Sound Research WIKINDX |
Resource type: Book ID no. (ISBN etc.): 0719077184 BibTeX citation key: Kirkpatrick2011 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details |
Categories: General Keywords: aesthetics Creators: Kirkpatrick Publisher: Manchester University Press (Manchester) |
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Abstract |
"This book draws on aesthetic theory, including ideas from the history of painting, music and dance, to offer a fresh perspective on the video game as a popular cultural form. It argues that games like Grand Theft Auto and Elektroplankton are aesthetic objects that appeal to players because they offer an experience of form, as this idea was understood by philosophers like Immanuel Kant and Theodor Adorno. Video games are awkward objects that have defied efforts to categorise them within established academic disciplines and intellectual frameworks. Yet no one can deny their importance in re-configuring contemporary culture and their influence can be seen in contemporary film, television, literature, music, dance and advertising. This book argues that their very awkwardness should form the starting point for a proper analysis of what games are and the reasons for their popularity. This book will appeal to anyone with a serious interest in the increasingly playful character of contemporary capitalist culture." |
Notes |
Chapter 4
"Games, Dance, and Gender" p. 123: "Both dance and play involve the body in potentially transgressive ways." p. 127: "A particularly nice illustration of the principle that videogames contain dance moves is provided by Pacman (Namco 1980) and it involves Pacman being surrounded by ghosts [...]. Only by pirouetting on the spot can he wait for one ghost to turn off at a junction, which opens an escape route." |