Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici

Brando Ratti graduated with a degree in Philosophy at the University of Genoa under the mentorship of Professor Marco Damonte. His thesis delved into the thoughts of modern and contemporary philosophers from Agostino to Nietzsche through Popper and Michelstaedter. The study explored the nature of the human soul, analyzing how specific imaginaries, cultural references, and media productions influence the perception of good and evil in contemporary humans.
He earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Pisa, where he conducted a comprehensive analysis of the construction of a 'common enemy' narrative within specific Italian media contexts. His research shed light on the mechanisms employed by the media to shape public perceptions and influence societal attitudes towards identified adversaries.
During his academic journey, he has consistently delved into a diverse range of interests, including subcultures, underground music scenes, cultural studies, video games, and media. Between 2019 and 2020, he hosted a radio program on Contatto Radio, Popolare Network (Massa-Carrara), where he passionately explored the intertwining narratives of historical events and various global subcultures examining how these shape and are shaped by historical events, contributing to a nuanced understanding of the broader cultural landscape.
Since November 2023, he has been a doctoral student in the XXXVIII PhD cycle in 'Cultural Heritage and Historical-Artistic, Audiovisual, and Multimedia Production.' His research project focuses on examining how Italian cultural belonging and diverse social and cultural backgrounds influence the collective perspective on video game consumption.

The Italian Gaming Community: Cultural Idiosyncrasies and Social Realism
This research aims to contribute to the collective study of the Italian gaming community.
Video games can be considered as powerful tools in the study of social expression; in fact, the most intriguing idiosyncrasies emerge from the engagement with these games, particularly in the online gaming mode.
This engagement distinctly highlights the characteristic features of a community navigating the tension between its own cultural identity and the imaginative realm presented by video games.
Among the most interesting findings are performative acts, crucial for role-playing games (RP), involving the use of a language that blends elements from various international slangs with the grammatical and structural rules of the Italian language.
Also, certain cultural identities are stereotyped during gameplay, the dynamics of participation, cooperation, and conflict are influenced by shared territorial affiliations or mirroring real-life situations, such as job interviews for in-game roles.
The aesthetic and historical characterization of specific game characters, the practice of trolling as a means to disrupt gameplay for amusement and popularity, and the relationship between the virtual community and real-life scenarios in terms of cultural, social, and political influence in the Italian context also emerge as noteworthy aspects.

The elimination of the historical and contextual background that typically defines each in-game character creates a character with a completely fabricated story, promoting cohesion between diverse cultural elements and making interpersonal relationships essential for a meaningful gaming experience.
According to film scholar Pierre Sorlin, what that is capable of being visible in cinematic realism equals to something the viewer perceives as "real" by them, that is shaped by individual inclinations, environment, context and culture. Starting from this idea, this research will explore if and how "the visible" can be actively altered during gameplay, taking into account the interactivity of video game scripts compared to cinematic ones. In its second phase, the study will observe how the experience of playing video games may vary in relation to the "visibility" recognized by different players and how that can influence the choice of certain games over others.

Bibliographic references:

Bilchi, N., Cinema e videogiochi. Narrazioni, estetiche, ibridazioni, Unicopli, Milano.2019.

Bittanti, M. (a cura di), Game Over. Critica della ragione videoludica, Mimesis Edizioni, Milano 2020.

Callois, R, I giochi e gli uomini. La maschera e la vertigine, Bompiani, Milano 2006.

Carbone, M. B., Fassone, R. (a cura di), Il videogioco in Italia. Storie, rappresentazioni, contesti, Mimesis Edizioni, Milano 2020.

Galloway, A., Gaming. Essays on algorithmic culture, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis 2006.

Sorlin, P., Introduzione a una sociologia del cinema, Edizioni ETS, Pisa 2017.

Sorlin, P., Sociologia del cinema, Garzanti Editore, Milano 1979.