THEATER OF WAR: THE PRETEND VILLAGES OF IRAQ (United States, 2005-ongoing)
Like the media, the American army also creates its own version of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. For instance, the Army takes its Virtual Army Experience on the road to airshows and NASCAR races. There kids can play games that brilliantly but bloodlessly simulate the thrill of warfare. Afterwards they can meet decorated soldiers who have returned from the front. On remote army bases in North Carolina, Louisiana and California the army has built copies of villages that are always in one or another imaginary land – Talatha, Braggistan, or just plain ‘Iraq’. Here soldiers train for their tour of duty on the front.
