Thesis
The Black hero's journey and subversions in the monomyth
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Sep 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00010734
Abstract
This thesis seeks to delineate the most common ways in which black protagonists in video games are written and experienced differently in narrative-based video games as compared to white or white-presenting protagonists, using the Hero's Journey as a framework. Taking into account that the most popular video games are often a cross-cultural product produced by multinational corporations, blackness exists on the periphery of the social structures of many of these countries, and black characters are often overlooked, misunderstood, and misrepresented. When black characters are thrust into the spotlight as protagonists, writing flaws are exposed as they are often either an amalgamation of stereotypes, or an expression of digital blackface. Their Hero's Journey becomes twisted, deformed, and ultimately subverted on account of their "blackness." Through a qualitative analysis of two AAA games featuring black protagonists, Forspoken and Detroit: Become Human, and use of the monomyth framework to elucidate where distortions arose, this thesis finds fundamental and common mistakes in writing blackness that cause unintended subversion in what were originally intended to be portrayals of black heroes.
Metrics
40 File views/ downloads
50 Record Views
Details
- Title
- The Black hero's journey and subversions in the monomyth
- Creators
- Michael Anthony Williamson
- Contributors
- Arianna Gass (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vi, 58 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Digital Media; Drexel University; Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
- Other Identifier
- 991021903508304721