The Revival of the White Whale: Kojima’s The Phantom Pain and Death Stranding against Melville’s Moby-Dick

Abstract

This article examines two videogames to uncover their anti-imperial and decolonial qualities. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015) and Death Stranding (2019) created by the Japanese videogame designer Hideo Kojima express commentaries on American politics and their effects on the United States and the rest of the world. Kojima has used Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851/1999), a narrative account critiquing American imperialism, as an anchor to extend his own critique of American foreign policies as an outsider affected by US global hegemony. The similarities among the two games and Melville's Moby-Dick run much deeper than what the player sees, and the internal complexities of each narrative surpass the single layer of international politics. The political themes of each game complement and continue the political themes found in Moby-Dick. Both videogames affirm a decolonizing worldview by invalidating American imperial politics and encouraging global players to do the same.