At 20, Jeremy Deberry surely is the best football player at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N.V. He practices six days a week,plays both ways and is generally regarded by his peers as among the nation's elite performers, having earned the moniker the Champ. Few address the sophomore as anything but.

[1]The accolades above were not directed at a highschool all-American or even a finalist for the JohnWodden award, but a video game player. JeremyDeberry is one of many talented virtual athletes, cash-ing in on hand-eye success with fame and fortune.Donning jerseys, talking trash, and working fromexcessive levels of testosterone, these virtual sportingcompetitions are a ripe source of critical inquiry.Whether examining the performativity of masculinity,heterosexuality and whiteness, these emerging publiccompetitions replicate the ideologies and nature ofnineteenth century minstrelsy. The resemblance tominstrelsy transcends the fact that white cyber athletesprimarily compete, but with the ideologies, images andpower that define this high-tech form of blackface.The sports gaming industry is the crown jewel of thevideo games world. It is a one billion dollar per yearindustry; sports games account for more than thirtypercent of all video games sales. While

Tony Hawk

and other extreme sports games, all of which deployrace (whiteness) in particular ways, are growingincreasingly popular, the most popular games remainthose sports dominated by black athletes. Since 1989,over 19 million units of John Madden football havebeen sold. In 2002 alone, EAsports sold 4.5 millionunits. [2] "Today's gaming resides squarely in main-stream America, and for them fantasy means Tigersand Kobes. [3] As such, sports games represent agenre in which characters of color exist as actors (pro-tagonists) rather than victims or aesthetic scenery.Eight out of ten black male video game characters aresports competitors; black males, thus, only find visibili-ty in sports games. Just in larger society, the videogame industry confines (and controls through imageand ideology) black men to the virtual sports world,limiting the range and depth of imagery. It is our taskto examine briefly the range of images, in terms ofboth individual and communal representations, demon-strating the ideological and representational connec-tions between minstrelsy and the virtual sporting world.

High-Tech Blackface

In a recent interview, Adam Clayton Powell III referredto video games as "high-tech blackface," arguing that"because the players become involved in the action …they become more aware of the moves that are pro-grammed into the game." [4] With this in mind, thispaper explores the ways in which sports games reflecta history of minstrelsy, providing its primarily white cre-ators and players the opportunity to become black. [5]In doing so, these games elicit pleasure, playing onwhite fantasies as they simultaneously affirm whiteprivilege through virtual play.According to historian Eric Lott, minstrelsy was a"manifestation of the particular desire to try on theaccents of 'blackness' and demonstrates the perme-ability of the color line." He writes that blackface "facili-tate[s] safely an exchange of energies between twootherwise rigidly bounded and policed cultures." Likeminstrelsy, video games may be "less a sign ofabsolute power and control than of panic, anxiety, ter-ror, and pleasure." [6] Video games break down thesesame fixed boundaries with ease, given their virtualrealism, allowing its participants to try on the other, thetaboo, the dangerous, the forbidden and the otherwiseunacceptable. [7]

A Return to Minstrelsy: Sports inits Purest Form

Imitation, in both the real and virtual worlds, is not thehighest form of flattery. Norman Mailer, in his oftencited, 1957 piece entitled "The White Negro" asserts,"it is no accident that the source of hip is the Negro for

High Tech Blackface -- Race, SportsVideo Games and Becoming the Other

David J. Leonard

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Like minstrelsy, video games maybe "less a sign of absolute powerand control than of panic, anxiety,terror, and pleasure." Videogames break down these same fixed boundaries with ease, giventheir virtual realism, allowing itsparticipants to try on the other,the taboo, the dangerous, the for-bidden and the otherwise unac-ceptable.

