The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host Dr. Rachael Hutchinson and her talk "Japanese Culture through Video Games" on March 31, a talk that was scheduled last April at Pitt but ultimately postponed.
Japanese video games have had a significant impact on the medium worldwide. Dr. Rachael Hutchinson considers how ‘Japan’ has been packaged for domestic and overseas consumers, and how Japanese designers have used the medium to express ideas about home and nation, nuclear energy, war and historical memory, social breakdown and bioethics. She explores how ideology and critique are conveyed through game narrative and character design as well as user interface, cabinet art, and peripherals. Ultimately, she argues that Japanese artists have expressed similar ideas in the video game medium as in older narrative forms such as literature and film.The online talk is free though seating is limited and registration is required.