The game of the game : A discourse analysis of how the portrayel of computer- and videogames has changed from 1994 to 2014 in daily- and evening papers

Computer and videogames has increased rapidly over the past few decades and today a majority of the Swedish population enjoys them on a daily basis. When there are many users, it becomes important how the media chooses to portray the medium because it can affect how the society judges and looks at computer- and videogames. The purpose of this essay is to look at how the portrayal of computer- and videogames has changed in Swedish Newspapers during the period 1994-2014. How the player is being portrayed is also relevant. The method was the discourse analysis founded by Laclau and Mouffe and the material was chosen from the two biggest newspapers in Sweden, Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet. Theories that were used in the analysis were mainly framing, cultural studies, moral panics and theories based on gender. The result shows that there has been different kinds of portrayals of computer- and videogames from the beginning, though it was mostly negative in 1994 and 2004. When games are talked about in negative contexts the main focus is the health of children and that the games power can take players into another world. The portrayal was a lot more positive in 2014 with a focus on the beneficial parts of the games as a culture. The player was from the beginning portrayed as the stereotypic male. In 2014 women is portrayed as players, though is experiencing harassments because of their gender