Game Changer A TV documentary about the cultural industry of E-Sports

Abstract

"Game Changer" is a documentary discussing E-Sport and its stand in today’s cultural industry. The aim of this documentary is to offer a vision of E-Sports that is renewed, far from the common depiction the genre receives in the media. It proposes a discussion on the current state of E-Sports in the world of entertainment, discusses the coverage it receives in the media, and finally tries to answer if E- Sports are in fact sports or not. Game Changer is an 18 minutes’ documentary, interviewing three professionals within the E-Sports industry; Alex Blaike, PR and Social Manager for ESL Australia, Gael Parpex Director of the Associations “Générations E-Sport”, “Competition E- Sport” and co-founder of “Ma Team E-Sport” and finally Justin McNolley “MiracU” Pro-player for “Team Solo Mid” (TSM). They bring their experience and knowledge of the field, for us to make sense of what the culture is about, and give an insightful view on the genre, with the help of visuals and voice over. It analyses the treatment Gaming and E-Sports receives in the media, pointing it out its unfairness, proposing that there might have been a recent shift, due to the growing popularity of the genre. It also draws the similarities between Sport and E- Sports, proposing that the development, growth, and institutionalization of both disciplines into spectator sports, a primary form of entertainment, promotes E-Sports as an important media actor of today’s society.