Materiality, magic and belief
Framing the countryside in fantastical live-action roleplay games
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2402526 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laura Mitchell (0000-0001-6111-1984, Keele University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 326-349 |
| Publication date | 2016-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ethnography (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1466-1381 • E-ISSN: 1741-2714 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1466138115609376 |
| OpenAlex | W2338281343 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 32 |
This account of a UK live-action roleplay (LARP) event highlights complex shifts between different interpretive frames, foregrounding the role of the physical setting as well as of non-players and locals in providing symbolic resources that inhibit or support breaking frames. The conception of framing used here draws upon and extends Goffman's definition of a frame as part of the organization of activity that specifies meaning and expectations of involvement. In looking at the setting of such framing processes ethnographically, this article presents UK LARP as a distinctive engagement with rural materiality and a creative alternative to traditional country pursuits. From the point of view of a game organizer, the paper identifies the creation of specific contextual frames by the visiting hobbyists associated with three interpretations: 1) a narrative conception of the space as a backdrop for fantastical events, 2) a ludic conception of the space as an area of game-playing, 3) an event conception of the space and its inhabitants as something to be managed. Three examples of disruptions to the work employed to maintain these frames demonstrate the fragility of the magic involved in this fantastical hobby
Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Foregrounding · Framing (construction · Literature · MAGIC (telescope · Materiality (auditing · Narrative · Sociology · Temporalities · Digital Games and Media · History · Philosophy · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society
Ethnographic Practices
The Ethnographic Self
Organizational Ethnography
Organizational Dress as a Symbol of Multilayered Social Indentities.
Dress and Identity
Framing Contests
Constructing the Countryside
Space and place
Frame analysis
Shared Fantasy
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Ethnography in/of the World System
Dreams of time, times of dreams
Play Between Worlds
The Experience of Embodied Space in Virtual Worlds
Frame conflict and social inequality in the workplace
Reframing practices in moral conflict
Morality Politics vs. Identity Politics
Acting the part
Beyond Boredom and Anxiety
The Use of Roleplay to Overcome Cultural Fatigue
Landscape and Identity
Circuits of tourism
Locality and social representation
Organizing
Countryside Recreation in a Changing Society
Mediated Activism
The Structure of Context
Performing identity
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2016 - 2023 (8) |
| Highly cited | No |