Players are immersed in simulated landscapes representing Afghanistan and Iraq in four shorts about the US military’s “serious games,” used both to prepare for combat and to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. Director Harun Farocki “invites skepticism about the representation of reality” (New York Times). 2009–2010, video, 45 minutes.
The screening of Serious Games I–IV is followed by a discussion with Rembert Hueser, Associate Professor of German, Scandinavian & Dutch/Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota.