Ludwig Göransson made headlines across the globe when he won the Oscar for Best Original Score for his work in Oppenheimer. This was the Swedish composer’s second Oscar after winning the same category for his Black Panther score in 2019. However, he said something pretty controversial about video games in his acceptance speech.
If you’re new to this controversy, here’s a quick rundown. After winning his Oscar, Göransson gave his acceptance speech, comically thanking his parents saying, “To my parents, thank you for giving me guitars and drum machines instead of video games.”
Another thing to point out here is the terrible implication that playing video games is a waste of time. Göransson is not so subtly implying that children would be better off learning a useful skill rather than playing games.
This is a harsh view of childhood. Many kids are forced into long hours of practice for a skill they didn’t get to choose by parents who want them to be the next Mozart or Lang Lang. As Vice wrote, child prodigies often burn out and sometimes suffer from miserable childhoods. Letting kids be kids is not just morally correct, but also gives them a better sense of worth and happier memories.
At the end of the day, the two are not in conflict with each other. Video games often inspire a love of music in future musicians and listeners. According to Wired, Yoko Shimomura, who composed music for the legendary Kingdom Hearts series, spent much of her youth playing video games in arcades. This love of gaming and music inspired her to become a video game composer, penning some of the most beloved music in gaming.
Göransson’s comments were naive and insulting to generations of musicians whose biggest influences were video games. The criticism he is getting right now is legitimate and needs to be said.
(featured image: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
