Folge 11: Death Stranding and the Long Twilight of Götterdämmerung
Matthew Shadbolt’s essay explores the thematic parallels between Hideo Kojima’s video game Death Stranding and Richard Wagner’s opera Götterdämmerung. The text argues that both works depict a post-apocalyptic aftermath where the grand myths and moral structures of the past have dissolved, yet their empty infrastructures persist. Rather than a traditional heroic journey, the protagonist’s labor represents a negotiation with systems that prioritize optimization over genuine human care.
The source posits that the game’s focus on slowness and physical burden serves as a critique of modern connectivity, much like Wagner’s critique of divine law. Ultimately, the author suggests that both stories challenge audiences to consider whether entrenched systems should be rebuilt or abandoned entirely to allow for true human responsibility. This analysis frames the act of maintenance and renunciation as the only ethical path forward in a world abandoned by its gods.
