Ideology in Bioshock

Abstract

This paper will analyse the Bioshock series, with a particular focus on the treatment of ideology within these games. This popular and critically acclaimed series contains deeply political themes, including various controversial ideologies such as Objectivism, and Collectivism. The treatment of these ideologies within the games have been widely contested and interpreted. Writers and critics have tended to focus on Bioshock games as a critique of particular political ideologies. By examining the games, with a particular reference the use of procedural rhetoric, this paper will argue that this series instead presents a critique of extreme ideology itself.

Keywords

• Procedural Rhetoric
• Ideology
• Philosophy
• Transhumanism
• Objectivism