he has been living on the margin between totalitarian-ism and democracy for two centuries." Video gamesreflect this cultural reality, bespeaking black coolnessthrough its ubiquitous articulations of white suprema-cist ideologies, grounded in a belief of black savageryand animalism (athleticism). These powerful ideologiesemanate through these games, and reflect their con-nection to minstrelsy. Elijah Anderson, a professor ofsociology at University of Pennsylvania, argues thatabundance of racial stereotypes reflects longstandingfascination with blackness as mysterious and cool,while simultaneously playing to deep-seeded desiresand needs of white game enthusiasts. "Blacks havealways been the other in this country. Many people liv-ing in the suburbs admire this fire and this funk theysee in blacks, a kind of aggressiveness a lot of themwant too. Alot of these suburban, white-bread kidshunger for this kind of experience." [8] As with the his-tory of minstrelsy, sampling of the other is neither liber-atory nor transgressive -- it does not unsettle dominantnotions through breaking down barriers or increasingexposure. The ideas of blackness introduced throughvideo games reflect dominant ideologies, thereby pro-viding sanction for the status quo, legitimacy for whitesupremacy and evidence for the common sense ideasof race, gender, sexuality and nation.Sports games represent a site in which white hatredand disdain for blackness and its love and adorationfor blackness is revealed through popular culture. Inborrowing from Eric Lott's work on minstrelsy, videogames reflect, "the dialectical flickering of racial insultand racial envy, moments of domination and momentsof liberation, counterfeit and currency." [9] In otherwords, these games reveal white supremacy in theform of both contempt and desire. The contempt mate-rializes in different ways, but in reflecting an opposi-tional binary, sports games legitimize stereotypicalideas about black athletic superiority and white intel-lectual abilities. The adoration materializes in theapproval and value we offer black athletes, whetherthrough financial rewards, posters on our walls, or imi-tation. Video games fulfill our desire to not only emu-late Allen Iverson's killer crossover, Shaq's thunderousdunks, Barry Bonds' homerun swing, or Barry Sandersspins, but allow the virtually occupation of black bod-ies. It provides the means to experience these suppos-edly unattainable skills, while deriving pleasurethrough black male bodies. The desire to "be black"because of the stereotypical visions of strength, ath-leticism, power and sexual potency all play out withinthe virtual reality of sports games. As Janis Joplinonce noted, "being black for a while, will make [you] abetter white." Video games, like hip-hop and MalcolmX hat, provide this opportunity, facilitating a process ofracial cross-dressing in which a primarily white gameplaying population sample the other, experiencing animagined coolness associated with America's vision ofblackness.

The Virtual Black Athletic Body

It becomes quite clear through these games thatblacks dominate America's major sports and do sobecause of genetics. In each of the sports games, theemphasis lies with black male bodies, whether physi-cality and muscularity, or pure athleticism. The coverof

NFLStreet

embodies the racial text of sports videogames. Amuscle bound Ricky Williams, who bulgesout of the box, is breaking free from a tackle ofShannon Sharpe. While the emphasis on their mus-cles (ten times their life size), and tattoos plays toauthentic visions of blackness, the depiction of eachman as virtual gorillas situates this game within thelarger project of black minstrelsy.Beyond the images, black virtual athletes invariablyreflect dominant visions of blackness as it relates toathleticism. Whereas white athletes succeed becauseof hard work, the mastery of black athletes emanatesfrom their God-given/genetic talents. The discursivearticulations within both the virtual and the real worldsthat positions black athletes as genetically athleticsdialectically reinforce one another, articulating and dis-seminating this widespread racial project.Jumping as high as the sun, knocking their competi-tors through concrete walls, and making unfathomablemoves on the court, sports games reveal both innateblack athleticism and their superhuman strength,endurance, speed, and jumping ability. The few whiteplayers who do appear within

NBAStreet

NFLStreet

,and several other games have nowhere near the ath-leticism or the muscles of the black players. The whiteplayer's dominance comes from their ability to shoot,which comes from hard work and long hours on thecourt, not good genes.The genre of sports games represents a site of pleas-ure in which game players secure happiness throughvirtually occupying black bodies. C. Richard King &Charles Springwood argue that the "black athlete hasbeen constructed as a site of pleasure, dominance,fantasy, and surveillance." While certainly not writingabout video games, they further argue, "AfricanAmericans have been essentially invented, policedand literally (re)colonized through Euro-Americanideas such as discipline, deviance and desire." [10]Identical to real the world of sports, and its surround-ing discourse, sports games indulge white pleasuresas they affirm stereotypical visions of black bodies, asphysical, aggressive and violent, while simultaneouslyminimizing the importance of intellectualism and hardwork in understanding the supposed dominance ofblack athletes.Amajority of sports games, from those based in reallife to the extreme fantasy, depict black males as phys-ically and verbally aggressive and having unusualbody types. Black men are excessively muscular and

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hyper-masculine, talking trash and crushing bodieswith sheer force. Black players tend to engage in otherforms verbal assault with greater frequency as well. Astudy by Fair Play concluded that eighty percent ofAfrican American sports competitors engaged in ver-bally and physically aggressive behavior, compared tofifty-seven percent of white characters. The prolifera-tion of hip hop / street games has further led to theexaggeration of blatant racialized stereotypes andtropes.Given the dominance of black men within virtual sport-ing event, there lies a necessity of control and surveil-lance. The performativity of sports video games andtheir popularity, in fact, reflects a desire to reclaim andcontrol the world of sports, sanctioning, and ultimatelycontrolling black bodies. As blacks supposedly controlsports in the real world, video games allow white play-ers to not only become the other, but to discipline andpunish. While there are a number of potential exam-ples, I want to talk briefly about

