RED DEAD MASCULINITY: CONSTRUCTING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING THE NARRATIVE AND MESSAGE FOUND IN VIDEO GAMES

by Benjamin J. Triana

Abstract

Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption video game exemplifies a complex narrative that combines a video game’s gameplay, story elements, and Western genre tropes. The narrative constructs a masculinity in opposition to social forces not only constructed in the video game world but also found in the physical world. This analysis uses transportation theory in combination with interactivity and identification processes to interpret the effects of the game’s message of masculinity. Specifically, the analysis examines the terministic screen used by the game’s main character. The terministic screen justifies morally questionable actions for the main character and for the player. The persuasiveness of the message is then considered in relationship to the unique characteristics of the video game medium that have the potential to initiate identification and identity management. By using Red Dead Redemption as a case study, explanations as to how and why a game’s narrative and message may affect a player’s value system are posited.

Introduction

Video games have experienced substantial growth in the resources allocated to the development of game narratives. This trend stemmed from the findings that enjoyment relates to increased identification with video game characters, and enjoyment and identification can be reinforced through the use of narratives, especially when combined with improved technology and gameplay (Grimshaw, Charlton, & Jagger, 2011; Calleja, 2010; Murphy, 2004). In fact, so many improvements have been made in the narrative sophistication of video games that popular culture has taken notice (1) (Bissell, 2013). Scholars have noticed as well, recognizing the narratives’ effect on immersion, sense and meaning-making, and enjoyment once narratives were coupled with the medium’s interactive elements (Lee, Park, & Jin, 2006; Shapiro, Peña-Herborn, & Hancock, 2006).

Scholars, such as Crawford (2012) and Pargman and Jakobsson (2008), argue for the study of video games in respect to social contexts where many of these narratives have originated and where, conversely, the narratives are appropriated and influence the community and culture. Long (2009) believed video games contain media-messages applicable to gamers and the real-worlds they inhabit. Bogost (2008) argued that the rules, world, and processes of video games present a system “where cultural values themselves can be represented” (p. 119). These characteristics of the medium have led scholars to recognize that video games do not situate completely in one realm (Mäyrä, 2008). In many cases, the video game experience may be used to “inform conversations or social interactions based around other subject matter” (Crawford, 2012, p. 81). The difficulty is in identifying the pertinent aspects, processes, mechanics, and interplay of a specific game and player that allow for learning and meaning to cross a game’s boundaries and enter the physical world.

This study examines the potential for the specific masculine construction found in Rockstar San Diego's (2010) Red Dead Redemption (RDR) to cross the game’s boundaries and influence the worldview of the player. The game’s interpretation of masculinity recommends a particular approach and response when faced with certain social forces and institutions that are not only found in the game-world but are also likely to be prominent forces recognizable in the 21st century real world of the player. This study explicates the process by which the narrative recommendation embedded in the game’s version of masculinity allows the message to travel from the game-world to the player’s physical world.

Red Dead Redemption was released on May 18, 2010 by Rockstar Games for the video game consoles PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It can be described as a sandbox game, consisting of an open-world, third person, action/adventure American Western-themed video game. The game became quite popular, selling over 13 million copies as of February 2012 (Curtis, 2012). The game told the story of John Marston, part bounty hunter, outlaw, and cowboy, and his attempts to track down his former partners-in-crime. At the beginning of the game, Marston agreed to work with the government as the authorities have his wife and son in protective custody. He hoped that the government will release his wife and son and allow all of them to return to their farm once he has located his former accomplices.

