Subversion
"Sutton-Smith suggested that as soon as you define play,
someone will begin playing with your definition (1997, p. 213). In other words,
play will be created from the activities or states of mind that were previously
identified as not-play. This notion that play is both play and not-play is
important, but more important is the subtler point made by SuttonSmith on the
subversive nature of play. Play can be done within the rules, but it is also
done without them, and the act of play can be culturally subversive as well.
Geertz provides an example of this in his essay on Balinese cock fights. Geertz
identifies several ways in which "playing" at the cock fights represents
a clear subversion of traditional Balinese culture (p. 420). Balinese culture
is generally gender neutral, but the cock fights are male-dominated. Balinese
culture is highly controlled where cock fights are wild. Perhaps most
importantly, cock fights provide an opportunity to embrace animal aspects of
the self in a culture where that animal nature is so abhorrent that many file
off their canine teeth to lessen their animal look (p. 420). This subversive
play is included in this work for two reasons. First, subversive play is a
crucial aspect of play and should be considered in any holistic study of play
or games. Second, because this work examines cultural forces and their effect
on meaning-making, we must also examine both the reinforcing of those forces or
the bending to them as well as the resistance to them."
Playing with progression, immersion, and sociality:
Developing a framework for studying meaning in APPMMAGs, a case study
Bouchard,
Matt. Journal of
Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology6.1 (Summer
2015): 3-25
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