This research aims at contributing to the understanding of
the contemporary “legitimate violence” phenomenon. For this, the
paper presents the analysis of the fictional work BioShock Infinite
through the philosophy of Hannah Arendt, considering the link
between Law and art forms. The methodology employed is that of a
bibliographic research, based on Gilbert Durand’s mythocritique,
which aims at revealing the imagistic meanings behind art. It resulted
in the advancement in understanding the symbology behind the name
Columbia, the different forms of manifestation of tyranny and the role
of the founding fathers as ancestors for American society. In addition,
it resulted in a better perception of how the artistic work symbolizes
the erosion of freedom in tyrannical regimes, of how propaganda is an
essential tool for lying in politics, of how violence is the weapon of a
government without authority, and of how the privileged citizens
tolerate the oppression of the less favored people due to the banality of
evil, depersonifying them. Finally, it culminates in the idea that
necessity operates as one of the worst types of violence and that civil
disobedience is the true form of legitimate violence