Popular Culture Review 29.2
niences seem hard-pressed to change even when faced with the reality forecasted by their actions : the eventual extinction of all whales . Adrian Burton writes of the decimation of various species and changing attitudes toward such slaughter ,
Now that we understand that chaos is promoted by the needless killing of wildlife , that our ancient heroic epics do not explain how we fit into the biological world and the monsters who have so often been us . Yet a place for heroes does remain . Not for those who kill mantas , lions , or rhinos for some outdated sense of glory or personal gain , but for those who would preserve them . ( 56 )
Burton ’ s thoughts dovetail with the game series ’ s presentation of whaling as emblematic of its world ’ s larger ills . While the citizens of Dunwall and Karnaca might argue that they need whale oil , such a supposition sidesteps technological innovations that would certainly be possible . Slaughtering whales , after all , is simple . The Outsider does not seem willing or able to stop the killing himself , but his seeking out of individuals to bear his mark , and thus the powers of the Void , appears to be in part his quest for just such a potential hero .
While the series proper does not shy from depictions of bloody water and the ravaged carcasses of whales , the most graphic depiction of the whaling industry is outside of the main Dishonored game series in its DLC “ The Knife of Dunwall ” during its Slaughterhouse Row sequence . 11 The DLC follows Daud , an antagonist in Dishonored and the murderer
11 Although a player is not required to complete DLC add-ons to finish the main game , he or she misses additional and sometimes significant narrative development by sidestepping these extra components .
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