Adrienne Domasin ed., "The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: The Last of Us" (Playstory Press, 2025)

Summary

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Podcast Summary

New Books Network: Adrienne Domasin, The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: The Last of Us (Playstory Press, 2025)

Date: November 23, 2025
Host: Rudolf Indust
Guest: Adrienne d’Omasin

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Episode Overview

In this episode of the New Books Network - Game Studies, host Rudolf Indust interviews Adrienne d’Omasin about her new edited volume, The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: The Last of Us. The conversation explores how The Last of Us—both as a groundbreaking video game series and as an HBO adaptation—serves as a potent lens for examining psychological and cultural themes including trauma, grief, survival, morality, and the promise (and peril) of post-apocalyptic societies. D’Omasin shares both personal and scholarly insights into why this story resonates so deeply and how its multidimensional narrative structure challenges audiences across media.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. D’Omasin’s Entry Into the Project ([02:23])

• Interest in Post-Apocalypse:
  D’Omasin’s fascination with post-apocalyptic narratives centers on how societies might restructure after collapse, particularly escaping and reimagining beyond capitalism and racial hierarchies.

• Intersection of Media:
  The HBO adaptation presented a timely opportunity to compare how the same world and characters are reinterpreted across television and gaming—especially captivating due to the immersive interactivity games provide.

  “If it involves zombies, infected, or the Fall of Capitalism, chances are I'm a fan.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [02:35]

2. Why Trauma, Survival, & Grief Resonate ([03:33-05:31])

• Post-Capitalist Utopia:
  D’Omasin frames the world of The Last of Us as a kind of utopia for those disillusioned by capitalist alienation, positing that the series—and post-apocalyptic fiction at large—allows us to imagine more equitable social organizations.

• Example from the Show:
  Refers to Jackson’s commune and its explicit labeling as “communist”—underscoring the possibility of radically equitable systems arising after society’s collapse.

• Audience Resonance:
  Such themes are “rich materials for psychological and cultural analysis,” especially given how they allow viewers to reflect on possibilities for restructuring society.

  “The Last of Us and post-apocalyptic narratives in general become particularly compelling because it doesn't merely depict societal collapse—it reveals how ordinary working people could fundamentally restructure society.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [04:15]

3. Adapting Across Mediums ([05:31-07:17])

• Media Affordances & Constraints:
  Every medium brings its own strengths and limitations; for instance, TV cannot capture the gameplay tension of evading infected, so it must focus elsewhere (e.g., character drama).

• Adaptation Controversies:
  Casting choices (e.g., Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal) invoked strong reactions, yet should be understood within the logic of HBO’s production model and broader audience considerations.

  “Television as a narrative medium wouldn't be suitable for exploring gameplay encounters with infected in the same way a game can...We could also discuss casting decisions, which was a particular area of discontent among players.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [06:24]

4. Psychology and Storytelling: Joel and Ellie’s Defining Moment ([08:14-11:55])

• The Hospital Scene:
  D’Omasin highlights the climactic hospital rescue—Joel’s decision to save Ellie at the cost of a possible cure—as the crux where personal trauma, love, survival, and moral ambiguity collide.

• Narrative Consequences:
  Joel’s grief for his daughter Sarah shapes everything; his adoption of Ellie as a surrogate daughter is both psychologically inevitable and narratively fraught.

• Morality in a Collapsed World:
  The game asks players to consider that traditional moral frameworks are no longer applicable—survival requires unthinkable choices.

• Enduring Themes:
  The game’s central message is about embracing vulnerability and love, fighting on after loss, and the deep need for community amid trauma.

  “The moral calculus of the old world simply doesn't apply when survival itself requires actions that would have once been unthinkable.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [10:35]
  “It's kind of perplexing to me that some audiences expect TLOU to deliver a cure in the form of a resolved Hollywood ending. The psychology of TLOU with the themes of survival clearly embodies contemporary social political anxieties, including fragile masculinity, financial anxieties and environmental crises.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [10:55]

5. The Power of Forced Perspective: Playing as Abby ([12:50-14:29])

• Rage and Empathy:
  D’Omasin discusses her initial anger at being forced to play as Abby—who kills fan favorite Joel—in the sequel, and how this emotion ultimately gave way to empathy and understanding.

• Game Design and Ethics:
  One chapter in the book shows how shifting perspective (forcing players into Abby’s role) is intentionally designed to disrupt, challenge, and expand the player’s sense of ethics and identification.

• From Grief to Growth:
  The shift allowed D’Omasin to realize that her rage was less about game design and more about her attachment to Joel and Ellie—demonstrating the productive emotional journey games can spark.

