Spec Ops: The Line with Jane from Unwise Girls
War, war never changes. Keifer returns with the most ambitious episode of the show to date, bringing on Jane from the Unwise Girls podcast to talk about war through Spec Ops: The Line. We also talk about perspective as artistic intention, exploring gender through customizable characters, life on the road with a Steam Deck, and more.
Other games discussed in this episode: Bastion, Transistor, The Beginner’s Guide, Undertale, Deltarune, the Professor Layton series, Deep Rock Galactic, Civilization 5, Misericorde, Hades, Live A Live, We Love Katamari, Ridger Racer 2, Ridge Racer Type 4, Mario Kart Wii, The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series, Thomas Was Alone, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days, Army of Two, the Metal Gear Solid franchise, and more.
Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.
0:00 - Prologue
11:00 - Introducing Jane
42:10 - On Harry Belafonte
48:40 - Introducing Spec Ops: The Line
1:11:30 - No Country for Old Games
1:26:20 - Discussing Spec Ops: The Line
2:03:25 - White Phosphorus and war crimes
2:27:10 - Perspective, abstraction, and cognitive dissonance
2:43:00 - The legacy Spec Ops The Line
3:00:25 - Impact, weaknesses, and final thoughts
3:10:45 - Recommendations and Outro
Support Jane and her projects:
https://www.patreon.com/unwisegirls
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:gmybspzp4ycf32zql3ssivsm
https://moonshotpods.com/unwise-girls/
Follow Keifer and support the show:
Artwork provided by Avry Ott:
https://linktr.ee/avryrobinott
Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry:
Murder at the Birch Tree Theater
Works Cited:
Research:
Chalmers Johnson - American Militarism and Blowback
Gamesradar - Spec Ops: The Line - Learn about the story with lead writer Walt Williams
Digital Spy - 'Spec Ops: The Line' - interview
The Verge - Spec Ops: The Line permanently removed from Steam and other digital stores
Delisted Games - Spec-Ops: The Line
Steam Curator - Games at risk of removal
George Monbiot - 11/ 15/2005 - War Without Rules
NBC News - U.S. denies using phosphorus against civilians
Washington Post - Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus in Lebanon attack
Under Fire: White Phosphorus, Civilians, and Arkansas | Amnesty International USA
Human Rights Watch - Lebanon: Israel’s White Phosphorous Use Risks Civilian Harm
Audio Sources:
Colin Powell's Speech at the UN
Defense Department Briefing March 21st, 2003 C-SPAN.org
Rumsfeld "known unknowns" and "unknowns unknowns"
Joe Biden: Were there not an Israel the USA would have to invent an Israel to protect her interest in the region. | Video | C-SPAN.org
In-game audio sources:
Spec Ops The Line - Combat Barks and Animations changes
Spec Ops: The Line - Chapter #4 - The Refugees
Eerily Realistic AC-130 Mission - Modern Warfare Remastered
Other referenced works:
Reik, Theodor (1965). Curiosities of the self: illusions we have about ourselves.
Jacob Geller - What We Don't Talk About in "Spec Ops The Line"
The Second Coming - W.B. Yeats
The Hollow Men - T.S. Eliot
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
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