Mimesis as mediation

A dialectical conception of the videogame interface

Bibliographic Data

ID4480801
AuthorsB Nicoll (0000-0001-9424-6439, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume137
Issue1
Pages22-38
Publication date2016-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThesis Eleven (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0725-5136 • E-ISSN: 1461-7455
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0725513616654793
OpenAlexW2473813946
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited28

Phenomenological accounts of technology, mediation, and embodiment are beginning to problematize traditional distinctions between subject (human) and object (machine). This shift is often attributed to a material or post-human turn since it is usually associated with an interest in the non-human actors and objects that make media interfaces possible. This article contends that these tendencies should also be considered part of a deeper lineage of dialectical thought in critical theory. Using videogames as an example, I argue that academic debates related to the player/game relationship can be read through the lens of Adorno's aesthetic theory. Developing Adorno's concept of mimesis, I argue that the interface is often treated as a dialectical question of how the space between subject and object should be traversed. I reflect on the possible advantages of focusing on this contested space through a discussion of game controllers and the Aristotelian concept of techne

Aesthetics · Critical theory · Dialectic · Epistemology · Game studies · Linguistics · Media studies · Mediation · Social science · Sociology · Techne · Computer Science · Cybernetics and Technology in Society · Digital Games and Media · Digital Media and Philosophy · Philosophy

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