New heroes of mass culture (Case study of the main character of the computer game cycle “god of war”)

Abstract

The concept of “mass culture” and its content are becoming the subject of reflection of philosophers, religious scholars, culturologists and sociologists. Taking into account the fact that mass culture is a specific type of spiritual production, one of its main features is the possibility of widespread replication of the product. Popular culture is extremely dynamic, influencing the basic feelings of the consumer, it can generate new cultural constants that change the norms and values that have developed over centuries. The constituent elements of mass culture are usually called the media, cinema, music, literature, visual arts, sports. However, recently, a computer game has become one of the basic elements of mass culture. It was computer games that brought specific images and unexpected, sometimes paradoxical, options for rethinking the previous cultural heritage into modern mass culture. In this article, the authors, using the example of a religious and philosophical analysis of the image of the main protagonist of the series of games “God of War”, will show that behind the seeming straightforwardness and simplicity of the Spartan Kratos, there is a detailed study of his personality and history of his life. Philosophical and religious content is in many ways a decisive factor that ensured the immense popularity of Kratos in the modern gaming culture with millions of users around the world.