This project aims to examine multiperspective narratives in contemporary media—novels, movies, and video games—through the lens of cultural and transmedial narratology. More specifically, I intend to foreground their experiential effects, their ethical implications, and their cultural potential in engaging with present-day challenges, such as racial and gender discrimination, as well as the ecological crisis.
Foregrounding uncertainty, perspective-awareness, and the interplay of characters’ values, multiperspective narratives are particularly well-suited for negotiating ethical issues and challenging audiences’ moral assumptions. By asking recipients to coordinate different perspectives and beliefs, multiperspectivity has been regarded as a productive “cognitive playground” in reading practice.
However, as ethical criticism has recently demonstrated, the rhetorical appeal of multiperspectivity can also be a profoundly ambiguous one. Therefore, the project seeks to discuss both the ethical potential and risks of multiperspectivity. By analyzing works such as Ian McEwan's Atonement, Gus Van Sant's Elephant, or the video game The Last of Us Part II, this project contributes to ongoing discussions about values and dangers of storytelling in addressing complex ethical and social issues in a world of climate and political crises.