by Sören Schoppmeier*

The following essay is the english version by the author of this earlier guest contribution.

This contribution’s thesis is so inconspicuous that one should consider it more closely: Grand Theft Auto [1] is an active participant in American culture. It should be stressed that to argue this is something entirely different from merely recognizing that Grand Theft Auto represents multiple aspects of American culture and society. A statement like that locates the series somehow outside of what it depicts, namely that which we, somewhat inaccurately, call American culture. Even when, despite its British origin, the series is considered a part of American culture, Grand Theft Auto’s cultural work is usually not only limited to a representational level, but also simply postulated instead of tracing its concrete instances. This contribution, on the other hand, suggests a method with an action-based argumentation, which illuminates the mutually effective relationship between Grand Theft Auto and American culture and thus locates the series and its cultural work in this culture.

OF MYTHICAL CITIES, ACTOR-NETWORKS, AND AMERICAN CULTURE: THOUGHTS ON THE CULTURAL WORK OF GRAND THEFT AUTO weiterlesen →