NEO ::magazine

War as a game
	War is certainly not a game, although it seems the US Military has come up with plans to make it look like one, using videogames, Hollywood talent and Star Trek to prepare the ground for recruitment first and then training of tomorrow’s soldiers. This unsettling new vision is aptly demonstrated in “World War Virtual,” a documentary film written and produced by Greek journalist Mihalis Gripiotis who managed to tell his story by uttering not even a word! Instead, he had key people from the industry explain their plans and he used excerpts from already available material to make his thesis crystal-clear. “This documentary exposes a growing American military-entertainment complex,” he said during a press conference after the film’s premiere at the prestigious National Arts Club in New York, presented by the Kinesis Foundation, Inc. “It reveals the close relationships the US Military have developed with the commercial videogame industry and Hollywood, in order to create “compelling” tools (i.e. videogames), for recruiting and training purposes.” One of the new visions of the US Army for training and future war-fighting is to re-create in reality the science fiction virtual space “Holodeck” from Star Trek, where anything is possible. Reality and virtuality, war and entertainment, become dangerously blurred, causing confusion and paranoia, threatening our very sanity and any hopes of future peacemaking. Among the people who appear in this documentary are James Der Derian, Director of The Watson Institute for International Studies, Professor of International Studies, Brown University, Author of Virtuous War, Ed Halter, contributing film critic for the Village Voice, Author of War and Videogames, Michael Macedonia (not a Greek-American), Director of the Office for Simulation and Training US Army, Chris Stapleton, Institute for Simulation and Training, UCF (US Army partner,) Jim Korris, Creative Director, Institute for Creative Technologies, University of Southern California (US Army partner,) Captain Oseguera, US Army Commander for recruitment in NYC etc. Gamers, videogame industry reps, soldiers, military officials are also part of this impressive roster, highlighting the new techniques. The Kinesis Foundation is a New York-based organization dedicated to the promotion, exhibition, and distribution of Greek films and media works in New York and throughout the United States and Canada. Each year’s focal event will be the annual Festival of Greek Cinema to be held every spring in New York City. The festival will then travel throughout the US and Canada. The Foundation is proud to announce the launching of its inaugural season this fall with the North American Premiere screening of Yiannis Economidis’ award-winning and Cannes-selected film “Soul Kicking.” The screening will be followed by a gala reception and discussion with the producers and directors. Kinesis will also serve as a facilitator for - and a bridge between - Greek films and North American distributors, cinematheques, and other domestic festivals. In addition it plans to bring together film/video artists of Hellenic descent from around the world in the spirit of collaboration and in the creation of a comprehensive network of resources. Besides “World War Virtual,” most recently the Kinesis staff has already spearheaded the programming for the Mediterranean Cinema evening at the 2007 D.C. Independent Film Festival. More information on Kinesis can be found at gokinesis@aol.org or by contacting Marisa Stefatos at 917.922.2545 or Nick Efteriades at 917.519.2890.