Controversy, from Poetry to Video Games

Controversy, from Poetry to Video Games

Walt Whitman, though thought of as eccentric and controversial during his life, is considered today to be one of the most famous and respected poets and the characteristics of his poetry surprisingly parallel another completely different media: the video game industry. He brought new ideas and unique writing styles to the world of poetry. Whitman’s most famous work, “Song of Myself,” released well before the age of electronics, shares many of the same features and reactions video games have today. Whitman would often break barriers between two topics for the reader. Video games break the barrier of what is possible and what is impossible for the player. Also, Whitman’s “Song of Myself” keeps the reader interested with sudden changes in topics and video games keep the player interested with the ability to change games. Moreover, when released, both Whitman’s work and certain video games are striking and provocative. Video games, like Whitman's poetry, brought new and unique experiences to the world.   

Both Walt Whitman’s poems and modern video games bring together two ideas or scenarios that usually do not exist together. Whitman, in his poems, would often compare two incomparable topics and bring them together. This comparison would create an interesting Canto in which Whitman would match polar opposites. In Canto 7 of “Song of Myself,” Whitman brings birth and death together. He questions, ”Has any one supposed it lucky to be born? I hasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I know it,” (Canto 7). Whitman’s describing death, a terrible tragedy, as lucky is nothing like anyone had seen during the 19th century. Video games relate to “Song of Myself” in the sense that they break the barrier between what is possible and what is not. For example, baseball video games allow the player to place himself as a member of his favorite team and play with his favorite players. This sparks the interest of a potential video game player and attracts them to buy the product as does Whitman’s unusual poetry to a potential reader.  However, it is not just the juxtaposition of two completely different topics that attracts a reader or a buyer to these media, but also the abrupt changes in topic.

Another example of the similarities between Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and video games is the sudden change in focus. Whitman will discuss a certain topic in one Canto and then, a few Cantos later, discuss something completely different. This can be seen in Canto 6, Whitman introduces the topic of grass and goes on as far to question the existence of grass. He ponders, “A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands, How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is anymore than he,” (Canto 6). Then, in Canto 8, Whitman depicts a suicide with bloody floors that seems to have nothing to do with the topic discussed not that long ago. He observes, “The suicide sprawls on the bloody floor of the bedroom, I witness the corpse with its dabbled hair, I note where the pistol has fallen,” (Canto 8).  Whitman may have changed topics quickly to keep the reader entertained rather than boring them by writing about the same thing for a long period of time. Video games also allow the player to change topics quickly. One second the player could be fighting World War III in 2056 on the front lines and a cutscene later, could be hacking into the enemies drone systems. With the short attention span of children today, this feature is a major reason why video games are so popular. The sudden changes in topics, constant thrills and steady entertainment of these two genres could be an interest point for a potential reader or buyer.  While this certainly attracts readers or buyers, the provocative nature of Whitman’s poems and video games also adds to their appeal.

The most common similarity between Whitman’s poetry and video games is that they are both eye catching and provocative. Whitman describes, in great detail, a homoerotic vision his speaker was having. This was considered appalling when it was released and caused Emily Dickinson to call him disgusting. He imagines in Canto 11, “An unseen hand also pass'd over their bodies, It descended tremblingly from their temples and ribs,” (Canto 11).   This eye catching and provocative style is also used in video games. Many violent video games receive abundant amount of scrutiny for being “too violent.”  In Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 there is a mission where the player plays as a terrorist in an airport and kills hundreds of civilians. When the game was released, this mission alone had news channels constantly discussing the game and one country even banned the game. However, this made the game more popular and boosted its sales to over one billion dollars. Whitman received the same type of scrutiny that, most likely, ameliorated his popularity.    

Though calling Whitman’s “Song of Myself” a video game in the 1800’s would be a stretch, they share the same features. They both help bring two unlike things together. Whitman compares two unlike ideas and video games transform someone into something different. Whitman’s sudden change in topics interests a reader in the same way video games interest a player with the ability to change genres instantaneously. And they both bring attention to themselves with their controversial content.  Poetry and video games may seem to be unrelatable; however, Whitman’s poetry serves as entertainment in many different ways as video games do today.