Virtual Anti-racism: Pleasure, Catharsis, and Hope in Mafia III and Watch Dogs 2. Issue 1 (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Leonard, David J.
• Other Names: Gonzalez-Lesser Emma guest-editor.; Hall Rhys guest-editor.; Hughey Matthew W. guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Humanity & society. Volume 44:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 111
• Page End: 130
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: video games -- pleasure -- Mafia III -- Watch Dogs 2; Sociology -- Periodicals; 301.05
• DOI: 10.1177/0160597619835863
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0160-5976

Abstract

This essay examines the representation and consumption of Mafia III and Watch Dogs 2 as a site of catharsis, pleasure, and empowerment. Through not only its representation of white supremacy but its rendering of intervention and transformation as violence, Mafia III and Watch Dogs 2 offer a powerful inscription of gratification. In other words, offering both a space of oppositional gaze and a virtual reality invested in challenging gaze based in violence, Mafia III and Watch Dogs 2 reimagine the conventions of both video games and violence.