University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 2020 The Emerging Metamodern Sensibility in Narrative: A Case Study of Things Left Forgotten and the Dai Gyakuten Saiban Games Gina Barbieri University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Comparative Literature Commons Recommended Citation Barbieri, Gina, "The Emerging Metamodern Sensibility in Narrative: A Case Study of Things Left Forgotten and the Dai Gyakuten Saiban Games" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1719. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1719 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. The Emerging Metamodern Sensibility in Narrative: A Case Study of Things Left Forgotten and the Dai Gyakuten Saiban Games ————— A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences University of Denver ————— In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts ————— by Gina Barbieri June 2020 Advisor: Rafael Fajardo Author: Gina Barbieri Title: The Emerging Metamodern Sensibility in Narrative: A Case Study of Things Left Forgotten and the Dai Gyakuten Saiban Games Advisor: Rafael Fajardo Degree Date: June 2020 ABSTRACT This thesis proposes a metamodern shift in recent narrative trends, which incorporate modernist and postmodernist techniques for narrative. This includes narrative shifts which utilize postmodern devices such as irony and satire for seemingly modern ends such as hope and progress. This thesis posits that this shift can be understood through an analysis of emergent media, and considers the intertextual nature of fanfiction narratives emerging from games through a case study of Things Left Forgotten, a fanfiction written by Archive of Our Own user LookerDeWitt and based upon the two Dai Gyakuten Saiban games, spinoffs of the Ace Attorney series which are currently Japan-exclusive. This analysis seeks to identify metamodern narrative techniques, focusing on metamodern oscillation between modernism and postmodernism, the metamodern “as if” mindset, the return to earnestness through a repurposing of postmodern and modern narrative conventions, a specifically metamodern understanding of paradox, the dissolution of clearly defined boundaries stemming from an increasingly globalized world, and the uniquely reconstructive nature of metamodern narratives. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................. 1 LIT. REVIEW AND PRIOR WORKS ..................................................................................................... 3 Notes on metamodernism .......................................................................................................... 4 Preceding Metamodernism ....................................................................................................... 7 Hypermodernism ...................................................................................................................... 8 Digimodernism ......................................................................................................................... 9 Automodernism ...................................................................................................................... 12 Altermodernism ...................................................................................................................... 16 A Brief Aside .......................................................................................................................... 17 Following Metamodernism ..................................................................................................... 18 A Brief Overview of Fandom Studies ..................................................................................... 36 DOCUMENTATION .......................................................................................................................... 38 Scoping ...................................................................................................................................... 38 Scoping my Topic – Metamodernism ..................................................................................... 38 Scoping my Case Study .......................................................................................................... 40 Scoping my Case Study – Ethics ............................................................................................ 40 Scoping my Case Study – Selection........................................................................................ 44 My Background and Prior Academic Work ......................................................................... 46 Previous Studies ..................................................................................................................... 46 Development of Metamodern Techniques ............................................................................. 48 Intended Outcomes .................................................................................................................. 50 SYNOPSES ....................................................................................................................................... 51 Synopses of the Dai Gyakuten Saiban Games ........................................................................ 51 Synopsis of Things Left Forgotten ........................................................................................... 58 MODERNISM, POSTMODERNISM, AND METAMODERNISM ............................................................. 64 Establishing a Prehistory: Defining an Understanding of Modernism and Postmodernism ......................................................................................................................... 64 Metamodernism and Metamodern Narrative Techniques ................................................... 68 Oscillation .............................................................................................................................. 72 iii The “As If” Mindset ............................................................................................................... 76 Return to Earnestness ............................................................................................................ 82 Paradox .................................................................................................................................. 86 Dissolution of Clearly Defined Boundaries ........................................................................... 90 Reconstruction ....................................................................................................................... 98 Table of Metamodern Techniques ........................................................................................ 102 CASE STUDIES .............................................................................................................................. 104 Case Study of the Dai Gyakuten Saiban Games .................................................................. 104 Oscillation in Dai Gyakuten Saiban ..................................................................................... 105 The “As if” Mindset of Dai Gyakuten Saiban ...................................................................... 109 The Dai Gyakuten Saiban Narrative’s Return to Earnestness ............................................. 110 Paradox in Dai Gyakuten Saiban......................................................................................... 113 The Dissolution of Clearly Defined Boundaries in Dai Gyakuten Saiban ........................... 113 Reconstruction and Dai Gyakuten Saiban ........................................................................... 120 Dai Gyakuten Saiban Study Conclusion .............................................................................. 121 Case Study of Things Left Forgotten .................................................................................... 122 Oscillation in Things Left Forgotten ................................................................................... 122 The “As if” Mindset of Things Left Forgotten ..................................................................... 126 The Return to Earnestness in Things Left Forgotten ........................................................... 127 Paradox in Things Left Forgotten ....................................................................................... 129 The Dissolution of Clearly Defined Boundaries in Things Left Forgotten .......................... 130 Reconstruction in Things Left Forgotten ............................................................................. 133 Things Left Forgotten Study Conclusion ............................................................................. 136 DIGITAL COMPONENT .................................................................................................................. 138 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 140 BIBLIOGRAPHY 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