Jiří Kothera Bioshock: Infinite as the Mirror of America? Jiří Kothera, "Bioshock: Infinite as the Mirror of America?", Central European Journal of Contemporary Religion 4 (1, 2020): p. 23-49. Few mainstream computer games have caused such
controversy as Bioshock: Infinite
(2013). The third instalment of the Bioshock
series is set in the fictional city of Columbia in an alternate history of the early
twentieth century, which at first glance appears to be a perfect social utopia.
After a while, however, the narrative begins to uncover the multilayered
problems of society oppressed by a fraction of the white elite and religious
fanaticism. The popularity of the game is not only due to the attractive
audiovisual processing and complex game mechanics. It is primarily a story that
uses an unprecedented amount of religious symbolism – especially Christian
symbols, historical references, polysemic story elements, and a story based on
the concepts of frontier myth and American exceptionalism. This work will
deal with analysing these phenomena, especially those directly related to the
religious and nationalistic topics in the United States.
DOI: 10.14712/25704893.2021.2 Download PDF
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