RDR is a nuanced tale that fits within the realm of the Revisionist-Western genre and focuses on a masculine lifestyle in opposition to early 20th century societal forces and technological advancement. For RDR, societal change becomes the catalyst for compromising one’s morality, for losing control over one’s life, and for an almost constant struggle against the greed and corruption of others. The game depicts cruel societal forces: uncaring corporations, inhumane industrialization and technological advancement, and a government obsessed with expanding its power and reach. These forces exert demands on the protagonist, the player, and the game’s supporting cast. The end result is a comment on the radically changing American society of the early 1900’s. Through Marston, the main character, RDR addresses the challenges a male protagonist, typical of later era Westerns, must face and his rhetorical justifications for his choices and actions. In a deft manner, the game develops these themes and Marston’s perspective by utilizing dialogue during cut-scenes and the common video game template of goal-oriented missions.

In this study, textual analysis is used to examine how the game’s narrative and gameplay creates a terministic screen for the main character (Burke, 1966). Burke (1966) described terministic screens as “any nomenclature [that] necessarily directs the attention into some channels rather than to others” and these choices “affect the nature of our observations” (pp. 45–46). These interpretations of observations affect an individual’s perspective and understanding of reality and persuade the individual to act on a particular perspective based on the terms (nomenclature) that created the screen or perspective much like the lens of a camera creating a screen through which a photographer interprets a scene or moment in time.

Marston chooses a particular terministic screen to perceive the world and justify morally questionable gameplay choices, such as murder. Moreover, the screen advances a narrative which crafts a version of masculinity that opposes powerful forces that are still influential in the 21st century. The persuasiveness and transferability of the message from game world to real world is then explored. The subsequent analysis posits that a combination of video gameplay and narrative can increase message receptivity, especially through the processes of transportation, interactivity, and identification. These processes can lead to identity management and change. If successful, transportation, interactivity, and identification allow the player to adopt Marston’s terministic screen and apply it to physical world social contexts and human interactions. This process of game-message-persuasion-to-physical-world-application can be generalized to games similar to RDR and used an explanation of game-message internalization.

Klimmt, Hefner, Vorderer, Roth, and Blake (2010) have argued that “identification with player characters or player roles has not been studied with much rigor in communication” (p. 324). Shaw (2013) called for scholars to dig deeper into the process of identification, specifically, how and when a game invites interaction, how identification differs from identity, and when a player is more or less inclined to identify with a game or game’s character. This study offers an approach for analyzing a game’s narrative, underlying message, and the process of identification through the interplay of gameplay and narrative. Secondly, this lens connects the narrative and gameplay to physical world social contexts, attempting to explain the transferal process of a video game reality to a socially constructed one. In particular, this study concentrates on how the ideological message implicit in RDR may affect the player and alter values and beliefs (i.e., identity) applicable to the player’s social contexts and human experience. The following sections present the theoretical framework which underpins the game-world to physical world transference. The subsequent sections present an overview of the masculinities commonly found in Westerns with the purpose of establishing the interpretative perspective for the analysis followed by an overview of RDR’s plot and narrative. The final sections discuss and analyze the implications of the gameplay experience.

Conceptual Framework: From the Video Game World to the Physical World

Explicating the process by which a narrative message can be transferred from a video game to the physical world is essential for understanding the potential appropriation of a video game’s perspective on the world. However, in order to do so, the framework must ameliorate the division between narratological (i.e., narrative and textual based analysis) and ludological (i.e., gameplay and game mechanics analysis) approaches to video game analysis (Kirkland, 2005). By combining transportation theory, interactivity, the process of video game identification, and Burke’s terministic screen, a conceptual framework can be constructed that may be useful for understanding how messages embedded in video game narratives can affect the player as a result of gameplay. Transportation theory concentrates on the narrative of a video game in a way theories such as immersion, engagement, and flow do not. Meanwhile, Burke’s conceptualization of terministic screens allows for an explanation as to how the video game medium can increase receptivity and allow a player to internalize a game’s message in a way that respects the performative nature of video games. By combining these theories, the conceptual framework offers an explanation as to how multiple game processes interact to create an impression on a player.

