Recently, there was some artwork released from the developers of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided that garnered some controversy . The artwork in question depicts a large protest being pushed back by police, and a banner reading “Aug Lives Matter” in the lower left corner. The background buildings strongly suggest the incident is taking place in a futuristic Moscow. The controversy centres on the phrase written on the banner – many fans of the game have claimed that it is an appropriation of the Black Lives Matter movement. Some might agree that there is a connection, but add that the game series has a reputation for being inspired by real world events. However I am of the belief that “Aug Lives Matter” was inspired by other events in human history, specifically World War II. The phrase and artwork itself came long before the Black Lives Matter movement, the artwork is clearly placed in Russia (not America), and events in the game reflect quite different incidences in history.
The developers themselves, Edios Montreal, have been quoted saying the art was created before the Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013, calling it an “unfortunate coincidence.” In addition, Andre Vu, the brand manager of Edios, tweeted, “I get your point but we never use BLM, we don’t reference to the current issues happening in the world.” The evidence couldn’t be more clear on the matter. Edios are not the only ones; most video game developers are far too afraid of controversy to make such a direct reference (as I’ve complained about before).
If you still think the developers are just trying to cover their butts, I invite you to consider the background of the artwork in question. Russia has had much bigger problems for far longer than racist authority figures. The event which began the Black Lives Movement originated in America with the death of Trayvon Martin, which urged a great many people to come together and protest a very large ongoing problem in America. These protestors have been arrested , pepper-sprayed , and outright shot since the movement began. But these events are very different from the ones in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided .
For example, in the trailer for the game, it is shown that many augmented people have been captured and forced into a concentration camp. This is a whole other issue than general police violence against a racialized group. Concentration camps existed quite a few times in history, but most significantly in WWII. In the United States and Canada, for example, those immigrated from Japan and their descendents were placed into similar camps. Though both concentration camps and Black Lives Matter have to do with racism, the line is much thicker here. Aug Lives Matter isn’t a reflection of current political issues at all. If anything, it is a reflection of many distant past events.
To say that one movement has anything to do with the other is going a little far, in my opinion. The Aug Lives Matter movement has far more in common with the events of WWII than those of Black Lives Matter. Again, the phrase and artwork itself were created before the Black Lives Matter movement, the artwork is clearly placed in Russia (not America), and events in the game reflect quite different incidences in history.