Pat Kane - The past and future of public play: Olympic meditations

The slides to my opening keynote for the Hide And Seek Weekender conference, 'Playing in Public', at Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London, 17.9.12. For more see http://www.theplayethic.com

Transcript

1. THE PAST AND FUTURE OF PUBLIC PLAY PAT KANE THEPLAYETHIC.COM @theplayethic FOR HIDE&SEEK WEEKENDER 16.9.12
2. COULD THE TIMES BE ANY MORE PROPITIOUS FOR THE ADVOCACY OF PUBLIC PLAY? IT'S NOT AN OBVIOUS “YES”
3. A SUMMER OF DIS/PLAYING IN PUBLIC
9. SPECTACLE? OR CARNIVAL? MIX OF BOTH? & WHERE EXACTLY IS THE PLAY IN ALL THIS?
11. B. EHRENREICH DISTINGUISHES... CARNIVAL: - EVOLUTIONARILY-ROOTED PRACTICES OF COLLECTIVE JOY: MUSIC, DANCING, FEASTING, MASKING - UP FROM THE STREETS, PARTICIPATORY, UNRULY (EVEN AS A SAFETY VALVE). DEEP FORGING OF THE BONDS OF SOCIETY. FROM SPECTACLE: HIERARCHY'S ATTEMPT TO MANAGE COLLECTIVE PASSIONS – IN MODERN TIMES, FOR EXPLICITLY NATIONALIST PURPOSES (FRENCH REVOLUTION, FASCIST/COMMUNIST RALLIES, WITH MILITARY PRESENCE). - IMAGINED COMMUNITY FORGED BY PASSIVE WATCHING (IN STADIUM & ON SCREEN), SCRIPTED PARTICIPATION.
12. LONDON OLYMPIADS: CLEVER MIX OF SPECTACLE AND CARNIVAL – AIMED AT EVOKING A “JERUSALEM”/BETTER NATION, VIA DIVERSE, STREET- SENSITIVE BUT SCRIPTED PARTICIPATION. E PLURIBUS UNUM!
13. LONDON OLYMPIADS: CLEVER MIX OF SPECTACLE AND CARNIVAL – AIMED AT EVOKING A “JERUSALEM”/BETTER NATION, E PLURIBUS UNUM, VIA DIVERSE, STREET-SENSITIVE BUT SCRIPTED PARTICIPATION A FEAST OF FOOLS “they run & leap through the church, without a blush at their own shame”
14. FRANK COTTRELL-BOYCE, WRITER OF OPENING OLYMPIC CEREMONY: 'In our studio, we had imagined fying bikes and rocketing chimneys. We never imagined the power of the volunteers. They were creative, courageous, convivial, generous. The press was full of stories of the greed and incompetence of our leaders, but our studio was full of people doing things brilliantly for nothing – for the hell of it, for London, for their country, for each other... 'I sat down and wrote a political invitation that pulls together some of the things I'd seen over the last few years – respecting a secret, tolerance of mistakes, the creation of a space where you can leave behind your roles. I've called it "The Dangerous Conversation".' THE DANGEROUS CONVERSATION is a proposal to create a private, litigation-free negotiation space between governments/ corporations and their victims/protestors, timed to every Olympics, in the spirit of the original Olympic Truce
15. BENEFITS OF OLYMPIC CEREMONIES FOR ADVOCATES OF PLAYING IN PUBLIC? • DEMONSTRATION OF COMPETENCY IN CREATIVE SPECTACLE/CARNIVAL • S/C IS VALUABLE SOFT POWER/NATION-CITY- REGION-BRANDING/CIVIC ASSET
16. BENEFITS OF SUCCESSFUL OLYMPIC CEREMONIES FOR ADVOCATES OF PLAYING IN PUBLIC? * WELLBEING BANG FOR BUCK: COST OF OPENING CEREMONY - £27M (COST OF ROBIN VAN PERSIE: £24M) A Department of Culture, Media and Sport report in 2010 estimated that the psychological satisfaction derived from a person attending concerts regularly was worth £9,000 of extra income.
17. SPECTACLE/ CARNIVAL PLAY/ GAME ≠ GO BACK TO EVOLUTION... • COLLECTIVE MOVEMENT, SYNCHRONIZED TO BEATS AND MUSIC, PLUS FEASTING AND COSTUME, MAY HAVE HELPED US EXTEND THE SOCIAL BOND BEYOND DIRECT KIN – EVEN B4 LANGUAGE (DUNBAR) • ALSO HELPED REFINE OUR ABILITY TO DEFEAT PREDATORS BY MIMICKING A GIANT, NOISY BEAST... (EHRENREICH) THIS IS ARCHAIC STUFF! AS ADAPTIVE AS PLAY/GAME
18. PLAY/ GAME SPORT/ MEDALS = ? BADMINTON PLAYERS: We boo because they violate our sense that sports-games are rehearsals of living together with energy AND civility (PK/Guardian) Health & efficiency... Human capital.. Meritocracy... Self-regulation.. OFFICIALLY “GOOD” PLAY/GAME
