One Last Ride On The Road To GTA VI 📅 103 Days to launch
Assumptions Can Be Dangerous
Beverly sees Franklin and within seconds, he’s decided who Franklin is, why he’s there, and what kind of person he must be. Then he realises he’s completely wrong.
His response; “I didn’t have my contacts in… I love black people”. It’s such an obviously bad excuse that it’s funny, but Rockstar is making a serious point. Assumptions are easy. Admitting we made them is much harder.
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” Maya Angelou
Beverly makes his living by judging people from a distance. He’s a paparazzo. His entire career is built on looking at strangers, inventing stories about them and selling those stories. it’s no accident that the first thing he does with Franklin is exactly the same. He doesn’t ask who Franklin is. He fills in the blanks himself.
That’s clever writing because Rockstar isn’t just criticising Beverly as an individual, they’re poking fun at an entire culture of snap judgments, gossip and sensationalism. Whether it’s celebrity magazines, social media or everyday conversations, people often leap to conclusions with very little information. The fastest stories we tell ourselves about other people are often the least accurate.
I think that’s the hidden lesson here. Beverly’s biggest mistake isn’t being offensive, it’s believing he already knows the whole story before he’s even met the person standing in front of him. That’s a timeless piece of human behaviour, and exactly the sort of subtle observation Rockstar loved weaving into GTA V making it the gaming masterpiece it is.
With Grand Theft Auto VI on the horizon, I thought it was the perfect time to revisit one of the greatest games ever made. Over the days leading up to the launch of GTA VI, I’m returning to Los Santos for “Grand Theft Auto V – Series 2”.
I’m creating a brand-new collection of shorts and then analysing the narrative in the comments to tell you what I think is going on from my own perspective as an old hustler, a lifelong gamer, a parent to six and a Gramepa to seven. Disagree with what I say? Get in there! Let’s have a open and honest heart to heart. My challenge is to get the whole game covered by GTAVI launch.
Link to full GTA playlist here:
Level me up by – 👍 💬 🔔 🔎 Gramepa – 🙏
One thought on “The Danger of First Impressions _ GTA Analysis Beyond The Mission”
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made by judging someone too quickly? Are you jumping to assumptions about Gramepa? Nah, you’re probably about right!