When Epic Games first announced it was having a movie night featuring films by Christopher Nolan, it seemed like an interesting experiment to create an in-game social platform for users to unite and experience something together. Now, the presentation of “We The People” has truly shown off the potential for virtual hubs to act as places for dialogue about real-world issues, in this case, systemic racism and inequality in America.
“We The People” aired on July 4 in the same way as the Nolan films, at a pre-determined time in the Party Royale game mode of Fortnite, and then ran for twenty four hours. The documentary featured a series of conversations that lasts a little under an hour, with Van Jones from CNN, Elaine Welteroth formerly Editor of Teen Vogue, Jemele Hill from The Atlantic, and rapper Killer Mike.
In all honesty, the experience was somewhat awkward at first, running my character across the map to get to the theatre in Fortnite. However, “We The People” begins with its powerful message and discussion of racism in America from the moment it begins, and soon one forgets that they are sitting at home in a chair, watching an in-game avatar watch a show. The screen in the screen experience seemed like it would be problematic at first, but the content of discussion sucked me in right away.
When the documentary began, some users were still running around, it was still Fortnite after all, but by the time the documentary ended it seemed like everyone was sitting still and paying attention. From my perspective at least, this felt like the case. Some may have left their keyboards, but overall, it was clear that the idea of using Fortnite to present such important social topics is both viable and invaluable, especially since the target audience is predominantly younger people.
From here, the sky is the limit. Epic Games should continue to leverage the immense power of its player base to further dialogue with young people about real issues affecting the world today. They have the technology and the popularity to capture the attention of the next generation, so it would be irresponsible to squander it. We are not sure what they will do next, but we certainly hope for more of the same.
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