Ana Ashraf received her Ph.D. in English Literature from KU Leuven in 2020. Her dissertation, entitled, "Literary Testimonies of War and Conflict of Twentieth-Century British and Pakistani Women Writers" investigated the literary responses of a selection of British and Pakistani women writers to wars and conflicts in the twentieth century as examples of literary testimony. She is mainly interested in the fields of Modern and Contemporary English Literature, Literature of War and Conflict, and Anglophone South-Asian Literature.
Sacred Games (2018–2019), based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same title, is India’s first Net... more Sacred Games (2018–2019), based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same title, is India’s first Netflix crime thriller series. This series shows how the lives of a Sikh policeman, Sartaj Singh, and a powerful gangster, Ganesh Eknath Gaitonde, weave together in a mission to save Mumbai from a nuclear attack. The series immediately received critical acclaim and viewers’ appreciation, but the way the series represents the (mis)use of metanarratives of religious and political ideologies, as they come to influence Gaitonde’s life, needs further perusal. For this purpose, this article investigates how Gaitonde’s life, and its abrupt end, are shaped and challenged by the larger ideological and religious metanarratives of his milieu. At the same time, this article examines Gaitonde’s ability to gain control over his own narrative despite the overwhelming presence of these metanarratives. More specifically, Gaitonde’s transgressive will and his desire to tell his story are brought under scrutiny. Along with the analysis of Gaitonde’s character, this article also examines how the use of various cinematic and narrative techniques heightens self-reflexivity and metafictionality in Sacred Games and emphasizes the role of mini-narratives as unique, singular, and contingent, in contrast to the generic, universal, and permanent tones of metanarratives.
It has become clichéd by now to say that the world changed forever after 9/11. Though the veracit... more It has become clichéd by now to say that the world changed forever after 9/11. Though the veracity of this statement can still be doubted yet undeniably the discursive practices illustrating this ‘change’, have taken a new turn. Slogans such as ‘War against Terrorism’, ‘War for Peace’, and ‘War on America’, ‘Islamic Fundamentalism’ have gained inevitable currency and authenticity in the modern awareness. In this scenario, one of the most effective discourses had been the political rhetoric about Afghanistan ever since 2001. An analysis of the virtually constructed linguistic structures opens up ways of understanding how meta narratives make the people forget actuality of this war and believe blindly in the politically constructed virtual reality. This research article aims exploring a new form of war narrative namely war games_ a genre that heightens the action but not the motif, refutes historicity of an event, politicizes the general consciousness, triggers hatred for the ‘other’ where this ‘other’ is a complete stranger for the player’s consciousness and finally a medium that not just challenges one’s sense of reality but also replaces it with desired panoptical tautology. The article focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visual medium of war narrative. For this purpose, three of the most famous and latest war games (Delta Force, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor) depicting US operations in Afghanistan are analysed in pithy detail. Where most of the criticism on video games is based on their form or structure, this article attempts at exposing the significance and complex inter-relatedness of content and form.
The paper focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visua... more The paper focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visual medium of war narrative. For this purpose, three of the most famous and latest war games (Delta Force, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor) depicting US operations in Afghanistan are analysed in pithy detail. Where most of the criticism on video games is based on their form or structure, this article attempts at exposing the significance and complex inter-relatedness of content and form.
Virtual war is omniscient. What one perceives around oneself is ‘Militarism’, ‘Peace Operation’, ... more Virtual war is omniscient. What one perceives around oneself is ‘Militarism’, ‘Peace Operation’, ‘War on Terror’, ‘Mutually-assured Destruction’ (righteously abbreviated as MAD); war in its old garb has become non-functional and is replaced by this totalitarian form of war. War against Terror in Afghanistan, wherein the dystopic permeation of virtual war is amply manifest, is the most potent example of virtual war where the discursive practices have codified war-reality into language that serves the specific, pre-defined political purposes making the actual conflict and the turmoil of war irrelevant and insignificant. The main objective of this book is analyzing the ontological meaning of virtual reality, and observing how vested ‘irreality’ is used at verbal, visual and literary plane to create a strong political and massively acceptable rhetoric for war. In this endeavor, the nature of virtual reality is analysed in detail in the first chapter and in the following three chapters t...
Sacred Games (2018–2019), based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same title, is India’s first Net... more Sacred Games (2018–2019), based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same title, is India’s first Netflix crime thriller series. This series shows how the lives of a Sikh policeman, Sartaj Singh, and a powerful gangster, Ganesh Eknath Gaitonde, weave together in a mission to save Mumbai from a nuclear attack. The series immediately received critical acclaim and viewers’ appreciation, but the way the series represents the (mis)use of metanarratives of religious and political ideologies, as they come to influence Gaitonde’s life, needs further perusal. For this purpose, this article investigates how Gaitonde’s life, and its abrupt end, are shaped and challenged by the larger ideological and religious metanarratives of his milieu. At the same time, this article examines Gaitonde’s ability to gain control over his own narrative despite the overwhelming presence of these metanarratives. More specifically, Gaitonde’s transgressive will and his desire to tell his story are brought under scruti...
