In Hooked: Art and Attachment (2020), Rita Felski argues for the analysis of attachment to works of art, included that of the scholar’s towards the object of study. Although researchers in areas such as feminist or race studies have also practiced this kind of situated analysis, Felksi observes it is not a widespread practice yet. Moreover, an analysis that takes attachment into account can also be translated into a specific methodology to be applied both in the classroom setting as well as on research papers. This methodology has at its core a position of openness towards the work, of appreciation and of reading “with the grain” in order to allow it to speak for itself and convey the message it intends. This attitude take the opposite stance to that of the critical theory practiced in the last few decades. While the scholar should not abandon critical thinking practices, Felski suggests one should also take the work and its message at face value rather than jumping into the already worn mechanisms of unveiling and decoding.
In order to test this methodology, I analyse a moment of detachment, rather than attachment, to the game What Remains of Edith Finch (Dallas 2017). It is a narrative videogame in which the player explores the family home of Edith Finch from a first person perspective. Felski applies her methodology to literature, music and films to demonstrate its versatility and, although they are not explictly mentioned, video games can also benefit from this theoretical framework. Therefore, I apply her theory of attachment to a controversial episode in the game and, rather than dismantling it after critical theories, I explore it through Felski’s methodology of openness. By accepting the premises under which the creative team renders this episode, its connection with the rest of the game becomes more aparent and the themes What Remains explores are reasserted.
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