Part 1: Transportation Theory + Interactivity = Identification = Personal Relevance

Green and Brock (2000) defined a narrative as a story “that raises unanswered questions, presents unresolved conflicts, or depicts not yet completed activity; characters may encounter and then resolve a crisis or crises. A story line, with a beginning, middle, and end, is identifiable” (p. 701). A narrative experience refers to an individual’s engagement with a narrative. To better understand narrative experiences, scholars have used transportation theory.

First articulated by Gerrig (1993) and later expanded by Green and Brock (2000), transportation theory explains the cognitive process by which an individual is affected by the drama of a surrogate protagonist found in a fictionalized world. In other words, an individual may be “[absorbed] into a story” through “imagery, affect, and attentional focus” (Green & Brock, 2000, p. 70). When individuals engage with a narrative and experience transportation, a cognitive process occurs where the narrative world and its story affect physical-world experiences. That is, parts of the physical-world become inaccessible, and the transported person may experience emotions resulting from engagement with the narrative, the narrative’s characters, and the world the characters inhabit. In fact, this experience may be so intense that the transported person can be changed by the experience. Green and Brock (2002) explicated that “transportation may reduce negative cognitive responding. Transported readers may be less likely to disbelieve or counter-argue story claims, and thus their beliefs may be influenced” (p. 702). Significantly, Green and Brock’s (2002) assertion suggests that narratives have the potential to persuade in a way direct messaging cannot.

Even though transportation theory was originally developed to explain experiences of readers, Green and Brock (2002) believed transportation could occur whenever narrative information was communicated no matter what the medium. Particular to video game research, Schneider (2004) found that narratives increased identification, psychological, and physiological response and enjoyment. To increase the impact of the narrative on players and encourage engagement with the game’s narrative, video games may include cut scenes, voice actors, and improved graphics (Buel, 2013). In RDR, the game mechanics reinforce engagement with the narrative as one cannot progress through the game, or open up the world, without progressing through the narrative. Krzywinska (2002), Grieb (2002), Marshall (2004), and Bogost (2008) recognized the bounding limits of the video game environment, the game rules, and the underlying structure of the game and gameplay in forcing or reinforcing engagement with the game’s narrative. Engagement with the narrative increases the player’s connection to the game and can encourage transportation. Buel (2013) supports the importance of narrative, especially Hollywood studio or system narratives like the one found in RDR as these genre and Hollywood narratives encourage “players to form deeper readings of the games themselves” (p. 48). In fact, Buel (2013) emphasized the power of narratives from genres such as Westerns as players are potentially more aware of ideologies, conventions, narratives, and representations. Thus, players are more sensitive to the messages in these narratives and may be more likely to experience transportation. Once transported, the theory explains how this “transportation” allows the player to “bring back” beliefs or be influenced by the game.

This personal, transported experience is important to the relationship between narrative engagement and identification. By experiencing something new via the story, transportation may allow an individual to become more amenable to the persuasive effects of a narrative and reinforce identification. Some scholars understand video game identification as similar to Ricouer’s (1988) ‘narrative identity,’ where the playing of a storyline creates interactive “stories” of one’s self. Grodal (2003) defined identification as a process of embodiment where external information is received, processed, ordered, contextualized, and made sense of through the “stories” created, stories of possible selves. Other scholars have elaborated on the division between the actual and possible selves. Gee (2003) believed the process to be the interplay between the player’s identity, the avatar’s identity, and the interaction between the two. Shaw (2013) agreed with Gee’s understanding of identification, but the extent to which identification influenced identity management or that interactivity equaled identification were problematic. Klimmt, Hefner, and Vorderer (2009) also recognized issues of self-discrepancy and identification which problematized the process. The latter definitions, recognizing a player, an avatar, including a connection and a relationship between the two, will be used for this study. Narratives have the potential to intensify identification, and for transportation to occur in the video game medium, identification will most likely be involved in the process.

