Michaela Fikejzová, Martin Charvát
ABSTRACT:
The aim of the paper is to interpret the themes of dissemination of cosmic horror via the transformation of human bodies in the Bloodborne digital game. The analysis’ central operative concept is the medicalisation process introduced by Michel Foucault, when he described the birth and emergence of biopolitics at the end of the 18th century and showed how medical science, built on new paradigms, led to a specific control of the population, especially its natality and mortality. Within Bloodborne, we can see the mechanisms of medicalisation through the constitution of a powerful institution, which subsequently introduced the ritual of transfusion when experimenting with blood. However, this led to the transformation of human/mortal bodies by means of the beastly scourge, and thus to the alteration of the properties of mortal bodies, into a form of becoming-of-the-monster. As a result, medicalisation allows for the dissemination of cosmic horror and the loss of humanity. This type of analysis seeks to expand our understanding of the intersection of digital games and sociocultural phenomena at the level of representation, and their involvement in the construction of game fictional worlds.
KEY WORDS:
affect, Bloodborne, cosmic horror, inhuman, medicalisation, monster.
DOI:
10.34135/actaludologica.2024-7-2.26-37
