2025/01/01 by Sang, Tina T. · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Digital Games and Media #Sports, Gender, and Society #Utopian, Dystopian, and Speculative Fiction
paper · doi:10.7939/83217
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/11/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
Esports as a professionalised media industry surrounding competitive video gaming often presents itself as apolitical, given its digital nature. Similar to traditional sport models, some esport ecosystems feature international tournaments with regionalised leagues that often align with geopolitical borders. Esport broadcasters often seek mainstream legitimacy by adopting the tools and language of traditional sport, including similar conventions in narrative construction. Studying common trends and themes within these narratives allows for unique insights into how race and nationality are conceived within broader gaming communities. Literature on the exclusionary and toxic nature of gaming spaces, including esports, is extensive. However, race and nationality as factors in the toxicity within esport culture remain under explored. This project aims to examine broadcast and community narratives at the 2023 League of Legends World Championship. A content and discourse analysis of broadcast segments and independent interviews was conducted. Much of the narratives surrounding regions competing internationally often pin a traditional “East vs West” narrative, aiming for a toppling of Asian teams so that Western teams can “come equal.” Experts of Asian regions are underrepresented on broadcast, with Western perspectives taking centre stage, positioning themselves as plucky underdogs hoping to defeat the monolith of Asian dominance. Similarly, the presence of Asian players on Western teams is emblematic existing techno-Orientalist anxieties of skilled yet dehumanized Asian labour displacing the rightful positions of Western “native talent.” Race and oppression extend beyond the physical — here, esports seeks to borrow the nationalistic language of international competitions in traditional sport, reinforcing the politics in the Western sphere, particularly against a racial Other that is viewed as a threat to traditional Western dominance.