Gameplay and game mechanics can also influence identification through interactivity. Though Shaw (2013) would argue that identification may not occur because of interaction, the ergodic element of video games is the clearest difference between the narratives of books, television, movies and the narratives found in video games. Aarseth defined ergodic as any nontrivial effort “required to allow the reader to traverse the text” (Aarseth, 1997, p. 1). This difference must be noted. Juul (2001) argued that narrative and interactivity were at odds in a game, but more sophisticated games attempt to alleviate this tension through more seamless interaction such as freedom to move without exposition, or storyline elements embedded in the gameplay. In fact, King and Krzywinska (2006) and Wolf (2001) argued that the interactivity of video games offered the opportunity for the process of identification to be greater than in traditional media. That is, narrative structures may have carried over from cinema, but the interactivity experienced in video games altered the experience of identification and is the essential difference between video games and cinema (Krzywinska, 2002). Krzywinska’s interpretation is taken from Aarseth’s ergodic definition of interactivity. This definition of interactivity will be used for this study.

This article uses such a broad definition of interactivity (i.e., nontrivial effort to progress during the game experience) as a player’s interaction with a game differs significantly. Some players may explore the open setting of a game, not engaging in missions, others may follow the major storylines only, other players may only play multi-player games, and finally, even other players may augment an avatar’s dress in order to better reflect the player’s emotions and opinions about a character or the game. This definition limits interactivity to actual engaging with the game through game controls and mechanics (i.e., the controller). Most certainly, there are many individuals that would argue for reflection and non-game engagement as game interaction, and the individuals would be justified in their definitions. However, in order to ground the game in video game studies, the focus is on the unique characteristics of the medium and how they relate to interactivity. Walther, Gay, and Hancock (2005) supported such an approach for understanding and analyzing computer mediated communication, and narratives, persuasion, and messages are forms of communication.

Narratives and interactivity are intertwined such that the narrative is embodied in the interactive experience of the player connecting and establishing a relationship with an avatar through choices and actions determined by the player and enacted by the avatar. The extent to which the player identifies, understands, and empathizes with the position of the avatar as actions and outcomes ensue is a strong assessment of the strength of the identification process. However, numerous variables, such as the genre of the game chosen and the inclination of the player to identify or not identify with a character, affect the identification process (Shaw, 2013). Krzywinska (2002) argued that mastering the skill set and game mechanics needed to survive in horror video games, where failure can mean death, could increase identification and immersion in a story. Further, Krzywinska (2002) argued that the gameplay vacillated between doing and not doing, and this structure created a rhythm that can be found in many games. RDR created a four-part rhythm by alternating between, free roaming (little to no storyline narrative), gameplay missions (main or side-story narratives), cut-scenes of limited gameplay (primarily main storyline narrative or traveling by proxy, horse drawn carriage or train), and cut-scenes of no control (main storyline narrative). This rhythm and alternating between interactivity and narrative increases the “emotional and affective experiences” which can lead to intensified identification (Krzywinska, 2002, p. 13). Thus, the rhythm, which is evidence of the underlying structure of the game, links interactivity and narrative. Rouse (2001) labeled the connection between interactivity and narrative the “player’s story,” and he argued that good video games balance between narrative and interactivity. Atkins (2003) and Newman (2004) recognized this narrative creation through gameplay as well. Kerr, Brereton, Kücklich, and Flynn (2004) stressed the importance of performance, especially within video games, and in relation to identity. Turkle (2005), Stone (1995), and Poster (1990) believed these new technologies allowed for unprecedented experimentation, transformation, construction, and maintenance of identity. A number of scholars have considered the impact of race, gender, and sexuality (i.e., markers of identity) on video game experiences (Martey & Consalvo, 2011; Consalvo & Harper, 2009; Aarseth, 2004; Newman 2004; Consalvo, 2003; Cassell and Jenkins, 2000; Martey & Consalvo, 2011). Clearly, video games have the potential to affect a game player’s potential for identification and a player’s identity. Crawford (2012) agreed: “We live in an increasingly narcissistic and ‘performative society’ where individuals will draw on media (including video games) as a ‘resource’ in constructing their social performances, such as informing the way they dress, speak and act” (p. 81). Importantly, a strong player’s story is needed in order to create intense identification.

