asia and the Middle East, US weapons verging on science fiction, such as the supersonic Aurora Bomber, battle the GLA’s low-tech poison spraying toxin tractor and the bomb truck. Although the game does not directly identify the GLA as Arab, the names of the rebels sound vaguely Arabic without being real Arabic names. The characters speak in what could be described as Arabic accents. In other scenes, different nationalities are drawn into the GLA umbrella. One scene shows the angry mob the GLA can muster - women in black veils and men wearing Afghan hats. The Egyptian teenagers say the message is not very subtle. "The GLA represents all of the US’s enemies in one role. They are what the US calls terrorists," said Abdel Qader. "They might as well make Osama bin Laden one of the generals," said Mohsen.
Zero Hour, an expansion to the game, allows players to assume the personalities of different commanders. One GLA general who specialises in stealth operations wears combat fatigues with an Arab scarf around his head and clutches an AK-47 rifle while snarling at the camera. Gindy, who has lived and studied in Canada for a large part of his life, says the game’s portrayal of the GLA influences young people in the west. "When you play the game online, young kids about my own age will ask where I am from. When I say ’Egypt’, they think I live in a shack," he said. "The GLA’s crappy bases just pushes the idea that Arabs are backwards and people in other countries end up believing this."
| "I hate it when that happens. I always kill them." |
In spite of their strong feelings about the portrayal of Arabs, the teenagers say most Egyptians have found a way to enjoy the game with a clear conscience. "People buy fake versions of the game, so they say ’well at least I’m not giving the game makers any money,’." |