This adaptation of Jorge Luis Borges’ story of the same name astutely uses the mechanics from ten classic videogames (think Pong and Atari 2600) to retell the main plot points, and highlight some of the ideology expressed in the narrative. Bookchin’s juxtapositions of videogames and parts of the narrative is the main strategy, as we consider the interpersonal relations implied in a game of Pong, whether one bounces a ball, words, or a woman across the table. The competitive relation between players as they outdo each other parallel the Nilsen brother’s feud over the poor woman that gets caught between them and seems powerless before their passions. Several games in this piece feature the woman, as language and things come out of her vagina, or she runs across landscapes, seeking to escape the vicious circle of the brothers’ possessiveness. The most visceral part is the realization that in order to continue listening to the narrative and finish the story, the player must become complicit in the victimization of this woman, even if it is masked by a videogame interface.

Featured in Poems That GO.