A number of theories have been applied to the interaction between a player, a game, and the game’s mechanics, but these theories did not focus on the interaction of narrative, gameplay, game mechanics, and identification. Witmer and Singer (1998), Lombard and Ditton (1997), and Carr (2006) believed immersion or a sense of presence to be most applicable to video games. Crawford (2012) also argued for the possible application of immersion along with engagement and flow to video games analysis. Csikszentmihalyi (1988) and Bryce and Rutter (2001) take similar approaches. While all of these theories have their place in video game studies, they do not make the relationship between narrative and interactivity, and their influence on the identification process, central to their theories of the gameplay experience. Furthermore, as Carr (2006) acknowledged, it is hard to measure immersion, engagement, and flow.

Brown and Cairns (2004) studied the difficulty in not only measuring these concepts, especially immersion and engagement, but even defining these terms as they are understood by players, game designers, and academics. To elaborate on the confusion, as Brown and Cairns (2004) recognized, immersion is often described as the degree of involvement in a game. However, presence, engagement, flow, and transportation are all concepts related to the involvement in a game. Brown and Cairns (2004) determined immersion to be the level of involvement. The researchers went on to document how different levels and concepts must interact in order to achieve immersion: interest, attention, investment, mastery of controls (mechanics), interaction, game construction, flow, empathy, presence, environment, and game atmosphere (relevance of the current gameplay to the outcome of the game character). For Brown and Cairns (2004), narrative is subsumed under game atmosphere, and the researchers do not emphasize the importance of narrative, other than to stress that certain aspects of gameplay may be more likely to encourage immersion in one player while a separate aspect may encourage immersion in another.

Because of the unclear definition of immersion, Yang (2013) argued for a new word, “focalization,” that encapsulates the influence of video games on “perception/emotion” and is concerned with the way a player’s attention becomes focused on particular aspects of a game (para. 8). Yang’s (2013) impetus for focalization developed through problematic conceptions and inarticulate definitions of aforementioned video game concepts used as the theoretical backing for video game research. What underlies Yang’s focalization is the question as to how and why a video game affects a player. This article outlines a conceptual explanation for how and why a narrative may affect a player.

Nevertheless, because of the complexity of the video game experience, transportation theory inadequately serves as an explanation of this process, in part due to the difference between transportation and identification. Klimmt, Hefner, and Vorderer (2009) recognized that transportation theory could not solely explain the video game experience. Nor should it. As already mentioned, transportation is not the same as identification. Transportation explains why a player may be receptive to a message embedded in a game narrative by interacting with a story on a deep, cognitive level. In essence, the story is real. The identification process explains how messages embedded in a game narrative are experienced by players as they relate to an avatar, consider themselves in the position of the avatar, and internalize actions, outcomes, and perspectives of the avatar. Identification places the player in the avatar’s shoes, if the avatar has feet. When these two related processes are combined, the effects can be powerful.

Overall, this intensified identification process demonstrates the importance of personal relevance in video games. Personal relevance is an important factor in media effects despite the medium. Once personal relevance has been established, then a player can be “affected” by the gameplay experience. Transportation theory supports the potential impact for players engaged and affected by the narrative to “bring back” influences from the game. The interaction between a video game’s narrative and interactivity can then intensify the identification process. When the player is in a sensitive state or has been affected by the gameplay experience, then the player may be in a position to appropriate aspects of the experience into his or her schemata used to navigate the real world. Burke’s use of terministic screens explains the process by which narrative and semiotic elements, be they themes, persuasive messages, or symbols can be oriented in order to perceive the real world.

Part 2: Terministic Screens and the Physical World

Burke’s (1966) terministic screen offers a rhetorical method for analyzing the textual and semiotic elements of video games in consideration of their physical world importance. Burke believed that communication was a form of action (his dramatism); therefore, his terministic screen is useful for analyzing how the performative act of video game playing can affect the player.

