SWT - Saints Row IV and Kitsch

Channel:

Errant Signal

Subscribers:

175,000

Published on May 1, 2014 3:04:22 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT03ezSnVL8

Game:

Saints Row IV (2013)

Duration: 7:47

84,205 views

3,659

I recognize that the Saints Row series has always been big on references, but I'd argue the context matters. Saints Row IV pits its whole mess of references to pop art (the only art that survives the destruction of the planet) against a Jane Austen framing device for a reason. What might have been the game attempting to be hip or cool in Saints Row 2, and what might have been irreverence in Saints Row The Third, begins to look like a motif rather than mere reference in Saints Row IV. Really, I could have pulled more examples than I did here - there are lots of game, movie, and music references tossed around in the game, but they're all done from a place of love. It's a very Mel Brooks approach to parody, and having that shine through in the game makes it feel far more uplifting than GTAV's constant downward punching and indifference cynicism.

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