NFLStreet

.While encouraging taunting, through bonus points andrewards ("stylin is what separates the players from thePlayaz"), the game seems to police this practice aswell. As you showboat, you run the risk of fumbling orotherwise stumbling in the game -- there are conse-quences for playing street. After several attempts todefeat the mighty 49ers, I had them on the ropes,leading 32-24 (on the street, you play to 36) with ballin hand. All I needed was a touchdown. With a tinge ofnervousness, I launched a pass across the field, com-pleting it through a sea of defenders. As my manmarched toward the promise land, I decided to holdthe ball back over my head as to rub my imminent vic-tory into my imagined opponent's head. Unfortunately,I started my victory stride a bit early coughing the ball-up right into the hands of Terrell Owens, who ran itback for a touchdown. I, of course, went on to lose thegame. As I slammed down my controller as any malevideo game player might do, I could hear Chick Hearnscreaming "the mustard is off the hot dog" or the voiceof any number of announcers that habitually condemnand demonize (black) athletes for excessive celebra-tion.

NFLStreet

, like the NFLRules Committee, andthe NBAwith its ban on baggy shorts, visible trashtalking and hangin' on the rim, polices those actionssee outside the spirit of the game. It reveals the con-sequences of becoming street, compelling obedienceto the hegemonic vision of sportsmanship and eti-quette.

NFLStreet

thus embodies America's simulta-neous love and hate of black urbanness, reflectingdominant desires to both police and become the other.

Virtual Playing Fields

The most popular genre within the sports game is thestreet basketball game, as evident in both

NBAStreet

Street Hopes

and

NFLStreet

. The problematic natureof these games transcends their acceptance and pro-motion of stereotypes that emphasize the athleticpower of black bodies. The ubiquitous focus on streetbasketball and the glorification of de-industrializedspaces of poverty contribute to common sense ideasof inner city communities and the constancy of playwith the black community. For example,

NFLStreet

takes traditional football gaming into both the streetsand realm of hip-hop. As you start against the NFCand AFC West, the initial street battles take place onthe EASports campus, a pristine field with a few trashcans littered about, and a brick wall for out-of-bounds,and the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, with wavesproving to be the only obstacles to a touchdown. Upondefeat of all eight teams, you are able to unlock theother conferences, battling on the dangerous streets ofDetroit or New York rooftops. Interesting, and not sur-prisingly given its namesake, the goal of the game isto be able to play on the streets, within America's ghet-toes, rather than on a sports field.The popularity of the game has less to do with itsgame playability, but its emphasis on an imaginedstreet (black) culture. Whether the never-ending hip-hop soundtrack or the numerous shots of graffiti art,the game plays America's love affair with urbanAmerica, particularly that which is imagined as black.As games glamorize inner city spaces, commodifyingthem seedy and dangerous places, structural shiftscontinue to worsen these spaces of life. Reflecting thehyper-visibility and glorification of de-industrualizedinner city community, games like

NFLStreet

and

Street Hopes

reflect the commodification of AfricanAmerican practices of play within popular culture. Thisprocess of borrowing is not limited to the generation ofpleasure for players, but is evident in the usefulness ofblack bodies and ghettos within

NFLStreet

. The com-modification of black urban aesthetics, in the form oftrash-talking, taunting, showboating, tattoos, earrings,violence and aggressive behavior signifies patterns ofminstrelsy given the pleasure of becoming the orbecoming part of an imagined black body, community,or aesthetic.Writing about shoe commercials, Robin Kelley arguesthat popular images of street basketball "romanticize[s]the crumbling urban spaces in which African Americanyouth play." Such "representations of 'street ball' arequite remarkable; marked by chain-link fences, con-crete playgrounds, bent and rusted nettles hoops, graf-fiti-scrawled walls, and empty buildings, they have cre-ated a world where young black males do nothing butplay." [11] The process of commodification is not limit-ed to the generation of pleasure for players, but is evi-dent in the usefulness of black bodies and space tothe video games industry. From the phenomenon ofAnd-1 streets tours to ESPN's street diaries, streetbasketball has become increasingly popular over thelast five years. Robin Kelley, again, demonstrates thepower of consuming the racialized other's space inboth an ideological and capitalist project.

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