Burke (1966) conceptualized a terministic screen as a filter or lens that directs the individual’s focus in one direction or another. The screen can be imagined as a language or rhetorical system that reveals an individual’s perspective or interpretation of language, symbols, other individuals, or the world. In some cases, a terministic screen is used to understand a particular situation, in other cases the screen creates a worldview.

Terministic screens are especially useful for understanding motives and justifications for rule breaking behavior, especially violence. For example, terministic screens have been used to explain how language games can justify terrorism (Heath & O’Hair, 2008). In video games, the more justified the violence, the more likely the violence will be accepted by the player (Lin, 2010). Narratives play an essential role in justifying violent acts. Schneider (2004) recognized that “by adding a story line, violent acts in the video game are justified” (p. 371). Terministic screens are one way of understanding how violence can be justified through a narrative. Lin (2010) operationalized justification in video games as:

A character may be considered as morally justified or having justified motivations when the character achieves the goal of saving lives, helping others, and keeping the world safe. On the other hand, a character may be considered as morally unjustified when the character fights or initiates violent interactions out of self-interest or personal gain. (p. 533)

This discussion of video game justification implies a sense of identification on the part of the player. For this reason, the process described in this article should be applied to players that are transported or heavily invested in the game, not the casual player (see Shaw, 2013 for elaboration on the importance of this distinction). Through narrative, a process of orientation via the terministic screen, identification (especially justification), action, and possible reaction can occur.

Identification can only work when there is a strong connection between the player and the main character, a connection that is both active and reflexive (Gee, 2003). Gee (2011) labeled this reflective process the “circuit of reflective action” (p. 353). Through this process, the potential exists for players to learn more about themselves and who they could be. This process is similar to Burke’s (1969) identification and consubstantiation. One person identifies with another (A and B) because their interests are joined, are believed to be, or are persuaded to believe their interests are joined. The two entities (in the case of video games, the player and the avatar) are separate but joined, and therefore, consubstantial. The consubstantiation is reinforced in video games through the acting, or interactivity of the player and the character, and acting-together is an essential aspect for Burke and consubstantiation.

The terministic screen points the reflective action in a particular direction. This active and reflexive identification, in concert with transportation, can persuade a player to take on the terministic screen of the main character. Because of the active and dramatic nature of video game gameplay, this terministic screen can then be taken outside of the video game world and applied to the physical world, especially when values, beliefs, choices, and actions are justified.

To review, transportation theory is applied to explain the sensitive state a player will most likely undergo in order to be susceptible to the narrative and message found in a video game. Interactivity increases the intensity of the narrative experience and offers the potential for identification with an avatar. Identification may also reinforce the persuasiveness of the narrative message. Burke’s terministic screens explain how narrative messages, or even parts of messages, can be used to create a particular worldview. Importantly, terministic screens can be used to justify beliefs, motives, and actions. By reconstructing terministic screens, researchers can add insight into the perspectives of others. If the terministic screens used by avatars in video game environments are transferable and useful to the physical world of the player, then there is the potential for a player to adopt the avatar’s terministic screen.

In Red Dead Redemption, the terministic screen is encoded in a primary concern of the Western literary genre: masculinity. Since masculinity is a concept that can be applied to physical world contexts, the terministic screen in RDR may be a tempting value system for interpreting real-world phenomena. Through textual analysis of RDR’s missions, the process of terministic screen construction and the screen’s implications can be elucidated.

