Videogames: A simple set of pixels or a piece of art?

   Nowadays is undeniable the influence of tecnology in people's life and how its progress became in a very important part of society. In this way we can talk about videogames, a growth industry that gradually was positioned at the level of large and old industries such as film and literature. 

   Actually we can perceive the videogames like an element of the culture in most of societies in the world, mainly as a way of entertainment, Due to their proliferation in an increasingly broad and diverse audience, there are many communities or groups of followers (of all ages) about pixel world of gaming, generally known as "gamers". 

   Despite this, most people and a big part of society consider videogames as a simple product made only for children, withtout serious or deep contents. Following this idea we can thought in the videogames as an example of culture with a small "c". Nevertheless, certain people or institutions think in a different way, they are considering videogames as a traditional expression of art like film, painting, etc. For example, in 2011 the Supreme Court of United States of America included the videogames into definition of art and the independent agency of the Government of the United States created a new category in the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) dedicated to interactive medias, in which the videogames are considered like pieces of art. Other example is the exhibition of videogames in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) of New York or the exposition called "The Art of Video games" in the Smithsonian American Art Museum of Washingtong, D.C. 

   In this way, the line of videogames between the small "c" and the big "C" culture is increasingly more closer and narrower, creating a disjuncture between the popular and the experts points of view about what represent videgames in culture like a media that try to express an emotion, a history, a vision, etc. Anyway, it doesn't matter who is in true, the fact is the videogame world is changing and growing. So if we can't consider videogames like an artistic expresion or a kind of artwork yet, personally I think it is only a matter of time to this will happen, because times are changing too and is evident that the videogames industry is constantly evolving and finding new ways to give us a message or a sample of their creative vision. An example of that are the new wave of independent games (or indie games) in the industry with great titles like Braid, Journey, The Stanley Parable, Bastion, Fez, Aquaria, Terraria, Brothers: A Tales of Two Sons and a long list of etc. For all these reasons and following Carlos Ramirez's words (an important videogame journalist and critic in the industy):

"Art is an artificial consensus created by the elite through the media, museums and symposiums, always to trade with it. For now, the consensus may be limited, but it is a matter of numbers. And time." 

   Is foreseeable that in a near future, videogames would be part of the "cultural elite" and the culture with big "C".

   Finally I invite you to watch this trailer about Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibition of videogames, in order to you make an idea about these kind of events.