"Disruptive Play: The Trickster in Politics and Culture" journeys from
ancient folkloric appearances of Tricksters such as Raven
and Èṣù-Elegba, to their confined role in Western civilization, and then
on to Trickster’s 20th century jailbreak as led by dada and the
hippies. Disruptive Play bears witness to how this spirit informs social
progress today, whether by Anonymous, Banksy, Bugs Bunny, or unrevealed
mischief-makers and culture jammers. Such play is revolutionary and
lights the path to a transformed society.
Original Play is
the frolic and noncompetitive play that animals and human babies do in
order to have fun and to keep on playing...not to win or to lose. It is a
substance of the universe that occurs in all life. It is the behavior
by which love and belonging are expressed, given, and received.
When play
moves into contest or other roles and rules, with winners and losers,
it becomes Cultural Play. Issues of ego and narcissism are issues
for Cultural Play, not for Original Play.
Disruptive Play occurs
in the rare times when the rhythms of Original Play suddenly appear in a
political or cultural setting, settings conventionally fraught with
Cultural Play. Like driving a clown car across the field during an
official NFL game. Or Raven tricking Chief into releasing the sun, the
moon, and the stars into the sky. Or a surreptitious Banksy graffiti
that invades a museum or the public commons. Tricking power into
performing an act of love.
Disruptive Play: The Trickster In
Politics and Culture connects knowledge from mythology, folklore,
popular culture, art, politics, and play theory to make its case that to
be playful means not taking power seriously. At critical mass, power
collapses and leaves us swimming about in the waters of the amoral
Trickster.New values emerge and could lead to some version of the
dystopia that currently drenches popular culture. Or, if people can
discern between the authentic contact and exhilaration of play, and
branded, mediated, alienated pleasure, then we just might stumble and
frolic our way to the Play Society.
Disurptive Play is ideal
for enthusiasts of the human condition and those who hold out for the
vision, however slim, of the Play Society.
