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USA | Aug 26, 2021

Social media set alight as MLK takes ‘Fortnite’ stage

Gavin Riley

Gavin Riley / Our Today

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Twitter erupts into debate as Fortnite and TIME Studios team up to deliver a virtual exhibition on US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior. (Photo: blog.playstation.com)

There have been mixed reactions to gaming company PlayStation’s announcement on Thursday (August 26) of a virtual screening of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jnr’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech on Fortnite.

According to PlayStation, the virtual experience was created by Fortnite developers, in collaboration with TIME Studios, to provide an immersive journey that would allow gamers to witness the revered Black American’s speech in full.

Dubbed ‘March Through Time’, the experience will teleport players nearly 60 years in the past to a re-imagined Washington DC called “DC 63”.

From there, Fortnite players will travel to the Lincoln Memorial and the United States National Mall, where Dr King made his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.

“The experience will also feature museum-inspired points of interest and quests you can complete with other players. These quests should bring an important reminder that relates to Dr King’s speech: We move forward when we work together. Completing the Dr King and civil rights movement challenges will unlock a DC 63 spray for your locker,” PlayStation explained in a blog.

PlayStation, continuing, said that civil rights is a struggle being fought for to this day and hopes that through the virtual exhibition, the gaming community is inspired “to promote mutual respect and empathy towards all people no matter their race, religion, or orientation”.

Following the Twitter announcement, some praised the initiative as forward-thinking by Epic Games, owners of Fortnite, for bringing MLK’s teachings and philosophy to millions of young people.

A similar project, where police cars were removed from the game, was done in June 2020 during the height of the George Floyd protests that swept the United States and countries around the world.

Others, incensed by recent news of the curtailment of critical race theory taught in US schools, slammed the federal government for creating a void in the first place.

More reactions:

The overwhelming majority, however, expressed their concern around the marketing of the March Through Time experience, which they argued could be seen as trivialising the work and legacy of Martin Luther King Junior.

Leading the cautionary wave are sentiments that while the initiative was well-intentioned, hate groups and other racist sects may find a way to denigrate King’s message.

See teaser below:

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