Ideology in Bioshock

A Critical Analysis

Authors

  • Daniel Odin Shaw Central European Univeristy

Keywords:

Procedural Rhetoric, Ideology, Philosophy, Transhumanism, Objectivism

Abstract

This paper will analyse the Bioshock series, with a particular focus on the treatment of ideology within these games. This popular and critically acclaimed series contains deeply political themes, including various controversial ideologies such as Objectivism, and Collectivism. The treatment of these ideologies within the games have been widely contested and interpreted. Writers and critics have tended to focus on Bioshock games as a critique of particular political ideologies. By examining the games, with a particular reference the use of procedural rhetoric, this paper will argue that this series instead presents a critique of extreme ideology itself.

Author Biography

  • Daniel Odin Shaw, Central European Univeristy

    Daniel Odin Shaw is studying a Masters in Political Science at the Central European University, and has previously graduated from Glasgow University with a dissertation concerning political communication within videogames.

References

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Published

2019-03-11

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Articles

License

CC BYCopyright for papers and articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the University of Glasgow. It is a condition of publication that authors license their paper or article under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence.