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Heroic play: Heroism in mindful, creative and playful participation
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Heroic play: Heroism in mindful, creative and playful participation

O. Efthimiou
IM: Interactive Media, Vol.11
2016
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Published (Version of Record) Open Access

Abstract

This article explores the presence of heroism in playful engagement with mobile, locative and social technologies, drawing on select ethnographies of Australian households. Heroic modalities in the data are examined in relation to mindful creative forms of play that can be collaborative or personal, socially conscious or acutely self-reflective, altruistic and non-altruistic. All modalities presented in this article, I argue, involve heroic leadership as a transformative and imaginative form of creative communication and engagement with modern technologies. The playful aspect subverts some of the more traditional views of the heroic imagination and heroic action, such as sacrifice and risk, resulting in novel and hybridised heroic modalities. As a new form of play, heroic play emerges as the height of transformative, mindful and creative playful participation, indicating the potential for the banality of playful heroism in the everyday.

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