  “The forced perspective of playing as Abby and walking in her shoes, so to speak, helped me to understand her perspective...My initial rage at playing as Abby wasn't about game design at all. It was my grief over Joel and my sympathy for Ellie.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [13:35]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the post-apocalyptic utopia:

  “Of course, a world where 60% of the population is either dead or infected is my particular version of utopia.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [03:55]

• On adaptation anxieties:

  “Players and audiences...have specific ideas of who they wanted to see play Ellie and Joel. Those types of decisions were inevitably informed by HBO executives.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [06:54]

• On Joel’s hospital decision:

  “Joel chooses Ellie's life over the potential salvation of humanity. That one decision generates essential conflict for the entire franchise.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [09:09]

• On the value of perspective shifts in gaming:

  “Playing as Abby became incredibly productive and forced me to confront how right and wrong is always about perspective and who you identify with as a character.” — Adrienne d’Omasin [13:08]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:23] D’Omasin on her background & approach
• [03:33-05:31] Deconstructing utopia, trauma, survival, and post-capitalism in The Last of Us
• [05:31-07:17] Adapting between game and TV: Media differences and adaptation controversies
• [08:14-11:55] Joel & Ellie: Trauma, morality, and the narrative engine
• [12:50-14:29] The Abby perspective: From rage to empathy via game design
• [14:29-end] Closing remarks and gratitude

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode is intellectually rich but remains accessible, combining rigorous analysis with personal passion. Both host and guest engage deeply with the emotional landscape of The Last of Us, showing how its world compels audiences to rethink not just storytelling in games but the very idea of morality, community, and survival itself. D’Omasin positions both the series and its fandom as vital sites where psychology and pop culture coexist and ignite necessary conversations about the world we live in—and the worlds we might imagine.

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Transcript

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[Adrienne d' Omayson]

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[Adrienne d' Omayson]

Welcome to the New Books Network.

[Rudolf Indust]

Hi everyone and welcome back to New Books and Game Studies, a podcast channel on the New Books Network. On this channel we explore a new scholarship that unpacks what games mean, how they are designed, how they are played, and how they resonate for far beyond the screen. I'm your host, Rudolf Indust, professor for Game Studies at the University of Applied Sciences, Neu Ulm, Germany. Before we get started though, if you enjoy the show, please consider leaving us a five star review on Apple Podcasts or which platform you prefer. It really helps others discover us. And of course, please feel free to share this episode with your community or gaming groups. And now let's dive into today's conversation. I'm absolutely delighted to welcome Adrienne d', Omayson, who is here today to talk about her book, the Zeitgeist of Pop Culture, the Last of Us. So welcome to the show.

[Adrienne d' Omayson]

Hi Rudolph. Yeah, thank you so much for having me on.

[Rudolf Indust]

To start us off, could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us what brought you to this project? What drew you to the Last of Us as a cultural text worth this kind of deep psychological and cultural examination?

[Adrienne d' Omayson]

Sure. Well, my primary interest in post apocalyptic narrative centers on how society restructures itself after collapse. How it moves beyond capitalism, transcends racial hierarchies and reimagines social organization entirely. If it involves zombies, infected, or the Fall of Capitalism, chances are I'm a fan when HBO's the Last of Us adaptation was announced, I realized this would be the perfect opportunity to examine both the game and its television adaptation. At the time, I was working on my dissertation proposal and was interested in exploring the aesthetics and narrative structure of post network era television. But what really captivated me about T Lou was the immersive nature of the Last of Us as a game. The mechanics, art direction, aesthetics, and character development all work together to create an incredibly rich world that I was able to interact with versus watch passively.

[Rudolf Indust]

Your book highlights how themes like trauma, grief, morality, survival and revenge shape not only the characters of the Last of Us but also how audiences engage with them. Could you talk about why these particular themes resonate so powerfully across both the games and the HBO adaption?

[Adrienne d' Omayson]

Okay, sure. Now as a Marxist, the Fall of capitalism represents a kind of utopia. Playing the Last of Us provides an escape from the alienation of capitalism, allowing me to immerse myself in a post capitalistic world. Of course, a world where 60% of the population is either dead or infected is my particular version of utopia. However, when I presented this research at a conference, I noticed a significant number of heads nodding in agreement when I suggested that TILU and post apocalyptic media can be seen as utopian. The Last of Us and post apocalyptic narratives in general becomes particularly compelling because it doesn't merely depict societal collapse, it reveals how ordinary working people could fundamentally restructure society. You see this explicitly in the show when Maria refers to Jackson as a commune. I'm going to start over there. You see this explicitly in the show when Maria refers to Jackson as a commune. She says no one person is in charge, I'm on the council, democratically elected. And later she clarifies that the people in Jackson can be considered communist. This demonstrates how those of us systematically excluded from decisions about how capitalism distributes resources and power would create something genuinely equitable for everyone. That's one of the primary reasons that TILU and other post apocalyptic narratives are rich material for psychological and cultural analysis to me, besides the bonds that the characters developed through surviving together.

[Rudolf Indust]

Now, one of the strengths of the book is also how it moves between different media forms. The original, the Last of Us, its sequel, and the television series. What did you discover when comparing how these different versions tell essentially the same emotionally charged story?

