Red Dead's history A video game, an obsession, and America's violent past

Tore C. Olsson

Book - 2024

"A pathbreaking new way to examine US history, through the lens of a bestselling video game Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption II, set in 1911 and 1899, are the most-played American history video games since The Oregon Trail. Beloved by millions, they've been widely acclaimed for their realism and attention to detail. But how do they fare as recreations of history? In this engaging book, award-winning American history professor Tore Olsson takes up that question and more. Weaving the games' plot and characters into an exploration of American violence between 1870 and 1920, Olsson shows that it was more often disputes over capitalism and race, not just poker games and bank robberies, that fueled the bloodshed of these... turbulent years. As such, this era has much to teach us today. From the West to the Deep South to Appalachia, Olsson reveals the gritty and brutal world that inspired the games, but sometimes lacks context and complexity on the digital screen. Colorful, fast-paced, and dramatic, Red Dead's History sheds light on dark corners of the American past for gamers and history buffs alike"--

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Subjects
Published
New York : St. Martin's Press 2024.
Language
English
Main Author
Tore C. Olsson (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
pages cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781250287700
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • Part I. The West
  • 1. The Idea of the West
  • 2. The Indian Wars
  • 3. The Iron Horse
  • 4. Cows and Cowboys
  • 5. Guns, Gunslingers, and Violence
  • 6. The Pinkertons
  • 7. The Wild Bunch
  • Part II. The Deep South
  • 8. The Paradox of Race
  • 9. From Old South to New South
  • 10. The White-Hooded Menace
  • 11. The Tragedy of Lynching
  • 12. In the Fields
  • 13. Working on the Chain Gang
  • 14. Mr. Jim Crow
  • 15. The Lost Cause
  • 16. New Orleans, 1899
  • 17. Votes for Women
  • Part III. Southern Appalachia
  • 18. The Appalachian Myth
  • 19. The Scramble for Appalachia
  • 20. The Blood Feud
  • Epilogue
  • Acknowledgments
  • List of Illustrations
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Kirkus Book Review

An intriguing look at how the gaming age offers imaginative possibilities for the teaching of history. Video games have come a long way, writes Olsson, since he spent many hours of his younger life perched in front of a screen. In the Covid-19 lockdown period, he rediscovered gaming and was amazed at the degree of development and sophistication of recent decades, something highlighted by the popular Red Dead series. As a professor of history at the University of Tennessee specializing in the post--Civil War era, he came up with the idea of creating a course connected to the game, using it as a platform to explore the social and political tensions in the U.S. in the late 19th century, when the game is set. The author shows how the series, especially Red Dead Redemption II, contains a huge amount of historical information. The games are certainly violent, but it was a violent time, as society struggled to come to terms with rapid industrialization, emerging corporate capitalism, and entrenched racial conflict. The series follows a group of (fairly) honorable outlaws as they travel from the Midwest, through the South, and into the Appalachians. The Red Dead designers obviously devoted great attention to the detailed artwork and narrative development, although a problem is that many of the issues raised in the game relate more to the 1870s than the 1890s. Olsson suggests that the next installment in the series should be set in the years immediately after the Civil War. "When we balance the ledger book of good and bad, the game ultimately does far more to advance historical understanding than not," he writes. This book is not for everyone, but it is informative and enjoyable. Olsson has much to say about connecting the past to the present in ways that are novel and fun. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.