Narrativas de sobrevivência: os vagalumes no universo distópico de The Last of Us

Abstract

Firstly, this research is situated in the field of Literary Studies, Critical Studies of Utopia, Intermedia Studies and Game Studies, aiming to discuss issues related to the survival narratives of the Fireflies in the dystopian universe of the game The Last of Us (2013).Starting from these convergences, the objectives of this work consist of observing the utopian figures and the strategies of resistance adopted by the Fireflies, and analyzing the game from the perspective of intermediality, by focusing on literary analysis strategies. Regarding theoretical concepts, I will explore utopianisms (critical dystopia and utopia) and intermediality. The methodology is of a bibliographic and documentary nature, thus initially, I provide a contextualization of the universe of The Last of Us, highlighting the recurring aspects of the dystopian literary genre present in the game. subsequently, in the analytical section, theoretical concepts previously presented are further explored, drawing upon the theories of authors such as Ruth Levitas (1990), Tom Moylan (2016), Gregory Claeys (2017), Jane McGonigal (2017), Claudia Benthien et al. (2019), Gerald Farca (2019) e Brian Greenspan (2022). Thus, I seek to contribute to the area of Critical Studies of Utopia by responding to the growing interest in games which has characterized the academic realm recently and to expand theorizations about games in their interfaces with the dystopian and utopian dimensions of culture.