Rules of the Father in The Last of Us

Zusatztext

<div><br></div><div>Widely regarded by critics and fans as one of the best games ever produced for the Sony Playstation, <i>The Last of Us</i> is remarkable for offering players a narratively rich experience within the parameters of cultural and gaming genres that often prioritize frenetic violence by straight white male heroes. <i>The Last of Us</i> is also a milestone among mainstream, big-budget (AAA) games because its development team self-consciously intervened in videogames historical exclusion of women and girls by creating complex and agentive female characters. The games co-protagonist, Ellie, is a teenage girl who is revealed to be queer in <i>The </i><i>Last of Us: Left Behind</i> (DLC, 2014) and <i>The Last of Us II</i> (2020). Yet <i>The Last of Us</i> also centers Joel,  Ellies fatherly protector.<br></div><div><br></div>How is patriarchy, the rule of the father, encoded in rule-based systems like videogames? How does patriarchal rule become an algorithmic rule and vice-versa? These questions are at the heart of this book, the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of the zombie apocalypse/ action-adventure/ third-person shooter videogame<i>The Last of Us</i> (2013). <div>On the one hand, the book is a close, extended study of<i>The Last of Us</i> and its themes, genres, procedures, and gameplay. On the other hand, the book is a post-GamerGate reflection on the political and ethical possibilities of progressive play in algorithmic mass culture, of which videogames are now the dominant form. </div><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div></div>

Autorenportrait

J. Jesse Ramirez is Assistant Professor of American Studies at University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

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