I do want to stress, because honestly I think many believe the tag line of this blog, "I Love the Game of D&D," is meant either ironically or sarcastically. I'm such a grouchy old bastard, I spend so much of my time kicking the crap out of things, it's easy to believe that because I think the White Box set is horribly written, that Basic D&D is a joke and that Gygax was simply an awful human being, that every conceivable Venn Diagram that includes "D&D" in a circle must have me in another circle completely outside it. But no, that's not true.
I am enthusiastic for D&D. I would not have spent three weeks this month squeezing out a 32-page example of the Lantern geared for Christmas, or the amount of time I've given to talking about the game, nor the years I've spent playing it, because I do not get a vibrating charge in my nerve endings at the thought of it. No, it's just that I think everyone else is wrong, stupid or misinformed, that's all. No biggie. I don't dislike people who are wrong, I just want to change their mind.
Unmodified: Real People, Fantastic Worlds makes no effort to do any of that. It presents expressive, enthusiastic people talking about a game concept — role-playing — unabashedly with love. This is captured in every scene, so if what you want is to feel an engagement with people who are prepared to be authentic about love, then take the time and watch at least some of the video. If you're into miniatures, or concrete details about setting design, with all the table-top functionality that comes from creating 3-D models, then you'll likely watch this to the end.
You won't find enlightenment. These are people who have been clearly raised on the language of modern D&D, who are woefully let down by that language. They've been taught to use the word "story" in its alternate corporatised sense, who do so because they have no other language they can use. It's quite possible to see them fighting for language throughout the documentary... not because they do not know what they believe, but because they've been saddled with a vocabulary that really does not express what they need to convey or want to. They've been let down. This does not make their genuine faith or love for the game less so; it only makes it next to impossible for them to talk to someone who is not in fact like them.
My partner Tamara, for example, would get nothing from this. Nor would my musician friends, nor my writing friends, nor any of my work associates. No non-roleplayer is going to watch this and understand in the least what these people are talking about. But the enthusiasm alone may potentially get some joiners. Which is good. But the simple fact that people in this hobby cannot communicate what this hobby is after 50 years, because that language has never been a priority, is criminal.
I wrote the "story" article as a preliminary to this; and those who commented on the story article largely did not get what I was saying — that exploiting a positive word from the childhood of a person in order to sell that adult version a product is bad. The reason those commentors did not read it that way is evidenced in this video, which shows people who cannot literally describe what they really believe, because they've been crippled by a vocabulary that's allowed to convey only emotional faith. And if you're a person whose background does extend into language and the use of it, you'll recognise this shortcoming within the first couple of minutes. Though without my saying so now, you might not have been able to identify that shortcoming without my having primed you first.
So that's on me. But honestly, without this priming, I don't think a lot of you would stay with this long enough to get the whole picture — and I really want you to. I think it matters. Because until we separate the love here from the way these people have been failed by the game seller, we cannot grow. Emotions are wonderful. But they also correspond to a pre-Neolithic social outlook.
Love deserves a proper culture.
I know I rarely post on your blog, but I found this post very thought provoking. I read it this morning, and I kept thinking about various parts throughout the morning while running errands around town with my wife. It was not so much related to sections that I might quibble over (I can always quibble). Rather, it was a desire to engage the content with someone, especially what I read as essentially a critique punctuated with challenging call, as nicely captured in the concluding sentence, “Love deserves a proper culture.” That was a simple yet powerful sentence. So, thank you for the post. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon watching the snow fall and ruminating on the connections between language, emotions, and this game to which I devote so much of my time and energy.
ReplyDeleteI had several curiosities in reading the post, but I will limit myself to one. I have experienced your writing over the years as very intentional with your use of words and phrases. With that in mind, I wondered about your decision to use the word “enthusiastic” in the sentence “I am enthusiastic for D&D.” Perhaps I am missing something because that word (to me) does not seem to adequately capture your feelings about D&D. I note that you use the same word again when describing people in the video as enthusiastic people. Again, just curious.
Oh, and on a completely different note, I also enjoy how you effectively use conjunctions in your writing. “But no, that’s not true.” “But the simple fact that people…. because that language …” “but because they’ve been saddled with …” And “Emotions are wonderful. But they also correspond to a pre-Neolithic social outlook” to name just some examples in your post. I have this running tagline that I use with residents being trained to listen to patients—pay attention to “buts” because something important is being communicated. Of course, that is a bit too catchy and simplistic in that I would also include subordinating conjunctions like “because” that also point to important pieces of information. By important, I’m not just talking about your effective use of contrasting statements or your ability to emphasize a second clause. Rather, it seems to me that you use them to convey what you care about, what is important to you. I find it effective. Thanks again for the post.
Peace and Happy New Year.
Thank you Rambling, and a Happy New Year to you also.
DeleteThe ancient enthousiasmos from the Greek, from which our word descends through Latin and French, was defined as, "be inspired or possessed by a god, be rapt, be in ecstasy." Essentially, to let the muse come into one's body and be a puppet.
The derogatory form of this, and the word's connection to religion also, derives from the Puritans, who believed that "excessive religious emotion' was deeply suspicious; this led to the word enthusiasm being used to describe religious delusion, which in turn diminished the credibility of the word, softening its meaning over time until it became as you perceive it now, "stronger than interest," but nevertheless without the implication of deep investment in a thing.
You may assume when I use the word, I mean it in its Greek context.
As for "but"... it is my habit as a writer to walk you through a house like a real estate agent, show you the room and then slam the door when you're inside. It's rhetorical.
Ah! Thank you. I’m glad I asked as that makes much more sense. I am familiar with term/concept in both classical contexts and later appropriations of related terms in modern psychology. I’m a bit chagrined that I completely missed that, but I am grateful you took the time to clarify as it provides me an additional lens in which to read and understand this and other posts.
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