Instead of a virtual fireworks celebration, Fortnite is celebrating the 4th of July with anti-racism film We The People all day as part of its popular in-game movie nights. An educational panel consisting of today's prominent Black sociopolitical icons, We The People explores racialism and prejudice in the United States and the troubled nation's path forward to a brighter, more equal future.
Fortnite's made developer and publisher Epic Games rich beyond its wildest dreams, having paved the way for the Epic Games Store's very existence and current success as a Steam competitor. Because of that innate image as a product that stands on the back of the economic and social inequities that keep financial powerhouses like Epic ticking and further accumulating, the game is very rarely - if ever - used as an explicit political platform. Instead, its content usually sticks to fun but soulless cross-promotional deals with companies like Marvel. Of course, that's not changing entirely, as this American Independence Day also marks the introduction of a celebratory $20 Captain America skin.
Following up a week of director Christopher Nolan's films to hype up his upcoming Tenet, Fortnite is now spotlighting We The People all day July 4 to raise racial awareness amongst its playerbase about what its panelists advocate should be the framing and priorities of racial discussions in the US. Amplifying the voices of award-winning journalists Elaine Welteroth and Jemele Hill and rapper Killer Mike, half of Run the Jewels and notable progressive activist, We The People is also narrated by CNN's Van Jones.
Though never attaining the astronomical, record-breaking viewership numbers of April's Travis Scott in-game concert experience, these free, timed Fortnite-bound screenings of film and TV selections are one of the most unique experiments in Western gaming history. Though the greater discussion around the colorful battle royale title normally revolve around its popularity with children, constant updates to its iterative map, and status as a glorified billboard for huge media properties, smaller moments like Epic's small but meaningful show of solidarity with the BLM movement and the choice to give more solemn films like We The People a wider (but still organic) platform are worthy of note, as well.
It would have been an easier and more visually spectacular choice for Epic if the developer had opted to turn Fortnite's partially submerged map into a patriotic wonderland of red-white-and-blue fireworks and pomp, and any complaints from a minority of players would have gone unheard over the coverage of the pretty display. Instead, they've made the more difficult and impactful decision to give players the chance to hear out Black Americans on what makes their nation ugly under the surface in a bid to rebuild it something more beautiful. Some will bemoan that a kids' game is no place for that conversation and a few others will cry "agenda," but - this 4th of July and always - true patriots never accept a toxic status quo that kills their fellow countrymen.
Source: Fortnite
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July 05, 2020 at 04:24AM
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Fortnite Screening Anti-Racism Film All Day For July 4th Movie Night - Screen Rant
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