Androids Dream - Hero's Journey

• The main themes of the text center on questioning the nature of humanity

The Hero's Journey in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"

The Ordinary World

• After World War Terminus, radioactive dust led people to emigrate to colonies on Mars
• Some people remained on Earth by choice or necessity
• Rick Deckard works as a bounty hunter and is unhappily married
• Deckard an antihero is introduced as relatable

Call for Adventure

• Dave, another bounty hunter and Deckard's superior, is injured
• Dave cannot complete his assignment
• Deckard is assigned to "retire" six Nexus-6 androids

Refusal of Call

• The stage is omitted, Deckard accepts the assignment readily
• Deckard's bosses hesitate to give him the assignment, reflecting a potential lack of experience to detect Nexus-6 types

Finding a Mentor

• Alternative interpretation to bosses refusal
• Deckard asks his Boss about the androids, expressing doubt
• Colleague Dave provides valuable information, serving as supernatural aid
• When Deckard starts doubting abilities at Rosen association after they trick him, thinking Rachel Rosen is human, this reflects refusal
• Deckard finds inner mentor by trusting his gut and regaining inner strength

Crossing the Threshold

• Going after his first assignment (Polokov)
• Deckard is almost is killed by Polokov so there is no turning back
• Deckard now has a target on his back, raising the stakes

Tests, Allies, and Enemies

• The hero needs to find out who can be trusted
• Polokov and the situation at the police station are suspicious, due to Luba Luft, an android
• Phil Resch, a fellow bounty hunter, emerges as a potential ally
• Rachel Rosen is an undetected false ally
• The worst of the androids emerges as Deckard's enemy/villain

Approach to the Innermost Cave

• Deckard prepares to kill the last three androids

• Deckard consults Rachel Rosen for help

• Romance with Rachel Rosen is used as a break

• In the book, this stage is split up into the following sections

• These sections are straying away from the traditional journey

Belly of the Whale

• This is the first point of danger in the story
• The biblical is taken from a Biblical story
• Identifying Rachel as a Nexus-6 android

The Road of Trials

• Deckard is almost killed by Polokov
• Deckard is threatened by Luba Luft

Meeting with the Goddess

• Deckard feels love towards Rachel Rosen
• Rachel is seen as the Goddess of the story

Temptation

• Deckard is tempted to stray from path that will get him to the ultimate boon
• Deckard is tempted to sleep with Rachel and abandon his assignment
• Rachel wants to amplify empathy towards androids within Rick to disable him form killing them

Atonement with the Father

• Mercer is seen as the father figure
• Mercer's Guidance says Rick has to finish his assignment even though it does not align with his moral compass anymore

The Ordeal

• Rick Deckard enters the building where the remaining robots live
• he kills the robots
• One robot is considered the dangerous of the 6 Nexus-6 robots
• Doing his job means killing someone who looks exactly like the woman he fell in love with

The Reward

• Reward for Deckard is the honor of having retired all 6 androids
• Reward for Deckard is a lot of money which he desperately needs
• cf (compare to) Ultimate Boon ->reason why hero goes on journey

The Road Back

• Stage 10

The Resurrection

• Stage 11

Returning with Elixir

• Stage 12

Variation of 'traditional' road back to ordinary world

Refusal of Return

• Hesitation to return to ordinary world
• Deckard feels miserable returning to his wife and goat, who has been killed
• He leaves to the middle of nowhere instead of ordinary world

Rescue from Without

• Hero has trouble returning to ordinary world
• Deckard is rescued by a toad > instils hope in him

Freedom to live

• Mission is over
• Deckard is finally able to rest and sleep
• Death of one character aspect and birth of another

Literary Adaption: Comparing Hypotext (Novella) and Hypertext (Game) "The Shadow Over Innsmouth"

• Analyzes the short story "The Shadow over Innsmouth" and its adaptation in the video game Call of Cthulhu (2007)
• Explores how the story is translated into the film medium
• Focuses on fidelity, transformation, and storytelling effects
• The key aspects of novella excerpt are atmosphere is used to build tention, along with actions and themes of alienation

Key Adaptations to the Game

• Atmosphere and tension in gameplay, including sound and visuals to make it engaging
• Interactivity and escape and physical interactivity immerses players in the escape

Themes of Isolation and Horror

• Visually rendering the town and enemies makes for a more creature-based experience
• Adaptation analysis says while the novella relies on subtle hints, the game reveals the horrors explicitly to suit a visual medium

Changes and Their Implications with Visualizing the Threat

• Novella keeps the intruders unseen for a more mysterious tension
• The game sacrifices mystery, and the visual cues make the experience more visceral
• Implication is a shift in how the experience makes it immediate but less mysterious