19. PLAY/ GAME SPORT/ MEDALS = √ PARALYMPICS = TRANS/MEGALYMPICS WE'RE “NATURAL-BORN CYBORGS”... HOW FAR CAN WE PLAY WITH/ EXTEMPORISE OUR NATURE? WITH WHAT TECH, TOOLS, CRAFT, SKILLS, VISION? If u're looking 4 “new ways 2 play...”
20. PLAY/ GAME SPORT/ MEDALS = √ PARA/OLYMPICS = METALYMPICS If u're looking 4 “new ways 2 play...” BMX (& not softball?) Blind 5-a-side soccer Women's boxing WHAT IF ONE LEGACY OF THE GAMES IS AN OPENNESS TO CREATING NEW GAMES? OR RECONTEXTUALISING OLD GAMES? A METALYMPICS...
21. SPORT AS CONTRIBUTOR TO “HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY” OF CITIZEN/WORKER – ALREADY ACKNOWLEDGED, MASSIVELY REINFORCED. BUT POWER OF SPECTACLE/CARNIVAL/FESTIVITY [NOT JUST OLYMPICS, BUT JUBILEE] AS COST-EFFECTIVE IMPROVER OF NATIONAL (AND NATIONALIST) WELL-BEING AND COLLECTIVE HARMONY ALSO NOW ACKNOWLEDGED PLAYING IN PUBLIC – THE OLYMPIC LEGACY
22. BRIAN ENO: WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD CARNIVAL? * Carnival is good when the number of participants isn't grossly outweighed by the number of spectators. * Carnival is good when many of the "spectators" are actually also joining in (dancing and singing along). * Carnival is good when the participants exhibit a range of skills from the absolutely minimal to the absolutely astonishing (the first being an invitation not to be intimidated—“Hey, I could do that!”—and the second an invitation to be amazed. * Carnival is good when people of all ages, sexes, races, shapes, sizes, beauties, inclinations, and professions are involved. * Carnival is good when there's too much to look at and everything's mixed up and you have to sort it all out for yourself. * Carnival is good when it dignifies and rewards all sorts of abilities-- * singing, jumping, laughing infectiously, * dressing weirdly, * writing the hit song of the carnival, * wiggling your backside, * standing on a soapbox praising Jesus or the local hardware store, * frying salt fish over on oil drum in public, * inventing symphonic arrangements for steel bands, * designing and building fabulously impossible things!
23. * Carnival is good when people try to outdo each other, and then applaud with delight those who in turn outdo them. * Carnival is good when it gives people an alibi to become someone different. * Carnival is good when it lets people present the best part of themselves, and be, for a little while, as they'd like to be all the time. * Carnival is good when it gives people the feeling that they're really lucky to be alive right here and now. * Carnival is good when it leaves people with the feeling that life in all its bizarre manifestations is unbeatably lovely and touching and funny and worthwhile. Now substitute 'culture' for 'carnival.' There's a vision for the future of culture
24. OPPORTUNITY FOR PLAY/GAME ADVOCATES: WHAT'S THE NEXT HORIZON FOR US? PLAYING IN PUBLIC – THE OLYMPIC LEGACY • HOW TO SYSTEMICALLY/ INSTITUTIONALLY HARNESS COTTRELL- BOYCE'S “VOLUNTARY CONVERSATION”? & WHAT “DANGERS” (OR SOCIETAL CHALLENGES) CAN IT EMBRACE? SOMEWHERE BTWN THIS JERUSALEM... AND THIS ONE...
25. OPPORTUNITY FOR PLAY/GAME ADVOCATES: WHAT'S THE NEXT HORIZON FOR US? PLAYING IN PUBLIC – THE OLYMPIC LEGACY • HOW DO WE EXPAND AND ENRICH THE INNOVATION SPACE OF PLAY/GAME? • WHAT NEW COMBINATIONS - OF RULE, STORY/MILIEU, BODY/PROSTHETIX, TECH/EQUIPMENT, CODING, URBAN SPACE - DO WE BRING TO THE WORLD? Parkour training moves
26. THE PAST AND FUTURE OF PUBLIC PLAY PAT KANE THEPLAYETHIC.COM @theplayethic