Western Genre Masculinity

Masculinity can be considered as socially constructed beliefs, values, and social expectations for interaction and appropriate behavior for men in a specific culture at a given time. Masculinity can extend beyond individual manifestations and into abstract ideals that can influence social hierarchy and institutional practices. The approach taken in this study is that while certain constructions of masculinity may be hegemonic or oppressed, there is not a single and unified version of masculinity, but multiple and contested forms (Connell & Connell, 2005; Connell, 2002; Carrigan, Connell, & Lee, 1985). Masculinity can be relational, dependent on discourse and context (Kimmel, Hearn, & Connell, 2005). In RDR, the main character’s masculinity is plural. The main character, Marston, is pitted against other men, and at times is dominated by other men, but the context and situation shifts throughout the game, and in certain situations, Marston (and player) embody the dominant position (see Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). The masculinity is dependent on the signs, performance, context and behavior available during gameplay. Therefore, an emphasis is placed on the most prominent beliefs, values, and actions available to Marston during gameplay. An analysis of all of the masculinities performed by all of the characters in RDR is beyond the scope of this study as is a cross-comparison between different masculine ideals found in the game.

A large portion of the analysis of masculinity in Westerns approaches the main character as trapped in an either-or situation concerning his localized and idiosyncratic masculine ideals. The contradictions and incompatibility of specific ideals’ are confronted in these either-or situations. This flawed masculinity is then critiqued.

For example, in Peek’s (2003) The Romance of Confidence, she wrote, “Discussions of masculinity in the Western regularly characterize it as in a state of crisis, pointing to heroes hamstrung between ideologically opposed models of manhood, one endorsing commitment to community and family, the other advocating freedom from them” (p. 206). Within this model, a “fresh” Western will come along and offer up a new set of opposed ideals to replace the established set. These masculinities often exist in a closed environ specific to that particular Western.

This understanding of Western masculinity is in line with Tompkins (1992) analysis of Westerns. Tompkins argued that the Western was a fictional American setting where men and masculinity was central to the story in reaction to the emergence of women in the real world. Cawelti (1971) held a similar opinion of the reasons for the focus on men and masculinity in Westerns: A fantastical, artificial environment was essential for the experimentation, juxtaposition, and control of the ideals and masculinities on display. The artificial environment of a video game provides the opportunity for reproducing a Western environment and procedurally exploring claims about appropriate masculine values and beliefs about the world.

When not analyzing a specific masculinity from a specific story, the most common analysis is the examination of iconic Western genre masculinities oft-repeated by famous Western genre actors such as Clint Eastwood or Gene Autry (Bingham 1994; Tan, 2001). In broader, book length works, scholars cover the different and/or evolving masculinities of the Western genre such as Mitchell’s (1998) Westerns: Making the Man in Fiction and Film. These books focus on what specific example of masculinity is being created and changing within the genre and chosen artifact.

Because of the numerous perspectives on Western genre analysis, especially in relationship to masculinity, this article will expand upon the criticism found in Forter’s (2000) Murdering Masculinities. Forter examined the masculinity depicted in Dashiell Hammett’s The Glass Key, a pulp paperback Detective fiction novel. Forter argued that Hammett’s work captured an evolving masculinity evident in the physical world. Hammett depicted an early twentieth century fictional detective that was forced to confront a changing American society representative of a physical America and a physical world actualized American masculinity. He claimed that Hammett believed American men could no longer overpower the world. Instead, Hammett’s detectives endured punishment, both physical and mental, and by enduring punishment, the protagonist could exhibit his masculine prowess. This masochistic act revealed how much inherent power a man possessed and could potentially exert over the world if he could only figure out how. This version of masculinity is still present in both the Detective and Western genres.

While Forter (2000) focused on the masochistic deviance of Hammett’s men and argued that the detective protagonists had found a model of masculinity amenable to the changes of early 20th century American society, the Western genre embraced a similar male protagonist, but this protagonist could not—and still cannot—adapt. For Forter, detectives accepted punishment from the world, and if the detective could survive the punishment, then the detective was justified in any rewards earned as well as a superior position over other men. This masochism inverted the relationship of masculinity and physical strength, and emphasized intelligence and fortitude in a changing, complex, and oftentimes, cruel world.

