Red Dead Masculinity: Constructing a Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Video Game Narratives

Video game narratives function as powerful ideological conduits that shape player identity and social performance. By integrating transportation theory, interactivity, and Kenneth Burke’s concept of terministic screens, a robust framework emerges for understanding how players internalize the values presented within virtual environments. This process is particularly potent in the Western genre, where the rhythm of gameplay and deep identification with an avatar facilitate the transfer of specific worldviews from the digital screen into the player’s physical reality.

Red Dead Redemption serves as a primary case study for this phenomenon, specifically regarding the construction of masculinity. The narrative portrays the protagonist, John Marston, as a figure navigating a crisis of identity defined by the tension between familial duty and a rapidly modernizing world. By framing government, technology, and corporate interests as inherently corrupt, the game promotes a revisionist masculine ideal centered on detachment and anti-establishment sentiment. This "opt-out" masculinity justifies violent behavior as a necessary, defensive response to a cruel and encroaching society, offering players a mechanism to negotiate their own social roles.

This analysis provides a foundational methodology for future research into the psychological impact of interactive media. By operationalizing narrative immersion and character identification, scholars can measure how players internalize these themes and apply them to contemporary American social contexts. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that the participatory nature of modern gaming does more than provide entertainment; it acts as a sophisticated tool for ideological exploration, allowing players to rehearse and adopt complex, often contradictory, social identities through the lens of the Revisionist Western.