Affective Necropolitics, Procedural Necrorhetorics, and the US–Mexico Border in the <i>Call of Duty</i> Series

Abstract This article examines how the Call of Duty videogames, specifically Ghosts (2013) and Modern Warfare II (2022), reproduce and aestheticize US state violence at the US–Mexico border. Through an analysis of gameplay mechanics, mission structure, and audiovisual design, the article argues that these videogames proceduralize US exceptionalism. Drawing on Achille Mbembe’s notion of necropolitics and Ian Bogost’s notion of procedural rhetoric, the article introduces procedural necrorhetorics to describe how games embed racialized death into their rule systems and rhythms of play. These mechanics make players intuitively identify and eliminate racialized enemies, rendering border violence both thinkable and pleasurable. In this context, whiteness functions as a kinesthetic and affective structure of dominance, guiding players to perceive threats and exercise force. By embedding necropolitical logics into the body’s sensorimotor responses, Call of Duty rehearses a digital fantasy of American sovereignty under siege – one that must be restored through preemptive, racialized violence.