[Adrienne d' Omayson]

Sure, that's kind of a tough question. On the one hand, I think there's always this knee jerk reaction by players and audiences in the case of adaptations that suggest if the adaptation veers away from the original text in any shape or form, whether it's a book, a video game, or what have you, that somehow the adaptation is a failure or subpar, as academics were trained to critically analyze digressions from the original text, while taking into account the industrial and economic comparatives that inform decisions that pertain to adaptations. What some players and audience miss is that different mediums have different technological constraints and affordances inherent to the medium itself. For example, television as a narrative medium wouldn't be suitable for exploring gameplay encounters with infected in the same way a game can. It simply wouldn't translate or make sense to audiences. But that's just one example. We could also discuss casting decisions, which was a particular area of discontent among players who had specific ideas of who they wanted to see play Ellie and Joel. Those types of decisions were inevitably informed by HBO executives. They chose two star vehicles, Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal, to play Ellie and Joel because that matches HBO's quality TV production model and plays to their existing audiences.

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[Adrienne d' Omayson]

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[Rudolf Indust]

No crust, no fuss. Uncrust your mornings. Ellie and Joel are of course central to the franchise. Your book offers close readings of their arcs and decisions. Could you highlight one moment in their journey that for you captures the intersection of psychology and storytelling most clearly?

[Adrienne d' Omayson]

Sure. I point to the moment when Ellie confronts Joel for saving her life at the hospital, and this scene has sparked endless debate in the TILU community, and it's a perfect example of psychology and storytelling working together. Joel's grief and guilt over Sarah are absolutely driving this decision. It's classic trauma psychology where past loss shapes how you respond to present threats but what makes it brilliant storytelling is how that psychologically inevitable choice creates such rich narrative consequences. After everything they endured together. Together. I'm going to start over with this one. After everything they endured together, as Ellie puts it, after all they went through, all those people that killed, the risks that they took to reach the hospital safely, Joel chooses Ellie's life over the potential salvation of humanity. That one decision generates essential conflict for the entire franchise. The rift between Joel and Ellie, this beautiful demonstration of love, and how Joel has come to love Ellie and think of her as his daughter, as well as our hopes that Ellie will think of Joel as his father, given that she has so little in life in terms of love. Prior to Joel, Marlene was Ellie's protector and best friend to Ellie's mom, Anna, who died from infection. But Marlene's betrayal of that sacred trust she owed Ellie reinforce for players and audiences why Ellie needed protection. Joel being a surrogate father to Ellie represents a potential healing of both of their traumas. After all, Joel loses Sarah immediately in the narrative of the first game. As we do also as players and audiences, we should completely understand Joel's motivation because we experience that loss alongside him. Instead, the discussion of Joel's decision tends to devolve into a discussion of morality, which I argue in my chapter is fundamentally altered in tilu's fallen world. The moral calculus of the old world simply doesn't apply when survival itself requires actions that would have once been unthinkable. Once you understand that a Cordyceps virus has killed 60% of the global population, you should be prepared to see people surviving and protecting others at all costs, just like Joel did for Ellie. It's kind of perplexing to me that some audiences expect T? Lou to deliver a cure in the form of a resolved Hollywood ending. The psychology of T? Loo with the themes of survival clearly embodies contemporary social political anxieties, including fragile masculinity, financial anxieties and environmental crises. Through this post apocalyptic narrative, TILU shows you the depths of grief and trauma and that healing from long loss associated with grief and trauma requires you to allow yourself to be vulnerable again and to accept love. The message in TILU is that sometimes life can knock you down, but you don't get to stay down. Ultimately, you have to fight to survive and that you need your people beside you to survive. Thus, Joel was acting on his own survival instincts and on behalf of Ellie when he saved her. It isn't a question of choice, it's a matter of survival.

[Rudolf Indust]

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[Adrienne d' Omayson]

Sure. The chapter could we have loved Negotiating Ethics through Perspective Shifts in Game Design is a chapter that helped me to understand my initial rage of having to play as Abby. And the rage stemmed from my frustration that she was responsible for Joel's brutal murder, and this way I felt a bit like a traitor to Ellie and to Joel. However, the forced perspective of playing as Abby and walking in her shoes, so to speak, helped me to understand her perspective. The other thing that helped me get over this rage is Abby's playstyle when you get into the area called the Descent and you have to take out stalkers. Playing as Abby gave me more confidence in my gameplay abilities, and this experience of moving from rage to a preference of playing as Abby is due to the forced perspective shifts that the author so eloquently explains in their chapter. The author's analysis of how this dual perspective is built into the very design of the game really helped me see the intentionality behind all the levels that Teeli works on, including story, gameplay, design and character development. Playing as Abby became incredibly productive and forced me to confront how right and wrong is always about perspective and who you identify with as a character. And that understanding helped me recognize that my initial rage at playing as Abby wasn't about game design at all. It was my grief over Joel and my sympathy for Ellie.

[Rudolf Indust]

Well, Adrienne, thank you so much for joining me today and for sharing the zeitgeist of pop culture. The Last of Us have a good day.

[Adrienne d' Omayson]

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

[Rudolf Indust]

Dear listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're an author or editor working in game studies and would like to discuss your latest work, please feel free to reach [e-mail] you can also find me on LinkedIn at bluesky under AME studies. And one last reminder, if you want to support the show, please head over to gamestudiesmerch.de and check out our game studies hoodies Take care. Goodbye. And always keep it playful.