Academic Scientific JournalsThe Art of Flesh – Exploring Posthuman Aesthetics in "Doom Eternal"
Keywords:
Doom, Posthuman Aesthetics, Body, Video Games, Art, Baudrillard, BeautyAbstract
This article examines the aesthetics of the inside of the human body as represented in the video game, Doom Eternal (2020), in the context of other prominent works of art that have the power to establish beauty standards. Through ages artists and spectators of their work have defined certain aesthetics. People agreed upon distinct beauty standards. Settled assumptions usually pointed to renaissance sculptures as a perfect example. Human fascination with beauty revolved around what is outside, visible and pleasant for the eye, neglecting a whole microworld – the inside of the body. It is understandable to perceive the insides as vile, as we are not used to looking directly at them. Nevertheless, the human is a gruesome flesh covered by what is superficial, the skin. Today technology adds another layer to conceal our bodies and, thus appears the need to explore it in detail. The mainstream game from 2020, Doom Eternal, uses the flesh as an artist’s material combined with the New Aesthetics. This text, using the intermedial approach, discusses how the unique experience of posthuman aesthetics appeals to a larger audience, and how it reinvents aesthetic standards.
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