Mitchell (1996) recognized a similar masochistic trope in Westerns but did not relate the masculinity to American society. Still, there is enough evidence in Western fictions to acknowledge that Westerns were affected and even responded to the ever-changing landscape of American masculinity (Tompkins, 1992; Cawelti, 1971). The importance of Forter’s (2000) perspective is his view of genre literature’s representation of masculinity as an exploration of potential masculine identity options that are referential to the physical world, masculine options that were potentially valuable if used by American men in American society of the early twentieth century.

The researcher analyzed the masculine characteristics of Marston in RDR with this interpretation of genre characterization of masculine identity. True to its genre, RDR possesses a male main character struggling with a changing world and contemplating how to act accordingly. Marston faces struggles emblematic of the early 20th century American West and must decide how a man should act in the world and react to it. Interestingly, the challenges of early 20th century America are challenges Americans are still confronting today; therefore, comparisons between early 20th century American society and early 21st American society are easily made. Inevitably, through Marston’s worldview, RDR is not only able to criticize 20th century American society, but America’s current real-world social forces and how they affect and challenge Marston’s masculine ideology. The terministic screen found in RDR reveals the beliefs, motives, and justifications for Marston’s brand of masculinity, and because of the game’s temporal relevance, dictates not only how a man should act in both early 20th century American society and present day American society. All a player has to do is choose to embrace Marston’s version of masculinity.

Red Dead Redemption Overview

Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego, 2010) began with John Marston’s employment as a government agent assigned to track down members of his former gang since he had access to information and actions most government agents do not. Marston agreed in order to earn the release of his wife and son from government “protection.” The game followed Marston from this point until his death. There was an extra mission where Marston’s son Jack avenged his father’s death, thus bringing the narrative to a conclusion. The game revolves around the actions of Marston as he explores his world, completes his missions, fights for his family’s return, and hopes his actions will grant him redemption.

RDR took place in a fictional American West from 1911 until 1914. There were side missions, but to unlock new territories and more tasks, one must engage in the main storyline which progressed chronologically. Marston’s actions via the player’s choices, affect opportunities, access to resources, and the reactions of computer-controlled characters throughout the game. Furthermore, the player has options to deviate from the storyline and mission altogether and attempt “skills” based challenges such as plant collection and wildlife hunting in order to gain achievements that add to Marston’s reputation, unlocks rewards, and allow for the 100% completion of the game.

If RDR was played to the end, the player can expect Marston to encounter a vast array of typical Western genre characters, challenges, and landscapes. Because the game’s audience expects anywhere from sixty to a hundred hours of gameplay, the game exposes the player to as many Western tropes as possible. Since certain plot choices, settings, and characters can feel conventional or stereotypical, the game relies on the participation of the player in order for successful identification, persuasion, and even the presentation of the rhetorical argument. What follows is a textual analysis of RDR’s narrative with the purpose of explicating the abstract concepts that are organized into terministic screens based on the gameplay and mission outcomes. The consequences of the missions reveal a potential masculine construction, a social commentary on social forces present not only in the virtual world but also in the real world, and a narrative message on how to confront these social institutions.

Discussion: Admired Ideals, Vilified Social Forces, Justification, and Absolution

Marston’s understanding of what is good and bad is not overly complex. This construction is in line with the either-or situational-structure of Western genre masculinity. Throughout the game, be it during cut-scenes that set up missions or during game play, Marston constantly reminds everyone that his main goal is to rescue his family and that there is nothing more important to him than doing so. The constant repetition of Marston’s goal along with the available choices of action explains how a man is supposed to feel about and confront threats to his family (by any means necessary, including violence and murder). Marston’s purpose moves the game’s plot forward. Therefore, Marston’s family is clearly his most important ideal. Reuniting with his family justifies all of his actions, even the most questionable ones, such as murder. He constantly reiterates to anyone that will listen that all he wants to do is rescue his wife and child.

The most admired ideals and vilified social forces underlying John Marston’s version of masculinity are categorized below:

Table 1: Admired and Vilified Social Forces in Marston’s Masculinity.