I think everyone has had a class where it's been required to analyze a piece of literature. In fact, my entire introduction to literature course was basically learning to read and analyze popular short stories and poems. One story in particular changed my life: “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. My memory is foggy on the details of the story itself, but I remember seeing how the idea of freedom was portrayed in Chopin’s words, and I remember the light bulb going off inside my head. I remember feeling like I'd just experienced some sort of undiscovered true beauty in the written word and like I'd just connected to something in a way I'd never had before. And so, in my first semester of college, I found out that I mostly valued freedom and independence, which has changed my life for the better. I've built part of myself with this knowledge.

Also during that same semester, I took a film class that explored the history of film and the art of it. One of the movies we watched was “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” This film also changed my life for the better, perhaps strangely enough. I found that I wanted to be bold and that I could fight the system just like Mac if I thought the system was stupid. I knew I had it within me to be strong enough to be myself, and to not take anyone's shit, as well as never let things keep me down. I never thought a film could change me, but it did, and to this day, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is still my favorite movie, and it continues to inspire me, even though I haven't seen it for quite some time now.

Anyone who knows me knows that I play a lot of video games. People who have read my articles know as much by now as well. Although I watched a playthrough of it and own a copy of it, I've never personally finished the wildly popular game, “The Last of Us.” But, I remember watching the playthrough of it, and it felt as if I was watching a movie. The characters were so easy to connect to and I felt as if I had a personal investment in their lives, their choices, and their stories. That game is a wild ride from start to finish, but at the end of the playthrough I watched, I realized that it's extremely important to me to take care of and protect my loved ones, even if it means making sacrifices to do so. It's hard to make it in this world all alone, and I refuse to stand by while people I love are hurting or in danger. I know this as deeply as I know that I value freedom and being courageous.

Have you noticed, though, that sometimes video games aren't taken as seriously as other forms of “entertainment?” There are entire classes and fields dedicated to analyzing literature, films, and art, and yet I sometimes still see people wondering why it's even worth analyzing video games. Video games aren't serious like movies, books, and art, right? They don't have the same depth and effort, right?

I personally have to disagree. I believe that video games should be treated like the aforementioned fields of art, where it's encouraged to analyze plot and construction and to find hidden meanings and connections that aren't as evident as one may think. A lot of time and effort from a lot of different people goes into making video games, and I believe true masterpieces are turned out by these video game companies, much like how authors, directors, and artists make their own masterpieces. Video games are like interactive movies and novels. We fall deeply into them just as we fall deeply into literature and film. We look at the beauty of them just as we look at the beauty of art.

It probably sounds like I'm trying to put video games on a pedestal, which I'm certainly not. I don't believe that video games are any better than a book, a movie, or a work of art -- rather I believe that they are equal to a book, movie, or work of art. Like any art form, there are masterpieces and there are flops. It doesn't require any less genius to produce a video game than it requires to produce other art. Video games are not any less valid of an art form, in my opinion.

I don't know how classes on analyzing video games would be run, and I honestly can't think of any possibilities on that front. But, I know there are people out there who spend their time analyzing video games, and I'd like to commend them for it. I think that a lot of times, video games get pushed aside as something that shouldn't be considered art in any sense of the word, and honestly, in reality, that’s just not the case if you ask me. Video games should be considered art just as much as, well, art itself is. They deserve analysis, and they deserve to be connected to because they have the power to change our lives, just like art as a whole does. There is possibility for beauty, and there is possibility for change, and we are beyond fortunate to be here in a place and time where we have the ability to sit and think about what art means to us, and the world as a whole.