Today’s Plan:
- Review Catharsis / Walking Dead questions
- Presentation Expectations
- Sign Up for Presentations
- Thursday’s class: Writing Time in Ross 1240
Brainstorming Some Walking Dead Paper Angles
First, let’s clear up what catharsis might mean, especially the idea that catharsis is a kind of pleasure. We all get that catharsis for Aristotle means that we watch something painful and then (sort of) feel good about it. But why do we feel good about it? How do we flush out the particulars? This is where things get tricky. Let me introduce two/ interpretations–I roll with the second more than the first.
Okay, the first is that we recognize in the protagonist something that plagues ourselves, one of our foibles, weaknesses, flaws. Hence we pity them. Or we see that they are the victims of the bad circumstances and we pity them. And, at the same time, because we identify with them, we fear that we could succumb to the same fate, make the same bad decisions.
But the play resolves itself, through the play we learn to overcome those bad things, to fix our flaw, to be better. And thus, we are purged, cleansed, of our pity and fear. The pleasure here is tied to the pleasure of learning, of becoming better.
I don’t really buy that model. Rather, I think we reconcile, accept, those flaws. Perhaps we learn the importance of overcoming our flaws, perhaps we are better at avoiding them. But I think catharsis more as a coming to terms with our frailties, learning to live with them, coming to recognize humanity as something over than divine, ideal, or perfect. Pleasure here is more timid, subdued. It is a kind of peace that eschews from a contentment with our/selves.
Question(s) to throw at Walking Dead:
- Is this game a tragedy (by Aristotelian standards)?
- Did you have a cathartic experience?
- How/does the interactive nature of the game augment/diminish its potential as a tragedy capable of producing catharsis?
- Can you close read one or two key moments in the game to illustrate your answers to the questions above?
- Let’s talk about your relationship to Lee. Is it sympathetic or empathetic? [What is the distinction between the two?]
- Let’s talk about whether the anxiety a question-based game produces resonates with “pity” and “fear”
Research Presentation Expectations
Your research presentations need to be 4 minutes or less. You should read a paper or prepared notes–I’m looking for a polished rehearsed talk, not an improv performance. Note that a four minute speech is about 550-600 words. Given that we have to get through 12/13 presentations, I need you to make sure that your talk does not exceed 4 minutes.
I want these talks to focus on particular scenes/moments/decisions in your game that you discuss in your papers. Given the limited time, I’d prefer if you didn’t spend too much time defining catharsis (or another term) in the talk. We are all working within the same theoretical bounds, so only discuss a theoretical/lens term if you are using it in a very specific way (or are using a term we didn’t include in our class document). While space is limited, it might be nice to give us a 2-3 sentence overview of the game (general plot? genre? main character(s) names).
I am torn on the idea of using mixed media in your presentation–while watching a game can give us a powerful sense of how it operates as a tragedy, we only have 4 minutes per project. It makes more sense for you to describe your scene, perhaps with an accompanying screenshot.
Given that there’s a range of approaches to writing this paper, I don’t want to constrict the content of the presentation too much. I will say that a base expectations for the presentation, similar to the paper, revolves around answering those Walking Dead questions above–detailing not only if a game is a tragedy, but how it operates as a tragedy. Potentially what a game does to amplify its tragic sense of catharsis. Or what it does to diminish catharsis. Whatever your argument, the presentation should focus on one particular scene/moment in the game as evidence for one of these arguments.
If you want to include multimedia in your presentation, then I would request you make a Google Slides and share it in the Week 8: Presentation turn-in. Alternatively, you can submit a script for your presentation as a Google Doc or Word Doc.
Presentation Sign Ups
I’ve slotted 12 presentations for Tuesday and 13 for Thursday. To keep this equitable, I’ll start by asking if I have volunteers for Tuesday.
Thursday’s Class
I have two objectives for Thursday’s class. First, I’d like to break y’all into groups to discuss your papers. Those of you working on Walking Dead, God of War, or Nier can brainstorm/compare your play notes thus far.
After group discussions, I’ll give you time to work on your papers and presentations.
