"Rather than consisting of discrete forms, the ritual-game-story thing has always been something of a hybrid, representing some of the most foundational forms of human expression and meaning-making."
It has been so interesting for me to read through these chapters and consider all of the different theories regarding how and why people engage in play of various forms. The most intriguing thing for me is this underlying idea of "meaning-making." Reading through this text, it would appear that, as Huizinga would put it, "we play for the sake of the lived quality that attaches itself to the act of playing." This "lived quality" is something other than what could really be considered the "real world." It is different because we must go out of our way to experience this quality that does not come naturally to our regular quality of living.
So my question is, why do we feel the need to live out these alternative lives through play?
Before anyone can say they have never been "into" playing/gaming in that way, Wagner brought up another idea that really got me thinking. She writes, "As Jenkins observes, action figures 'provided this generation with some of their earliest avatars, encouraging them to assume the role of a Jedi Knight or an intergalactic bounty hunter, enabling them to physically manipulate the characters to construct their own stories.'"
As children, whether it be with action figures or make-believe worlds (my friends and I always played a game we called "Little Lost Children"), we are already creating these worlds that are so much more fantastic than our own. Why?
Why are we compelled to create these alternative existences? Could the answer be anything that isn't depressing?
I understand that people, grown-up people, enjoy the socialization and the sense of community that can come with these games, but is that because our real lives have become so alienated from the people we share our every day lives with? Do we seek the adventure and power of Skyrim because we lack that in our own world?
Am I looking way too deeply into this?
Wagner says that "received traditional rituals don't meet our needs since they don't allow us to shape them as we wish." Perhaps then, we engage in play in order to feel a sense of control. This could be construed as giving in to the "illusion" of control when engaging in a sort of play, but when it comes to games, there is always an "off" switch. When in the game, or even in a magic circle, one must submit to the rules, but there is always the option to leave. The only illusion is that you are obligated to stay. And so, I believe that is the ultimate kind of control.
Again, I may be obsessing over the wrong thing here, but while I was reading our texts (especially the part about how we made up different identities for ourselves even as children), I couldn't get those ideas out of my head. Is it inherent in us to want to be something more than what we think we are? If so, why is that? Is it to fulfill some lacking need? Or just for the fun of it--to play for playing's sake?
I think that your question: "Is it inherent in us to be something more than what we think we are?", reveals something about the way we conceive of identity that makes make-believe so problematic for us. Questions of WHO we are, at least in our culture, are generally answered in terms of WHAT we are. Playing pretend in this scenario becomes an escape from the mundane self, which is after all the true self. You might be a wizard in your games, but only those things which exist in your physical bodies are allowed to be the real you. If we look at the two "selves" psychologically we might see something that translates, that exists in both worlds. Thus your wizard fantasy might say, at best, of your "true" self that you are obsessed with power or control. Like you said, it's depressing. I believe that there might be an alternative way of conceiving of identity that is first, not so depressing, and second, more sensitive to and affirming of the phenomenon of play.
ReplyDelete"Anthony Giddens (1991) argues that identity is a highly malleable form, rather than something that is fixed and simply accepted or rejected" (Campbell 71).
I think that what is being expressed by Giddens and Campbell here is that identity is not something that we go beyond in fantasy, but rather something that is created with fantasy. It is not simply that we show who we WANT to be through our play (G.I. Joe, Power Rangers, Dovahkiin, etc.), rather we paint a picture of who we ARE. The physical, mundane world is not a fact that we have to escape from, it is a limited palette that is nowhere near capable of representing the spectrum that we see; it is like playing a Blu-Ray movie on our grandma's black and white television.
The questions you are asking in this post are easily attached to our past readings. I want to focus on the first question you pose "why do we feel the need to live out these alternative lives through play?" first it says a lot that we even think that we live out our fantasies and alternate realities in play. It would seem like we are in a space of denial about our own lives. we are unable to change our realities so we focus on the next closest thing which is living through play. Of course not every child's reality is boring, dangerous or insignificant so why do we see the most play come from then, even as adults play seems to be such an indispensable part of our lives. as adults shouldn't we have made our "play" realities. I am not talking about becoming a pirate and battling aliens but of dreams and attainable fantasies which we all have even as adults.Apparently everyone has read Harry Potter except for me but I have read the first book which pushes me to share an interesting theory with you. Some people say that the hole realm of magic was actually a defense mechanism built by Harry in order to withstand the abuse and neglect he received from his aunt uncle and cousin.Why do I bring this up? well if this was Harry's alternate reality was all play doesn't this tell you something about his real life and struggles? in this magical world he found reasons to why is life was how it was and he became satisfied with the life he lead...all (according to this theory) due to play. I may have a different view because I've only read the first book but I do find the question interesting and think that maybe we create alternate realities to compensate for the disillusionment of our real lives.
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