By Jeremy Hannaford (Contributor)– Email
Print Edition: September 25, 2013
Rockstar’s characters have always been far from normal, often parodies of popular fads, social icons, or demented representations of inner human rage. Tommy Vercetti from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was an homage as well as exploitation of ‘80s Florida. Claude from Grand Theft Auto III was a mockery of the silent protagonist characters that were everywhere in the gaming industry at the time (i.e., Gordon Freeman). Its antagonists have also set gaming standards: Officer Tenpenny (voiced by Samuel L Jackson) was a crooked African American police officer who exceedingly abused his power to harass and threaten Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’ protagonist CJ. The recent addition of the violent yet apologetic John Marston from Red Dead Redemption adds to the cultivated group of individuals Rockstar has given to the world.
Grand Theft Auto V’s Michael, Franklin, and Trevor are unique characters with skewed views of themselves and others. Michael is a former thief who gave up the life to try to raise a family that hates him. Franklin is a former gangbanger who wants to climb the ladder in the criminal world but still lives in a rancher with his aunt. Finally, Trevor is the worst of the worst, every sick, evil, twisted idea Rockstar has ever had rolled into this one maniac.
Michael lives with a family of selfish, stubborn individuals who take him for granted. His son is a mockery of the Call of Duty multiplayer world, threatening his online opponents with ridiculous homophobic insults and curses but completely lacking in self-respect. Michael’s daughter is a horny spoiled brat, and his wife is a yoga fanatic who deals with the fear of her husband’s violence by sleeping with a tennis coach. Michael tries to escape his family by drinking whiskey and imagining his life as an ‘80s movie. This combination is hilarious, entertaining, and an amazingly honest representation of some upper-class western families – I think I have finally discovered why people like reality television.
Franklin may be the most normal of the three but still has an unhealthy high opinion of himself. Everyone he used to roll with is now scum in his eyes, but he feels obligated to help them because he needs to prove he is superior. These people are a constant reminder of his ‘low-life’ past. Franklin has an admirable ambition to succeed, not in legitimate business, but in crime. Much like Goodfellas’ Henry Hill, Franklin represents the American youth who turns to crime instead of trying to find a job in a tough economy.
Trevor is a sexually deviant narcissistic sociopath and the most violent, twisted character I have ever seen in gaming, even compared to the snuff-like qualities of the infamous Manhunt. In the first 10 minutes of his introduction, he asks another gangbanger to have casual sex with him, breaks a criminal’s head with his boot, then proceeds to speak with the piece of brain matter still attached to it while confronting the man’s associates. This deranged crack-smoking hillbilly is in love with violence and its outcomes. While striking a deal with Chinese officials, he professes that from childhood he always wanted to be a drug-dealing, weapon-smuggling entrepreneur.
Each of these archetypes is basically moulded from previous Rockstar characters, and they have turned out to be the best it has ever offered. While violence and video games will always be subject to concern for those unaccustomed to their nature, Rockstar always matches the violence with quality games and characters.
