Game Changer

Shusterman’s novel Game Changer delves into complex issues surrounding Identity and Perspective, Passive Privilege Versus Active Allyship, and Gray Morality. The narrative follows the perspective of Ash, the young white male heterosexual protagonist, who finds himself grappling with his growing awareness of institutionalized systems of oppression as he shifts through realities—especially once he starts assuming marginalized identities as he embodies different versions of himself. Ash reflects on his privilege and ignorance by developing his empathy for other people’s perspectives, which underlines the novel’s message about social justice and active solidarity.

However, it may be necessary to contextualize those thematic elements, since the author is a self-identified white male. Moreover, given the range of identities and social issues addressed in the book, the narrative arguably tends to oversimplify sensitive issues surrounding identity and community. Indeed, addressing multiple, complex social issues within a single narrative necessarily bypasses some of the nuances of the characters’ experiences, which in turn affects the depth of the novel’s critique of social and political systems. Ash’s conversations with Leo, for instance, tend to frame the latter as a sidekick whose main purpose is to develop the white protagonist’s understanding of systemic racism. The novel is aware of this issue, to an extent. Leo himself sarcastically calls out Ash’s behavior as that of a “great white hero [who’s] gonna solve all the world’s problems” (300), possibly referring to Ash’s white-savior complex. The novel also, ironically, makes the central problem of the premise that Ash has literally become the center of the universe. Nonetheless, as Ash reacts to his Black friend’s feedback, as the narrator, he immediately focuses the conversation on his own guilt and thereby circumvents a deeper exploration of Leo’s perspective. This constant return to Ash’s guilt can arguably be read as antithetic to the novel’s implicit message, instead reinforcing the centering of white perspectives. Similar arguments can be made about Ash’s perspective on queerphobia and misogyny, although he experiences aspects of those identities more directly within the story.

In short, while Game Changer does offer a critique of institutionalized systems of oppression, its perspective is that of a white male protagonist, and the breadth of issues it touches on means that the narrative skims over the perspectives of the more diverse side characters. Throughout the novel, Ash gains maturity, awareness, and a willingness to be an active ally to marginalized communities rather than a silent supporter of the status quo that benefits him. However, further contextualization is key to deepening the reader’s understanding of the social issues depicted in the novel—especially through resources centering diverse characters produced by authors with relevant lived experiences.