“Know your History!”

Abstract

The conflict, which expanded geographically, sociopolitically, and culturally in all directions and on all levels, not only dominated international relations but could also be felt in everyday life. As a “war of cultures,” it permeated the narratives and aesthetics of movies, comics, popular music, literature, and also digital games. It is however not possible to speak of a homogeneous field of Cold War Games. The Cold War is in these games sometimes only a superficial flourish. Sometimes it serves as the motivation for conflict, sometimes it is used as a historical or fictional setting. What unites most games is the following: They serve first and foremost a dichotomous world view: a world with only two opponents. The emphasis is necessary because it reduces a highly complex global conflict into what actually becomes a binary system through the game: West or East. Neutral states are not mentioned here, nor are other alliances. Such a simple worldview can, of course, be perceived as a relief in an increasingly complex globalized world. In a way, the Cold War becomes here a myth, as described by Roland Barthes, insofar as we do not question it, it seems natural.