The future belongs to crowds. Don DeLillo observes this in Mao II (1991), as his characters watch a mass wedding of six thousand couples in Yankee Stadium. In light of the Occupy Movement, los indignados, the Arab Spring, and ongoing protests and marches throughout the world, it's tempting to say that the future is here. But...
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In the 1993 afterward to The Bluest Eye (1970), Toni Morrison explains the origins of her devastating debut novel. It began in 1962 with an examination of racial self-loathing. "I focused," Morrison writes, "on how something as grotesque as the demonization of an entire race could take hold inside the most delicate member of...
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In an unusually redemptive reading of the widely disparaged Atari VCS game E.T. (1982), Ian Bogost observes that the game perfectly (though perhaps not intentionally) captured the essence of Spielberg's hit movie. "It was a film about alienation, not about aliens," Bogost writes in How to Do Things with Videogames. The film was...
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Detroit bears the distinction of being one of the few cities in the world whose name alone stands in for an entire industry. Automobiles. Ford, Chrysler, GM. And in the distant past, all those smaller manufacturers gobbled up by the Big Three---Lincoln, Buick, Chevrolet, and so on---and then those even smaller companies that...
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I've tended to focus on close readings of individual videogames on Play the Past---such as my look at Prison Tycoon or the code of JFK: Reloaded---and while these readings have been informed by a progressive sensibility, they have been plagued by a problem common in videogame studies. And that problem is the emphasis on the games...
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Collaboratively edited and authored, Play the Past is dedicated to thoughtfully exploring and discussing the intersection of cultural heritage (very broadly defined) and games/meaningful play (equally broadly defined). Play the Past contributors come from a wide variety of backgrounds, domains, perspectives, and motivations (for being interested in both games and cultural heritage). More information on all of our contributors can be found here. A full rundown of our community and commenting policy can be found here. If you are looking to get in contact with us (for whatever reason), point your browser here and drop us a line.
