Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds
The 1980s saw the peak of a moral panic over fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. A coalition of moral entrepreneurs that included representatives from the Christian Right, the field of psychology, and law enforcement claimed that these games were not only psychologically dangerous but an occult religion masquerading as a game. Dangerous Games explores both the history and the sociological significance of this panic.
Fantasy role-playing games do share several functions in common with religion. However, religion—as a socially constructed world of shared meaning—can also be compared to a fantasy role-playing game. In fact, the claims of the moral entrepreneurs, in which they presented themselves as heroes battling a dark conspiracy, often resembled the very games of imagination they condemned as evil. By attacking the imagination, they preserved the taken-for-granted status of their own socially constructed reality. Interpreted in this way, the panic over fantasy-role playing games yields new insights about how humans play and together construct and maintain meaningful worlds. Laycock’s clear and accessible writing ensures that Dangerous Games will be required reading for those with an interest in religion, popular culture, and social behavior, both in the classroom and beyond. |
Contents
the history of the panic
|
29 |
interpreting the panic
|
177 |
Rival Fantasies 241 Conclusion Walking between Worlds
|
279 |
Other editions - View all
Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about ... Joseph P. Laycock No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
accessed adventure argues Arneson BADD became biblical Bob Larson called CAR-PGa characters Christian claims makers conspiracy theories corrupted play created critics cult Dallas Dallas’s dangerous Dear Dear’s demons describes Devil dice Dungeon Master Dungeons & Dragons Dungeons and Dragons evangelical evil experience explained fantasy games fantasy role fantasy role-playing games fantasy world fear Ferrell fiction frame game designer gamers Gary Alan Fine Gary Gygax Huizinga human Ibid ideas imaginary worlds interpreted Kids Larson law enforcement Leithart liminal Mage magic Mazes and Monsters models Monsters moral entrepreneurs moral panic murder myth narrative novel occult occult crime otherkin paracosms parents Patricia Pulling players playing D&D playing games published Quoted reality Rein-Hagen religion religious ritual sacred Satanists Schnoebelen Sellers sense Shared Fantasy social story suicide supernatural symbols teenage tion Tolkien truth University Press vampire violence wargaming Warnke White Wolf witchcraft Wizards worldview writes York