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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Historical periods, Problematic Elements, Gameplay, and Fun
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<blockquote data-quote="Teo Twawki" data-source="post: 8770757" data-attributes="member: 7033305"><p>From at least several perspectives, yes.</p><p></p><p>A few personally relevant perspectives I can address are those of a teacher of cultural studies, a teacher of critical theory, a historical fiction teacher, as a gamer of predominantly historical and contemporaneous rpgs, and a demographic that has been overlooked, denigrated, and manipulated by colonialism for about eight hundred years.</p><p></p><p>Critical thinking might challenge the gm and players to deal with unpleasant historical facts that are relevant to the game being played in a manner that is respectful of the history that took place and the people harmed or hindered by such facts, as well as what and why things were learned from them. Cultural studies education has a keystone--or cornerstone--side effect of learning genuine empathy for other people and places in history or contemporary times. I often present the argument that gaming (like good fiction) allows others to participate in the events and practices of cultures not our own in order to examine in a relatively safe medium things that would other be hazardous or even fatal to engage with. But we have to engage with it to learn about it and understand it. Good historical fiction demands to not gloss over nor look away from the unpleasant aspects of our past lest we sanitize history and ignore the suffering and survival of those who experienced it first-hand.</p><p></p><p>My own culture and heritage has been subjected to invasion, occupation, external oppression, internal decay, warfare, slaughter, and genocide since before the Ottomans ushered in a few centuries of it in the late 1300s. My hometown hosted the trigger of World War I. My own lifetime saw the disintegration of a country, the bloody birth of about 8 others, the return of genocide to Europe, and the longest military siege in modern history. Most of which was ignored as long as possible by the surround world and still is glossed over by both fact and fiction. I admit, it's grimly humorous when I read an rpg book that, if it mentions the region at all, it presents a highly-colonized brief paragraph about us. I can extrapolate from my own lifetime and education, that if presented with such depictions, historical individuals and collectives would likely feel slightly to some degree by being ignored. ...not as slightly as the plight of racism and oppression in their lifetimes, but disrespected to some degree.</p><p></p><p>As a student once said in class: "It's lame to just look the other way at slavery and racism in history because we feel uncomfortable discussing it here and now. We owe it to ourselves to not be that lame."</p><p></p><p>I agree with the sentiment. But I also feel that each person has to come to terms with history in their own manner. No one should be bullied to believe something if if we think it's the Right Thing® to Believe. It's not likely anyone's going to kick in your door and force your game group to present the horrors of history in an authentic manner.</p><p></p><p>Personally, I find it great fun to learn about history, ethics, others cultures, and myself when I read a novel, watch a movie, or play an rpg.</p><p></p><p>My two cents worth, anyway. Value may vary according to exchange rate.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Teo Twawki, post: 8770757, member: 7033305"] From at least several perspectives, yes. A few personally relevant perspectives I can address are those of a teacher of cultural studies, a teacher of critical theory, a historical fiction teacher, as a gamer of predominantly historical and contemporaneous rpgs, and a demographic that has been overlooked, denigrated, and manipulated by colonialism for about eight hundred years. Critical thinking might challenge the gm and players to deal with unpleasant historical facts that are relevant to the game being played in a manner that is respectful of the history that took place and the people harmed or hindered by such facts, as well as what and why things were learned from them. Cultural studies education has a keystone--or cornerstone--side effect of learning genuine empathy for other people and places in history or contemporary times. I often present the argument that gaming (like good fiction) allows others to participate in the events and practices of cultures not our own in order to examine in a relatively safe medium things that would other be hazardous or even fatal to engage with. But we have to engage with it to learn about it and understand it. Good historical fiction demands to not gloss over nor look away from the unpleasant aspects of our past lest we sanitize history and ignore the suffering and survival of those who experienced it first-hand. My own culture and heritage has been subjected to invasion, occupation, external oppression, internal decay, warfare, slaughter, and genocide since before the Ottomans ushered in a few centuries of it in the late 1300s. My hometown hosted the trigger of World War I. My own lifetime saw the disintegration of a country, the bloody birth of about 8 others, the return of genocide to Europe, and the longest military siege in modern history. Most of which was ignored as long as possible by the surround world and still is glossed over by both fact and fiction. I admit, it's grimly humorous when I read an rpg book that, if it mentions the region at all, it presents a highly-colonized brief paragraph about us. I can extrapolate from my own lifetime and education, that if presented with such depictions, historical individuals and collectives would likely feel slightly to some degree by being ignored. ...not as slightly as the plight of racism and oppression in their lifetimes, but disrespected to some degree. As a student once said in class: "It's lame to just look the other way at slavery and racism in history because we feel uncomfortable discussing it here and now. We owe it to ourselves to not be that lame." I agree with the sentiment. But I also feel that each person has to come to terms with history in their own manner. No one should be bullied to believe something if if we think it's the Right Thing® to Believe. It's not likely anyone's going to kick in your door and force your game group to present the horrors of history in an authentic manner. Personally, I find it great fun to learn about history, ethics, others cultures, and myself when I read a novel, watch a movie, or play an rpg. My two cents worth, anyway. Value may vary according to exchange rate. [/QUOTE]
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