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At least three readings so far have discussed aggression, violence, militarism, and play: Sutton-Smith (in several places), Lenoir (due last Wednesday), and Goldstein (due today). All three present different explanations for these phenomena.
First, reflect on an example of your own involvement in aggressive, violent, and/or militaristic play. (1) State the example and then (2) explain what was aggressive, violent, or militaristic in the play example you chose. (Remember that these terms are specific and can be used in ways that aren't obvious: on p. 54 Goldstein notes that some rough-housing can be non-aggressive and some chatting [e.g., gossip] can be very aggressive). Be specific. Finally, (3) give an explanation of this aggression, violence, or militarism using terms or a quotation from one of the three readings mentioned above. An explanation could be the reason why that kind of play was available, why you did it, why you liked it, or what effect it had on you. This could be psychological or biological but it could also be industrial or cultural. Please try to make the explanation convincing.
To receive credit, your blog post must be on time, at least 250 words, and address each part of the question. Please write, spell-check, and save your blog posts in a word processor first, then post them to your blog. When you make a direct quotation or paraphrase, include a citation to the page and author where you found the material. DUE: 11:30 a.m. on Monday, October 3 (one hour before class begins).
Goldstein, J. H. (1998). Immortal Kombat: War Toys and Violent Video Games. In J. H. Goldstein (Ed.), Why we watch: The attractions of violent entertainment (pp. 53-68). New York: Oxford University Press.
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