The Death Drive: An Examination of Violence in Hotline Miami

Do you like hurting other people?

Violence Grounds

Violence as the means of bringing about structure and identity.

• The Fans: Imitating Jacket. Tony chooses a mask because it was said to have been worn by Jacket himself. Hooking up phones, hoping 50 Blessings rings. Media features the Fans.

  Looks like we got our five minutes of fame. (Mark)

• The Son: Attempting to reclaim the territory and power lost following the death of the Father. His sense of heritage as the scion of the Russian mafia.

  I want to make you proud. (Son)

• The Henchman: Depends on his job as a means of livelihood, and also to support his partner.

Violence Superhumanizes

Violence as a means of transcending the physical and mental limits of the human condition.

Do They Like Hurting Other People? (Yes.)

It feels good.

They are rewarded for it.

• Jacket + The Fans murders being publicized through media attention, books, and films.
• The Henchman is given generous compensation for

Do We Like Hurting Other People? (Yes.)

How the game exploits the thrill of the power fantasy via game mechanic design, tone, systems, and music.

Violence Destabilizes

The second order effects of violence – leading to unstable situations and mentalities that necessitate more violence. This leading to a cycle that is sustained

• Hallucinations as the key sign of instability
  • Son’s drug trip
  • Mark’s hallucinations with the Rooster masks

    You’re just like me. You won’t get it until it’s already too late. (Father)

I’m going away. Far away. Anywhere. Doesn’t matter to me. (Henchman) Are you sure? Do you even know where you’re heading? Without directions a lot of people wind up going round in circles… (Richard)

Violence Animalizes

Symbolism of animal masks.

• Fans turn into animals: bear, two headed swan, tiger, zebra

Violence and Vanity

• The Fans seek fame, but are murdered as nobodies.
• The Son reclaims Father’s empire, then destroys it himself in a drug-tripped haze before committing suicide.
• The Henchman loses his girlfriend, for whom he quits his job, and is murdered while overdosed on drugs.

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You’re heading for a dead end. That’s where you’re going. (Richard)

It’s all the same in the end. And there’s nothing you can do about it, is there? (Richard)

To tell you that it’s all pointless. You’re all heading the wrong way. At best, you’ll end up in the cemetery. (Richard)

Field of blood