The 'gruesome' video game that kills off zombie Tea Partiers
Is a new first-person shooter game that lets you kill a zombie Sarah Palin in the Fox News studio just a fun way to blow off steam — or something more sinister?
The video: A new free video game lets players club, shoot, or otherwise destroy post-apocalyptic zombie versions of conservatives and Fox News personalities like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly. Not all the target zombies are celebrities — you can also decimate undead creatures with generic right-wing names like "Pissed Off Stupid White Trash Redneck Birther Zombie." (Watch a clip below.) The "gruesome" online game — called "Tea Party Zombies Must Die" — was created as a "personal project" by Jason Oda of video game ad firm StarvingEyes Advergaming.
The reaction: This product of violent liberal hatred goes further than an exercise in "over-the-top stupidity," says Bryan Preston at Pajamas Media. Like "the propaganda hate films used to smear the Jews back in 1930s Europe," this game clearly incites violence against real people. Yes, this video game is "dumb and tasteless," says Joe Coscarelli at New York. But the "manufactured outrage" on the Right equals it for lameness. The difference between this "surprisingly slick" zombie first-person shooter game and, say, Palin's crosshairs map or Rick Perry's threats against Fed Chairman Bernanke is that "the game was not signed off on by a professional politician." Sample the game for yourself:
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
Margaret Atwood’s memoir, intergenerational trauma and the fight to make spousal rape a crime: Welcome to November booksThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ by Margaret Atwood, ‘Cursed Daughters’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite and 'Without Consent' by Sarah Weinman
-
‘Tariffs are making daily life less affordable now’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are US billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration