The purpose of Columbia, the flying city in Bioshock Infinite, is to show the greatness Jeffersonian Democracy can achieve, which is an interesting idea, but the propaganda posters scattered around the city misrepresents it's values. Here's the main culprit:
First off most of the United States founders were Freemasons or at least approved of Freemason beliefes, and for the most part Deists. Freemasonry encouraged equality among all groups of people no matter their backround or religion, so having a picture of a founder refusing people entrance into the US simply because they're foreign as well as holding Christianity up as the prefered religion misrepresents American values, both in the 1700s and 1900s.
And to further examplify my point I want to refer to the poem "The New Colossus" which was written in 1883, a point in time very close to when Infinite takes place (basically the guilded age), and was engraved on the Statue of Liberty (which was pretty much a huge welcome sign to foreigners) in 1903.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Now take another look at that propaganda poster, does it really represent American views or values? It obviously dosen't, infact it's an insult. It's a perversion of what the US really did stand for. I can understand making a modern political commentary about immigration even if I don't agree with the stance; just don't act like it's our founder's fault.
I also want to point out how inconsistant an idea it is to have a flying city designed to show off and encourage Jeffersonian Democracy to other nations around the globe, but have posters telling those people they're cretans and to stay out. Columbia might as well be a giant flying middle finger.. and posters like this certainly dosn't help:
I understand there was a eugenics movement in the United States some time in the 20s, but it's purpose was to breed out the crippled and mentally ill, basically burdens of the state, not promote a particular race; that was just the Nazies. So once again the game is wrongly portraying the US as racist.
I know the US has been involved in some questionable activities both today and through out history, but to miscontrue us as total bad guys and disregard the strides in equality and humanity America has made is just looking at things in black and white and if anything, it's a sign that the creators of this game are victims of anti-American propaganda themselves.
