The Representation of History in Science Fiction Video Games E-Book

Lukas Bay

• Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Master's Thesis from the year 2024 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies, grade: 1,3, University of Tubingen (English Department), language: English, abstract: Science fiction has long served as a powerful lens through which complex social issues and historical narratives can be explored. From the earliest days of the genre, science fiction settings have been utilized to explore contemporary concerns. The struggles and experiences of marginalized groups have frequently found expression in science fiction narratives, with the African American experience being a particularly resonant and recurring motif. The history of African Americans in the United States, from the antebellum days of slavery through the long fight for civil rights and the ongoing struggle for equality, presents a compelling and highly significant narrative. This history of oppression, resistance, identity, and the struggle for freedom naturally lends itself to analogical representation. By representing these historical struggles in futuristic societies or alternate realities, they can be explored from new perspectives, potentially fostering greater empathy and understanding. Whether the replicants in "Blade Runner", the Synths in "Fallout 4", or the androids in "Detroit: Become Human" - the representations of these 'artificial humanoids' include a number of analogies to African American struggles of the past. Works that investigate the representation of race and history in science fiction literature and film exist, but video games remain an area of research that is underrepresented in relation to their popularity and cultural relevance. All three games use said representations of African American history in the context of artificial humanoids to allude to players’ cultural and historical knowledge and project it onto players’ interpretations of the (non?)human beings. The prevalence of these representations within the games’ narratives, however, differs significantly and correlates with how keenly each game is trying to convey the specific interpretation to players that treating these artificial humanoids as anything less than human is unjust.