Simulation, Gameplay, and the Non-indexical Image in Harun Farocki’s Serious Games I–IV and Parallel I–IV

This chapter examines the use of computer-generated imagery in the late cinematic essays of Harun Farocki within the context of scholarly debates surrounding the waning of the index and heightened possibilities for visual manipulation in the era of digital media. Focusing on the essay projects Serious Games I–IV and Parallel I–IV, this chapter investigates how Farocki extends his long-standing practice of self-reflexively unpacking the technical, formal, and ideological dimensions of operational images into the realm of advanced computer-generated imagery. I explore Farocki’s methods of repurposing footage from a diverse range of sources—including commercial video games, military training programmes, and architectural models—to probe the aesthetic constitution and ontological properties of digitally constructed ex nihilo images. With reference to Serious Games I–IV, I argue that Farocki’s critical engagement with these images not only critiques the role of simulation in contemporary warfare, but also redefines classical notions of cinematic ‘truth’ by unlocking the epistemological potential of images devoid of indexical ties to pro-filmic reality.