Ana Ashraf’s exploration of Bowen’s novel demonstrates how, in the post-war milieu, ambivalent na... more Ana Ashraf’s exploration of Bowen’s novel demonstrates how, in the post-war milieu, ambivalent narratives of testimony and witnessing challenged the ideology of war and the machinery of propaganda. The novel’s metafictional style emphasizes the self-reflexive nature of witness and testimony. Interweaving personal and political spheres in an experimental form that juxtaposes the classic romance plot and the traditional spy novel, The Heat of the Day offers a feminine view of the masculine world of intelligence. In its presentation of the conflict between love and patriotism, the novel’s treatment of treachery appears unstable and unusual. It also highlights the role of literary testimony in challenging the dominant narrative of war. Demonstrating the ‘intermodern’ preoccupation with political commitment during periods of war, the novel exemplifies an ‘interfeminist’ awareness of the notion of ‘women’s time’, the marginalisation of women’s experience of war and the binary division between fact and fiction.
In modern thought, (if not in fact) Nothing is that doesn’t act, So that is reckoned wisdom which... more In modern thought, (if not in fact) Nothing is that doesn’t act, So that is reckoned wisdom which Describes the scratch but not the itch. [1] And hence is born a new form of war narrative namely war games_ a genre that heightens the action but not the motif, refutes historically of an event and politicizes the general consciousness, triggers hatred for the ‘other’ where this ‘other’ is a complete stranger for the player’s consciousness and finally a medium that not just challenges one’s sense of reality but also replaces it with desired panoptical tautology. This research article focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visual medium of war narrative. It also proposes that a medium that infiltrates the most potent group of society (youth), that palters the sense of reality, that defines war in new terms needs much more critical scrutiny than it presently receives. For this purpose, three of the most famous and latest war games (Delta Force, C...
Sacred Games (2018–2019), based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same title, is India’s first Net... more Sacred Games (2018–2019), based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same title, is India’s first Netflix crime thriller series. This series shows how the lives of a Sikh policeman, Sartaj Singh, and a powerful gangster, Ganesh Eknath Gaitonde, weave together in a mission to save Mumbai from a nuclear attack. The series immediately received critical acclaim and viewers’ appreciation, but the way the series represents the (mis)use of metanarratives of religious and political ideologies, as they come to influence Gaitonde’s life, needs further perusal. For this purpose, this article investigates how Gaitonde’s life, and its abrupt end, are shaped and challenged by the larger ideological and religious metanarratives of his milieu. At the same time, this article examines Gaitonde’s ability to gain control over his own narrative despite the overwhelming presence of these metanarratives. More specifically, Gaitonde’s transgressive will and his desire to tell his story are brought under scrutiny. Along with the analysis of Gaitonde’s character, this article also examines how the use of various cinematic and narrative techniques heightens self-reflexivity and metafictionality in Sacred Games and emphasizes the role of mini-narratives as unique, singular, and contingent, in contrast to the generic, universal, and permanent tones of metanarratives.
It has become clichéd by now to say that the world changed forever after 9/11. Though the veracit... more It has become clichéd by now to say that the world changed forever after 9/11. Though the veracity of this statement can still be doubted yet undeniably the discursive practices illustrating this ‘change’, have taken a new turn. Slogans such as ‘War against Terrorism’, ‘War for Peace’, and ‘War on America’, ‘Islamic Fundamentalism’ have gained inevitable currency and authenticity in the modern awareness. In this scenario, one of the most effective discourses had been the political rhetoric about Afghanistan ever since 2001. An analysis of the virtually constructed linguistic structures opens up ways of understanding how meta narratives make the people forget actuality of this war and believe blindly in the politically constructed virtual reality. This research article aims exploring a new form of war narrative namely war games_ a genre that heightens the action but not the motif, refutes historicity of an event, politicizes the general consciousness, triggers hatred for the ‘other’ where this ‘other’ is a complete stranger for the player’s consciousness and finally a medium that not just challenges one’s sense of reality but also replaces it with desired panoptical tautology. The article focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visual medium of war narrative. For this purpose, three of the most famous and latest war games (Delta Force, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor) depicting US operations in Afghanistan are analysed in pithy detail. Where most of the criticism on video games is based on their form or structure, this article attempts at exposing the significance and complex inter-relatedness of content and form.
The paper focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visua... more The paper focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visual medium of war narrative. For this purpose, three of the most famous and latest war games (Delta Force, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor) depicting US operations in Afghanistan are analysed in pithy detail. Where most of the criticism on video games is based on their form or structure, this article attempts at exposing the significance and complex inter-relatedness of content and form.