Active Participation Vs passive observation

• Unlike in novel, planning and thoughts create suspense, which immerses players who execute escape plan feeling it first hand
• Implication is the enhancement of immersion vs a reduced focus on the protagonist's inner turmoil

Expanded Narrative Changes

• Game has additional lore, characters, and events to make longer gameplay
• Implication is world building enriches some but dilutes Lovecraft minimalist storytelling

Adaptation Theory Insights

• Game retains core themes but transforms them for interactive storytelling
• Lovecraft subtle cosmic horror transformed for gamers for action driven

Technique of Medium Use

• Dynamic visual and audio create immersive storytelling vs descriptive language of lovecraft

Analyzing "American Psycho" introductions in the Novel and the film

• It examines how both introduce Patrick's character and world in the novel, and how they are adapted into the medium
• The novel's narrative style is told in first person which gives a cold, hyper materialistic view through description of meticulous grooming routine, obsession with luxury, and shallow social interaction

Novel tone and atmosphere

• Novel has a sardonic and clinical tone, creating a sterile and commodified depiction, using inner monologue of obsession with appearance and status to set the stage for darker revelations

Novel characterization

• Patrick appears as a charming, successful Wall Street professional, but subtle hints foreshadow sociopathic tendencies

Film: representation of life style, tone and hints of darkness

• Film introduces a voiceover detailing the morning routine over scenes of apartment/rituals, mirroring his shallow personality
• Film mirrors personality with stark, clinical light, and adds irony to the novel's tone, balancing horror and dark comedy

Visual film adaptation enhances

• Expressive visual used for mundane tasks and dissonance like a vacant smile in an upbeat routine is used as a visual

• Film retains much content and meaning of the novels material and routine while condensing narrative and key elements, using voiceovers

• Creates a transformative narrative from first person, leveraging visual tone

Stylistic Fidelity in Film Style

• Detailed descriptions translated to visual, ie shots of grooming and cataloging products

• Visual style remains faithful, using irony and polished exterior w chilling Narration, vs more depth over visuals

Changes and their Implications

• Introduction is condensed to fit pacing
• Tone adjusts shifting appeal, but altering novel's oppressive tone, enhancing visual cues such as cold minimalism
• Making his personality traits clearer

Adaptation theory Insights: Fidelity vs Innovation

• Novel and film are faithful, leveraging visuals and audio, but creates the visuals while covering writing style

Medium specifics

• Novel has psychological depth, but film makes world and detachment orally palpable

Translation strategies

• Adapting source material align w the contemporary medium thru Visuals > replaces detailed text, and the material is tangible.

Disco Elysium and "Theory of the Absurd"

• Albert Camus' "Theory of the Absurd" states there is a conflict with a human's search for meaning vs the silent, chaotic cosmos, resulting in no meaning
• The three responses are suicide, hope and revolt by embracing absurd condition to continue search for meaning

The issues are tied to Camus theory in the game

• The game protagonists trauma is seen using his journey of Sisphys who finds meaning struggle

• Showing struggles with mental health like end result, or forcing w understanding

• Rather than despairing the revolting spirit with authentic living, he creates the theme Destigmatization by applying shared Camus experiences

In summary

• The game uses his theory to explore mental health to engage struggles for personal growth with the absurd hero who finds meaning through struggle

Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Absurdist Views

• Two choices for the absurd, leave or be authentic adopting principles

The Road and Absurdist Literature

• The Road aligns with the conflict between quest and lacking universe with a dark analysis of the elements

A Meaningless Chaotic World

• Post apocalyptic aligns with bleak depiction lack of meaning and purpose

Themes

• Existential- strives to survive while dealing with mental dissonance while finding non
• Isolation from others thru disconnection

Technical Points

• Mother's suicide means surrender to horror
• Carries "the fire", faith and meaning help w dissonance, instilling hope

Tropes in The Road

• The dialogue has no conversation

Absurdist movie adjustments

• The grimm features actualized with characters actions in the novel by their film versions, or did they do a bad job representing each, and if that compromises its adaption?

• The actual peril is given detail via audio (eery music) with more movement( fleeing to room)

• "Hotter mediums means lesser detail to the cannibal scene, expressions are reduced

Points on the fidelity of film

• A near copy is achieved by recreating the eerie feels and constant son & father danger
• Internal feelings turn to visuals

Hero story

• The son journeys to his father the mentor

• the new world is initiated before the story begins as the father and son have to fight to survive

• Acceptance is to make to their south Journey, mother functions herald

• As their fear constant reality.

• They want to avoid dangerous houses so they must journey on thru the new journey and realities by revolting finding meaning the son's bond

A summary of the "Hero's Journey" in Philip K. Dick's novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". The summary includes the ordinary world, call for adventure, and finding a mentor. The first stage sees Rick Deckard as a bounty hunter who is unhappily married.