Call of Duty criticised for using footage of Seoul crowd crush tragedy
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has drawn criticism for using real broadcast footage of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in its opening cinematic. Bereaved families and civic groups say the clips exploit a real disaster and risk causing further distress to survivors and witnesses.
The footage lasts about three seconds and shows paramedics performing CPR and carrying victims away. At least 158 people died and hundreds were injured when a crowd gathered in a narrow Seoul street during Halloween celebrations; families have called for the footage to be removed. Activision said it was used to convey the fictional story and that the company did not intend to trivialise the Itaewon tragedy.
In short
- Modern Warfare 4 uses real footage of the Itaewon crowd crush.
- Families and civic groups want the clips removed.
- Activision says it did not intend to trivialise the tragedy.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Using real footage may help a fictional story convey the human cost and urgency of a mass-casualty event with a gravity that invented images cannot. Activision says it included the brief clip for that narrative purpose and did not mean to trivialise the Itaewon tragedy; some may see careful use of public broadcast footage as a legitimate form of storytelling.
The case against
The footage shows identifiable moments of suffering from a real tragedy in which 158 people died, and using it as entertainment risks treating victims’ experiences as dramatic material. Bereaved families, survivors and witnesses may be distressed by its reuse, and their calls for removal reflect a reasonable concern that the game’s fictional context does not justify exposing them to it.
Explained simply
Itaewon is a busy district in Seoul, South Korea. In October 2022, a large Halloween crowd gathered in a narrow street there, leading to a crush in which at least 158 people died and hundreds were injured.
Call of Duty is a popular video game series published by Activision. Its latest Modern Warfare story is fictional, but its opening uses a brief clip from real news coverage of the disaster, showing emergency responders helping victims.
The use of real footage has raised questions about how entertainment portrays recent tragedies and the effect on people directly affected by them. Bereaved families and civic groups have asked for the clip to be removed; Activision says it was included to support the fictional story and was not intended to trivialise the disaster.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “New Call of Duty game sparks outrage for including real footage of Seoul crowd crush that killed 158 people”.