Play with a lovely baby! Play is just play!

Last Friday, I went my friend’s home in order to celebrate her baby’s 100^th day from birth. At that time, I really enjoyed playing with her baby, Suri. I hugged, kissed, contacted eyes her and sang a song for her. I felt it seemed like play, joyful play to me. Her smiling and communion with baby made me was happy like as feeling in heaven. However, other friend said me that he never has enjoyed playing with babies. He said when he was being with babies, he just felt like this time is stressful or hard to him. In contrast, time to play with babies is always enjoyable and playful to me. I thought that a standard to judge whether this is play or not might be depending on personal perspective, not common value.

Moreover, after reading chapter ‘the rhetoric of fate’, I also have a question about play: “where are the standards of the value of play?” either in own self as individual, internal or norms of community as external.

According to the book, entitled The Ambiguity of Play, some lottery players say that, despite the fact that they know  will lose, they so enjoy the fantasy of winning, and dreaming of what they will do with their winnings, that it is well worth the price of the lottery ticket. In other words, lottery players might enjoy playful not reality, but rather imaginative satisfaction. For me, advocates of the rhetoric of progress of play seem to emphasize on rational or reality of play, whereas advocates of the rhetoric of fate of play seem to have values on illusion or fantasy of play. I think both perspectives about play are reasonable to understand meaning of play. Just it could be different depending on different value standards to perceive what the play is. Finally, I wonder it is possible in class of play, hierarchy in play, quality of play. If so, who can decide what the better play for human life is.

Let’s go on a trip to Korea where my hometown via other blogs

Sometimes, I used to feel like as going to Korea. Last weekend, I really missed Korea due to the homesick. So I decided to take a trip via other blogs. Follow me, let’s go together on a trip to Korea! Among of several places in Korea, I decided to go to the Jeju island. Actually, I have gone to the Jeju island at six times in my life. This place is my favorite province of Korea. Additionally, Jeju island is a tourist attraction spot where is loved by many Korean. Likewise, I also have good memory and experiences about Jeju island. Thus, I believed that playing in Jeju island made me be happy and far away from homesick.

First of all, while I took a trip as play, I was enjoying ‘imaginary play’ which means that I imagined like as I ate delicious Korean food and drove my car along the seashore. I think the ‘imaginary play’ is not just for children’s development, but rather for all of human play including adults’. According to book, entitled The Ambiguity of Play, Erikson said that while the child goes forward in his play, the adult goes sideways. This apparently means that children are growing up while they are playing and adults are not (p.47). However, he argues even though adults have already grown up, it cannot be supposed that growth virtues of play are irrelevant. Adults also are able to keep up their own sprits through play. That is, play is no longer the only preserve of children. Play is no longer the preserve of preparing for growth. Like as my imaginary play, adults also are able to continue own emotional play.

Moreover, I believe that play has a significant function as ‘healing’ for someone. Human can prepare to do what is for next step through healing by play. For me, although I had homesick and little bit of depression, I was able to heal my soul and recover from the depression because of blogging play-taking a trip via blogs. In addition, by playing via blogging, it gave me the happiness. That is, it is clear that play has important functions as emotional healing and happiness for human.

In sum, last weekend, I enjoyed play as to go on a trip via blogs; this imaginary play was results in healing and happiness for me.

Shall we dance? Let's Hiphop dance!

Last night, I went the SRSC on campus to do exercise with hiphop. Definitely, this play is more suitable on dance rather than exercise. In other words, this program is that people follow up instructor’s demonstration about dance with popular music. During dancing hiphop, I had opportunities to not only listen music which is the most popular in these days, but also learn how to dance hiphop.

To begin with, I think the rhetoric of play cannot depend on only the singular. According to the book, entitled as The Ambiguity of Play, the author provides the seven rhetorics to be presented in this work are characterized as follows: the rhetoric of play as progress, the rhetoric of play as fate, the rhetoric of play as power, the rhetoric o play as identity, the rhetoric of play as the imaginary, the rhetoric of the self, the rhetoric play as frivolous. Based on these seven rhetorics, I could not find exactly how dancing hiphop match up among of seven rhetorics. For example, I think my play is explained by both the rhetoric of self and the rhetoric of play as identity. First, I did dance with hiphop music for fun, relaxation, or enjoyment. This is form of play in which play is idealized by attention to the desirable experiences of the players. This mean is that I focused on intrinsic satisfactions of the play performances. Moreover, during the enjoy doing it, I could confirm the identity of community of players who share popular culture (e.g., music, dance) in global as large community. Eventually, it can be said that it might be more proper to speak of the plural thetorics throughout.

In sum, to understand the ambiguity of play, I agree that we need to find the relationship between accounts of play in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic functions is yet another way of talking about the interplay of play and nonplay (p.17). Furthermore, I will think about how several rhetorics are related each other to explain 'play', how each rhetorics represent as features of 'play' in this semester.  That is, It also should be needed to figure out what extent ambiguity is an outcome of the seven rhetorics.