"They are also chock-full of almost every kind of conspiracy theory you can think of. In the fiction of Assassin's Creed, humanity is descended from ancient aliens, and this knowledge is suppressed throughout history; the tide of world events is influenced by a shadow war between two secret societies; the media exists to manipulate the public. This makes for an exciting series of video games with a near-limitless scope. It also echoes uncomfortable real-world conspiracy theories that have proven consequential in our lifetime."
"They cast players as noble assassins during big inflection points in history-the French Revolution, Ptolemaic Egypt, the end of Japan's Sengoku era-and give them freedom to romp around stunning re-creations of these eras, interacting with historical figures along the way. You can do secret missions for Cleopatra, you can get Socrates out of a jam after he pisses a mob off, that sort of thing."
Assassin's Creed frames players as assassins operating at major historical inflection points, offering immersive re-creations and interactions with historical figures. The series repeatedly invokes conspiratorial elements: ancient aliens as human ancestors, secret societies shaping world events, and media manipulation. Those fictional conspiracies parallel uncomfortable real-world conspiracy theories that have tangible consequences. The franchise's sprawling, highly franchised structure exemplifies a modern entertainment ecosystem saturated with pattern-rich narratives. Following such franchises can mirror conspiratorial modes of thinking by encouraging pattern-seeking, totalizing explanations, and deep engagement with alternate narrative frameworks, raising questions about cultural normalization and potential harm.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]