Honors Projects

Abstract

As an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the military shooter video game Spec Ops: The Line grapples with adapting the themes and the narrative of an imperialist work into a modern post-imperialist context. By swapping England in Africa for America in the Middle East, the game criticizes America’s conduct of war in the Middle East by showing its similarities to the novella’s imperialism. Furthermore, Spec Ops: The Line focuses on America’s imperialism by adapting Heart of Darkness to an interactive format. “The horror” of violent imperialist action is placed upon the player as Spec Ops: The Line forces the player to commit horrific acts through the increasingly Kurtz-like player character, Walker. Through this, Spec Ops: The Line criticizes Heart of Darkness’s distant, ambiguous view on imperialism and the American jingoism of modern military shooters by showing the grisly effects of Walker’s actions born from his jingoistic aspirations. However, Spec Ops: The Line problematically perpetuates similar racist views of Heart of Darkness. The game’s setting of Dubai is Otherized like Africa as a dark and maddening place, though the city is depicted as a violent no-man’s-land struck by constant sandstorms. In addition, the Emirati are rendered subaltern through frequent violence committed against them combined with their diminished voice within the narrative. Ultimately, Spec Ops: The Line, as an adaptation, is similar to Heart of Darkness; both seek to criticize imperialism, but both have their messages undermined by their own racist and imperialist views.

Department

English

Major

English

First Advisor

Stephannie Gearhart

First Advisor Department

English

Second Advisor

Tiffany Knoell

Second Advisor Department

American Culture Studies

Third Advisor

Simon Morgan-Russell

Third Advisor Department

Honors Program

Publication Date

Spring 4-24-2026

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