Localization as Adaptation in the Wolfenstein Franchise

TY - CHAP

T1 - Localization as Adaptation in the Wolfenstein Franchise

AU - Schäfke, Werner

PY - 2019/10

Y1 - 2019/10

N2 - In a globalized market, media products are adapted to fit the constraints of specific markets and appeal to their preferred tastes. As the Wolfenstein franchise is set before the backdrop of the Second World War, it has to address cultural memory in a preferred way. The franchise constructs memory of the Second World War, and the holocaust differently, dependent on the intended audience. “Family friendly” versions exist, tailored for branded platforms such as NES and iOS, as well as “sanitized” versions for the German market, where legal provision pose constraints on depictions of Nazism. The resulting corporate adaptation of Wolfenstein games are shown to contradict the intention of legal statues regarding cultural memory, and lead to further mythization of Nazism.

AB - In a globalized market, media products are adapted to fit the constraints of specific markets and appeal to their preferred tastes. As the Wolfenstein franchise is set before the backdrop of the Second World War, it has to address cultural memory in a preferred way. The franchise constructs memory of the Second World War, and the holocaust differently, dependent on the intended audience. “Family friendly” versions exist, tailored for branded platforms such as NES and iOS, as well as “sanitized” versions for the German market, where legal provision pose constraints on depictions of Nazism. The resulting corporate adaptation of Wolfenstein games are shown to contradict the intention of legal statues regarding cultural memory, and lead to further mythization of Nazism.

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 9789462983663

T3 - Transmedia

SP - 203

EP - 228

BT - Adaptation in the Age of Media Convergence

A2 - Fehrle, Johannes

A2 - Schäfke, Werner

PB - Amsterdam University Press

ER -