Saturday, December 08, 2007
Juggling swords - how does violence affect the way we play
Violence, according to Wikipedia, "is the exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse. The word is used broadly to describe the destructive action of natural phenomena like storms and earthquakes. More frequently the word describes forceful human destruction of property or injury to persons, usually intentional, and forceful verbal and emotional abuse that harms others.
Societies regulate the use of violence through socio-cultural customs and mores and through codified legal systems defining violent crime. Most societies recognize a right to violent defense of self and others.
Kniveblock by Maarten Baas
Ursula Franklin said that "violence is resourcelessness." I think she meant this in the context of human to human violence but I'd like to take a minute to wonder about devices of aggression and subtle acts of violence that pervade our well resourced, contemporary, urban society and ponder their use. I'm wondering this: if we play with notions violence - will they kill us or make us stronger?
Playful by design - grown up toys get tough.
As a designer/design researcher - I've noticed a trend toward violent pieces of home decor and have begun to wonder about playful but violent objects for the the home. While shopping for x-mas presents at Urban Outfitters last week I noticed carefully crafted glass ornaments shaped like handguns hanging from black christmas trees. They looked like sumptuous glittering sculptures that played with notions of excess, anger, greed and desire. I realize I may have too much time on my hands to be reading into storefront displays and might be alone in this read of the site. It did give me pause to wonder though, about how much our collective issues are playing out in the consumer market and what product designers are they trying to say through their craft? It's mostly agreed on that children play in order to make sense of themselves in the world - I wonder though if play ever really ends or if it just manifests itself in different ways when we grow up? And if we are so grown up then why are why is there such a strong market demand in these playful devices? Why is it okay for grownups to play with violence, but children are more protected. And what about tone how seriously should we take ourselves and when is a joke not funny? Does it matter how we play with violence and what effect does this have on our collective experience?
Beyond the object - education about violence through playful programming.
The work I'm focusing on right now involves a lot of hands on play with children and communities of shared social interests. The people I work with in these communities are more diverse than in my former studio based practice and thus the decisions around appropriateness are more complex. In this context I am often left wondering how much violence is appropriate to expose these communities to. Some might say that no violence is appropriate and that we should protect innocence as long as possible. While I mostly agree, a quick scan of classic children's literature would tell me something very different. These tales are pretty didactic really, teaching children not to talk to strangers, not to be greedy, not to hang out with wolves, etc. The general recurring lesson is that you might get injured or die. It seems that violence as a teaching tool is pretty effective and last time I checked Hansel and Gretel was still allowed in school libraries.
Don't go into the woods alone or you might get dead.
A little bit of fear is natures way of telling you how to stay safe and keep it real.
A family friend, let's call her Caroline, grew up in Toronto and generally felt 'uncomfortable with trees in groups' a phenomenon more commonly known as 'forests.' She had an ecologically savvy family but grew up in an urban setting where traditional narratives of rural landscapes like the ones at her summer camp and cottage were mythologized as violent and unfamiliar. She eventually grew out of this and now studies geography in remote locations all over the world but that fear has always concerned me. I've also observed and inverse trend, of people growing into a more disconnected perception of nature since migrating to the city. I wonder if ongoing contact with some nature is important to maintaining a certain degree of comfort with the dangers of the wild.
The unknown is scary because of a potential lack of control of ourselves and our surroundings, presently nature is becoming less of a known entity in our urban landscape. The connection (or lack thereof) with ecology in an everyday setting is having an impact on our perceptions of how nature works. This distance from natural systems is making us have odd reactions to ideas about what is safe and unsafe in natural habitats as well as in the urban landscape.
In a recent issue of Spacing magazine, David Suzuki tells us about a disturbing trend of dissociation between people and their food. Students, when asked where their dinner comes from can only site the supermarket as the point of origin of their hot dog, and often don't connect it with the cow, chicken or pig it came from. Even more disturbing, as children grow up further away from farms, some, as we've seen in "Jamie's School Dinners" can't even recognize broccoli. We have to kill these animals and vegetables in order to sustain ourselves, this is a reality of our lifestyle. If you've ever hunted, fished, grown or had to pick your own dinner you gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the origins of your meal, and thus sense of its real value.
Don't get me wrong here - I'm not trying to advocate sending children out with bows and arrows on hunting expeditions (thought that's not necessarily a bad thing either). What I am trying to assert is that there is a value in building understanding about ecology and we can't do it all in a real time - hands on way. Not at the scale and urgency that's needed - so we'll have to don our imaginations and play it out.
Not letting fear get in the way: building games that build connections.
Some very talented interaction design students developed a game of butterfly tag in order to build awareness about a butterfly habitat that needed rescuing in Panama It's pretty straightforward really - one child is armed with a hula hoop net and chases another child wearing a pair of butterfly wings. The game was incredibly popular with children and parents, engaging them in ideas about relevant issues facing society. When I suggested we re-use this game at a local community center the other day, a colleague of mine stated she was 'uncomfortable with predator prey games.' The frustrating part for me wasn't so much around her refusal to play the game I wanted to play, but more about my astonishment that a master's graduate with a degree in environmental studies wasn't 'comforable' with what is, in my opinion a pretty straightforward fact of life - nature is violent.
I know I'm a hard on my colleagues about these things (which is why I've turned to blogging) but I feel like there are so many fearful and confusing messages about what are appropriate modes of learning, that we get paralyzed by the noise. Combine this with not knowing what to do, and we may forget to address the issues and opportunities that are immediately in front of us. Violence is certainly something to be afraid of - this is why the butterflies run away when chased.
And no, I'm not advocating more violence in our already troubled world but I do want to maintain an attitude of playfulness and a sense of humour because that's the only way I know how not to become paralyzed by perfectionism. Play and humour are my greatest resources in life and indeed Ursula may be right - we might be becoming less resourceful in our serious efforts to solve the world's problems. In my opinion - I'd rather see people running and playing tag to act something out, than to disengage from the game because they are afraid of fear itself.
P.S. - I'm thinking of using the butterfly game to do some corporate team building as well but I think they'll likely need alcohol to play and I'll need another day to ponder why doing this is a good idea.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Confessions of a change addict part 1
I'm dangerously attracted to things that say 'change the world'.
I know it's terribly un-canadian of me to imagine that me, one little person could have some sort of butterfly effect on the entire globe. But the fact of the matter is, that little phrase calls to me from across a crowded street and sends me scurrying toward it like an addict looking for another fix.
Even just the word 'change' sends me into a tizzy - the possibility of growth, something new, and the dynamic energy that comes from its creative potential makes me start to itch.
Why doesn't the word 'sustain' or the phrase 'leave it the hell alone it's just fine thank you very much' make me feel the same way? Why do these two notions seem to always be at odds with each other picking fights and calling each other out?
I've started collecting evidence of this manipulative little slogan so that I can better understand how it's used and how this sly little charmer keeps working its way into my life.
I know it's terribly un-canadian of me to imagine that me, one little person could have some sort of butterfly effect on the entire globe. But the fact of the matter is, that little phrase calls to me from across a crowded street and sends me scurrying toward it like an addict looking for another fix.
Even just the word 'change' sends me into a tizzy - the possibility of growth, something new, and the dynamic energy that comes from its creative potential makes me start to itch.
Why doesn't the word 'sustain' or the phrase 'leave it the hell alone it's just fine thank you very much' make me feel the same way? Why do these two notions seem to always be at odds with each other picking fights and calling each other out?
I've started collecting evidence of this manipulative little slogan so that I can better understand how it's used and how this sly little charmer keeps working its way into my life.
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