Abstract
Different mediums can dramatically alter how stories are told, how characters are represented, and ultimately, how we engage and respond as an audience. Narratives told through a digital medium are no exception, as these works can depict compelling narratives with elements such as animation, audio, and three-dimensional (3D) narrative environments. In fact, some of these narratives in digital media have been referred to as "empathy games," which denotes that these works can facilitate empathy for characters, including characters that represent a marginalized Other. The notion that a narrative in digital media can foster empathy for the Other prompts two problems which also emerge in literary studies: promoting empathy through narratives is not a controllable effect, and narratives cannot represent the Other without the risk of establishing or reinforcing stereotypes. This project takes up these issues by assessing four narratives in digital media, and this comprehensive analysis demonstrates that narratives in digital media offer a means to address these obstacles and ethical barriers.
My project draws on the theoretical work of scholars, including feminist theorist Rosi Braidotti, philosopher Jacques Derrida, and post-colonial scholar Gayatri Spivak, who have proposed concepts and methods that work to disrupt hegemonic ideology that fixedly defines the Other as an oppressed subject. Drawing on their work, I reveal that their concepts and methods can take shape in digital media and destabilize the hegemonic ideology that otherwise informs a player's narrative interpretation and perception of the Other represented in the story. Additionally, I refer to the work of scholars such as Suzanne Keen to consider other obstacles in fostering narrative empathy and show that narratives in digital media provide methods to overcome some of these barriers. This critical examination reveals that narratives in digital media can address the long-standing ethical challenge of representation of the Other and overcome other obstacles that emerge on the pathway to fostering empathy for the Other.