BioShock Infinite's Vision of a Nazified America

NEW YORK – Ken Levine said at the premiere of his new game last week that BioShock Infinite's plot was inspired by American exceptionalism – the idea that the United States is special among the nations of the world.

Showing the new game for the first time in the Plaza Hotel in New York City, the creative director of Irrational Games read a second-hand quote supposedly said in 1899 by former U.S. President William McKinley about his annexation of the Philippines:

I walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight; and I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed to Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night. And one night late it came to me this way – I don't know how it was, but it came: (1) That we could not give them back to Spain – that would be cowardly and dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to France or Germany – our commercial rivals in the Orient – that would be bad business and discreditable; (3) that we could not leave them to themselves – they were unfit for self-government – and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's was; and (4) that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed and went to sleep and slept soundly.

Historians still debate the accuracy of this quote, especially whether McKinley really wanted to "Christianize" the natives. But regardless of whether his intentions were evangelistic, he at least felt that it was his duty to spread the enlightened ideals of democracy to the people of the newly acquired Philippines.

It doesn't much matter to Irrational Games whether the quote is authentic. The creators of BioShock Infinite are in the business of fantasy, of games set within the context of history but not history itself.

"We're not out to teach any history," said the game's lead artist Shawn Robinson at the premiere. "But things you create are more grounded when they're related to a piece of history or reality."

The aesthetic of the city of Columbia is 1912 America. But it also seems like 1930 Nazi Germany.

"Our holy duty is to guard against foreign hordes," reads one propaganda poster in Columbia. Another warns against the danger of mixing with inferior races: "Her eyes, so blue. Her skin, so white. Or are they? We must all be vigilant to ensure the purity of our people."

"Burden not Columbia with your chaff," reads another poster shown in the BioShock Infinite trailer, complete with spangled Columbia rejecting an imperfect baby.

Many have commented that the visual design of the city of Columbia is easier on the psyche than the vibe of Rapture, the undersea setting of the previous two BioShock games. To the eyes, Columbia is bright, clean, floating on air. But Columbia may actually be even darker and more sinister than Rapture.

The new game's trailer and demo that were shown at the Plaza didn't depict "foreign hordes" anywhere other than in posters. But the racist propaganda of the city of Columbia hints at a vision potentially more controversial than the moral dilemma presented by the Little Sisters in the original BioShock.

In the fictional city of Columbia, all non-European immigrants must list their religious affiliation (mono- or polytheist?) in addition to cranial measurements, complexion and other data used in the study of eugenics (pictured above).

Could foreigners be the new Little Sisters in BioShock Infinite? Consider that in 2010, armed U.S. civilians regularly patrol the country's southern border. Immigration is the hottest of hot-button issues. BioShock's moral choice of whether to kill a possessed little girl is politically tame in comparison to asking players to deal with game characters based on their race or ethnicity.

So, will racism and xenophobia merely serve as a backdrop in BioShock Infinite, or will these themes be expressed overtly through the gameplay?

The possibility brings new meaning to what both Levine and Robertson repeated at the BioShock Infinite premiere: There will be no "sacred cows" in the development of this game.

Robertson explained that Irrational was not afraid to leave the city of Rapture, or otherwise be tied to traditions from the original game.

But I wonder if that also means that touchy subjects like immigration, Western imperialism or even racial animosity will also be fair game in the afflicted parallel universe of BioShock Infinite.

Images courtesy Irrational Games

See Also:

• First Look: BioShock Infinite Satirizes American Imperialism, in the Sky
• Trailer: Irrational Games Unveils BioShock Infinite
• Creepy Moral Dilemmas Make BioShock a Sophisticated Shooter