Videogames and the Pornography of Death
Videogames and the Pornography of Death
This talk explores the so-called "pornography of death" in video games. Once infamously called "murder simulators" by anti-obscenity activist Jack Thompson, the simulation and animation technologies of video games are indeed often used to depict elaborate, explicit, and exploitative fantasies about dying and killing. From exploding heads and blood fountains to flailing bodies and x-ray vision, the mechanics of death in video games are polymorphously perverse, and understanding the ways that digital technologies stimulate our curiosity of how bodies respond to violence or how individuals behave under threat is crucial in this moment of increased gun violence, racial injustice, and trans- and queerphobia.
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Amanda Phillips (they/he/she) is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University. They are the author of Gamer Trouble: Feminist Confrontations in Digital Culture and co-editor of the NYU Press Queer/Trans/Digital/Diaspora book series. Amanda writes about sex, death, identity, and politics in video games.
This talk is hybrid and part of the WGSS Speaker Series in Fall 2024. This is the second of four installments. For more information on how to register for the virtual version of this event, please check out the RSVP information on the right hand side