Virtual war is omniscient. What one perceives around oneself is ‘Militarism’, ‘Peace Operation’, ... more Virtual war is omniscient. What one perceives around oneself is ‘Militarism’, ‘Peace Operation’, ‘War on Terror’, ‘Mutually-assured Destruction’ (righteously abbreviated as MAD); war in its old garb has become non-functional and is replaced by this totalitarian form of war. War against Terror in Afghanistan, wherein the dystopic permeation of virtual war is amply manifest, is the most potent example of virtual war where the discursive practices have codified war-reality into language that serves the specific, pre-defined political purposes making the actual conflict and the turmoil of war irrelevant and insignificant. The main objective of this book is analyzing the ontological meaning of virtual reality, and observing how vested ‘irreality’ is used at verbal, visual and literary plane to create a strong political and massively acceptable rhetoric for war. In this endeavor, the nature of virtual reality is analysed in detail in the first chapter and in the following three chapters t...
Sacred Games (2018–2019), based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same title, is India’s first Net... more Sacred Games (2018–2019), based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same title, is India’s first Netflix crime thriller series. This series shows how the lives of a Sikh policeman, Sartaj Singh, and a powerful gangster, Ganesh Eknath Gaitonde, weave together in a mission to save Mumbai from a nuclear attack. The series immediately received critical acclaim and viewers’ appreciation, but the way the series represents the (mis)use of metanarratives of religious and political ideologies, as they come to influence Gaitonde’s life, needs further perusal. For this purpose, this article investigates how Gaitonde’s life, and its abrupt end, are shaped and challenged by the larger ideological and religious metanarratives of his milieu. At the same time, this article examines Gaitonde’s ability to gain control over his own narrative despite the overwhelming presence of these metanarratives. More specifically, Gaitonde’s transgressive will and his desire to tell his story are brought under scruti...
Ana Ashraf’s exploration of Bowen’s novel demonstrates how, in the post-war milieu, ambivalent na... more Ana Ashraf’s exploration of Bowen’s novel demonstrates how, in the post-war milieu, ambivalent narratives of testimony and witnessing challenged the ideology of war and the machinery of propaganda. The novel’s metafictional style emphasizes the self-reflexive nature of witness and testimony. Interweaving personal and political spheres in an experimental form that juxtaposes the classic romance plot and the traditional spy novel, The Heat of the Day offers a feminine view of the masculine world of intelligence. In its presentation of the conflict between love and patriotism, the novel’s treatment of treachery appears unstable and unusual. It also highlights the role of literary testimony in challenging the dominant narrative of war. Demonstrating the ‘intermodern’ preoccupation with political commitment during periods of war, the novel exemplifies an ‘interfeminist’ awareness of the notion of ‘women’s time’, the marginalisation of women’s experience of war and the binary division between fact and fiction.
In modern thought, (if not in fact) Nothing is that doesn’t act, So that is reckoned wisdom which... more In modern thought, (if not in fact) Nothing is that doesn’t act, So that is reckoned wisdom which Describes the scratch but not the itch. [1] And hence is born a new form of war narrative namely war games_ a genre that heightens the action but not the motif, refutes historically of an event and politicizes the general consciousness, triggers hatred for the ‘other’ where this ‘other’ is a complete stranger for the player’s consciousness and finally a medium that not just challenges one’s sense of reality but also replaces it with desired panoptical tautology. This research article focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visual medium of war narrative. It also proposes that a medium that infiltrates the most potent group of society (youth), that palters the sense of reality, that defines war in new terms needs much more critical scrutiny than it presently receives. For this purpose, three of the most famous and latest war games (Delta Force, C...
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This research article aims exploring a new form of war narrative namely war games_ a genre that heightens the action but not the motif, refutes historicity of an event, politicizes the general consciousness, triggers hatred for the ‘other’ where this ‘other’ is a complete stranger for the player’s consciousness and finally a medium that not just challenges one’s sense of reality but also replaces it with desired panoptical tautology. The article focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visual medium of war narrative. For this purpose, three of the most famous and latest war games (Delta Force, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor) depicting US operations in Afghanistan are analysed in pithy detail. Where most of the criticism on video games is based on their form or structure, this article attempts at exposing the significance and complex inter-relatedness of content and form.
This research article aims exploring a new form of war narrative namely war games_ a genre that heightens the action but not the motif, refutes historicity of an event, politicizes the general consciousness, triggers hatred for the ‘other’ where this ‘other’ is a complete stranger for the player’s consciousness and finally a medium that not just challenges one’s sense of reality but also replaces it with desired panoptical tautology. The article focuses on the complexity of war video games and studies them as a new and subtle visual medium of war narrative. For this purpose, three of the most famous and latest war games (Delta Force, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor) depicting US operations in Afghanistan are analysed in pithy detail. Where most of the criticism on video games is based on their form or structure, this article attempts at exposing the significance and complex inter-relatedness of content and form.