Susanna Flock

An ethnographic exploration of the work and daily life of non-player characters, the digital extras in video games. Their labor loops, activity patterns as well as bugs and malfunctions paint a vivid analogy for work under capitalism.

Everything started with a utopia. To end the antagonism between the oppressors and the oppressed, between the owners and the own-nothings. To create a society that would be truly free, equal and solidaric.

A football team warms up for the World Cup final, a golfer gets ready to take his first shot, and a rally duo sets off on a test drive, while their audiences watch in eager anticipation. The air is tense, a storm is brewing, but all eyes remain fixated on the match. With masterfully manipulated footage from FIFA 23, PGA Tour 2k21, and DiRT Rally 2.0, Total Refusal (Susanna Flock, Adrian Jonas Haim, Jona Kleinlein) lays bare the rules of the game.