The icon of Angry Birds (AB) is now famous
all around the world. We can find the character of rounded red, yellow, white,
or black bird in many products such as balloon, puppet, clothes, and even on
the snack or soft drink packaging. The popularity of AB make seems to be a big phenomenon
in some commercial industry, and it raises a big question: why does Angry Bird become so
popular?
Taking a look at the history of AB will
help us to reach the conclusion why the society crazy about this bird icon. AB
was actually created as a video game by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Entertainment
in 2009. Firstly it is released for Apple’s iOS in December 2009, and then it
spread along the Apple’s iOS users which were always increased. Since that time
the company provided the AB for smartphones, such as those using the Android operating
system and the Black Berry. As the smartphone and any Mac products spread
through the society developed to be the part of life style, AB grew along the
popularity of those Smartphone and Mac products. The spreading of AB kept
increasing through the internet and social media which is also supported by the
smartphone with several of operating systems and the personal computer, or note
book and net book, which is part of today life style.
The popularity of AB makes the commercial
industry produces many kind of AB products. As we can see the AB merchandise,
clothes, accessories, and even snacks or soft drink packaging. It makes people
from any age levels familiar to AB and place AB as the game all people play,
furthermore this phenomenon grows up to be a popular culture.
There are some kinds of AB video games such
as the common people know which Angry Birds the Adventure, and the other
version of this game such as the Outer Space Angry Birds, Angry Birds in Rio
and Angry Birds Holidays. All those versions of AB basically have the same game
line; it’s played with the same rules and has many levels to be passed. In this
article, we pick two example of AB which is the Outer Space Angry Birds and the
Angry Birds in Rio.
To answer the question why AB becomes a
phenomenon of pop culture we need to analyze the system of fictional entertainment
(Chesebro, 1986). The first thing of the system of fictional entertainment is
the leader – centered in AB. This system
seems clear in the AB in Rio version, which is actually an adaptation of the
Rio de Janaero the movie, an American 3D computer-animated musical comedy film
produced by Blue Sky Studios in 2011. The story line of the AB in Rio, is just
simply replace the main character of the movie. The AB game characters becomes the
main icon that saved the birds locked in the cages. The games is the same with
another version of AB, the gamers need to pull the catapult with the AB as the missile
to destroy the locked cages so the birds inside the cages be freed.
The second is the mimethic function which represents
human real-life experience. In the real life, people will face the problem and
need to solve it, beside they also have target in their life. In AB games the
gamers need to reach their target which is passed the level. In order to pass
the level the gamers needs to release the locked birds (in Rio version) and
beat the green pigs (the outer space version), and to do it the gamers need to
have a strategy and make a decision about how strong the AB missile shoot and
to which area to make the missile work efficiently to release as much as the
locked birds and beat up as much as the green pigs. Just like in the real life
experience, when people have to solve the problems, they need not only focus on
the problems (symbolized with the locked birds and the green pigs), but also
the strategy to solve the problem efficiently because in the real life for many
times people don’t have so many chances (symbolized by the amount of AB
missiles in the games.
The third is the mythic function of
entertainment which is clearly seen in the outer space setting of the AB. The
outer space setting of the games shows another world which actually doesn’t
exist in the outer space, but in the AB the setting makes people imagine that
out there is such kind of world, like in the AB, exist above the sky. This outer
space setting designed as if the setting were really existed because in the
movement in this games set out as if everything were in the vacuum outer space.
The fourth entertainment system in the AB
is the romantic function which is directly showed in the AB in Rio version. The
AB characters seem struggle to released the locked birds, it even sacrifices
themselves death to released the locking birds. Another part of the romantic
side of the AB is the relationship between the gamers and the games. Take a
look at the name of “Angry Birds” it shows the very deep meaning of emotional
reaction when people have a strong negative feeling. Supported by the atmosphere
of the games, the music, the sound effect of the mocking green pigs, or the
happy freed birds, the games and the gamers are trapped in the strong emotional
engagement. Especially, if the gamers are in the condition of bored, angry, or
tired of their activities, the AB is likely to be a good friend to help the
gamers feel better. Furthermore, the comfort feeling created by the AB leads to
an addictive condition of the gamers. They might be crazy about the games.
The last entertainment system of the AB is
the ironic in this game. The Angry Birds themselves represent the icon that
actually breaks the society norm and rules. The AB characters called as Angry
Birds, the birds which were angry. The games exactly show the illustration of
anger; destroy things around the birds, vandalism. It becomes more ironic when
the gamers feel so happy after shoot the bird missile to destroy the target and
beat up the pig. It’s is like you were angry, and the anger leads you to do
vandalism that actually might hurt you and people around you, but you get a
satisfaction by doing that.
Beside the system of fictional entertainment
another thing supports why AB become a huge industry under the influence of
popular culture ids the planes of perception carried in this video games. The planes
of perception here at least involved two perceptions which are the biopshylogical
and the cultural relativism. Take a look at the biopshylogical perception, the
AB itself is a reflection of the society feeling. Beside the games appeared as
an alternative entertainment when people get bored of the routine or other
entertainment, AB itself symbolized people life which sometime seems messy and
full of emotion, but beyond everything happened there is a very detail organization
of life. Just like in the AB, even we just want to destroy the place to get
high score while achieving the main goal, passing the level, we need to
calculate every detail of the movement. At the same time, AB reflects the
emotional condition of people when they are angry, an emotional condition which
has a universal picture in the world, violence. While the cultural relativism
in AB clearly found in AB in Rio version from the back sound of the games and
the music of the games which is adapted from the Latino music which is identical to the Latino dance, especially
Samba, that is popular around the world. In the AB with outer space setting,
the setting tend to imitate the NASA imagery of outer space to create the space
atmosphere which is close to the American imagery in the futuristic or outer
space movie which is accepted around the world.
This condition drives AB to be more than a
game people play, but place it to be a popular culture product which is
globally accepted. It has what people want as the entertainment alternative,
and the same times it’s what life looks
like. The smart design of AB makes it widely accepted and shapes people mind
that it’s exciting.
