Recently, the immigration debate stepped again into the spotlight. The controversy surrounding the influx of illegal Central American immigrants, especially children, who are being kept at a Texas facility, has been nightly fodder for conservative media, particularly the Fox News Channel.
A special segment on Fox News, including an interview with the governor of Texas, was broadcast regarding buses of the illegal immigrants being driven to a facility in California for processing. The issue caused a protest by Californians that turned back the convoy. Protestors cited concerns over immigration policy as well of fear of infectious diseases that some of the illegals were diagnosed with.
What’s A Picture Worth?
The Fox News graphics department even created a special segment logo called “Defending the Homeland,” apparently in support of those citizens as well as using the segment to attack the administration’s attempts to change the laws without Congressional approval.
It’s not the irony of that Fox news thing that bothers me so much. It’s the typesetting.
— Ken Levine (@IGLevine) July 1, 2014
However, the logo they came up with bears a very strong resemblance to the Bioshock Infinite logo. Frighteningly so, as reported by Kotaku.
Note the fonts, shape, letter coloring, faded background, and border. As well as the use of the gold stars and fluttering American flag.
BioShock creator Ken Levine tweeted, “It’s irony.” in response to seeing the image.
Irony indeed. Does Fox News know anything about the world of Bioshock Infinite? The game is set in a fictional 1912, where the hero spends a lot of his time in the floating city of Columbia. This city, named after the female symbol for America, is home to an elitist and racist aristocracy.
Shining City on the Hill
The founders of Columbia created it to be a symbol of American exceptionalism, which is a familiar concept to any who watch Fox News. However, when Columbia’s creators turned their floating city/battleship against Chinese rebels during the Boxer Rebellion, the US government orders them to cease. The city, in turn, secedes from the union.
In the game world, Columbia is run like a police state with institutionalized racism and elitism. As Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth have their adventures, the city is on the brink of its own civil war, with minority workers preparing to rise up against their masters.
Sincere Flattery?
So, this begs the question: how deep did someone at Fox News think when this image was created? Is it pure coincidence? Did it just look nifty at the time? Did the Bioshock logo have the right look or feel to be copied? Or did the graphic designer know exactly the world it came from and found the humorous irony too good to pass up?
And this type of graphic used to connect a news story to audiences by using familiar imagery is nothing new. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report regularly co-op common images and corporate logos in their graphics, but those instances are clearly satire.
For now, Levine and Irrational Games have not taken direct issue with Fox News or their parent company, News Corp.
Published: Jul 3, 2014 04:42 am