Sunday, July 22, 2012

Join the Community

To have a 'single story' about a place or community simply means to have a very narrow view of the place in its entirety. This 'single story', this one outstanding detail overrides any other aspect of the place so that you cannot understand it in full.

The 'single story' that I've heard most about my community is that there are no jobs and no place for the young generation to grow and develop. Whilst this is true in part, jobs are sparse and you adults are oftentimes bored for the lack of activities here that are targeted towards their age group, it is not the whole story. The community is desperately trying to provide more activities for their youth, and most of the minimum wage jobs in town are held by the younger generation. The only way to change this negative view of the community is for the youth to actively step up and get involved. To let the community know what they want and need.

A 'single story' that I've heard about WVU is that students simply choose the school in order to party and have a good time. This story was presented to me through bad media coverage of the university and the rumors that spread through my community itself. And for a time, I believed this story. But when my sister chose WVU as her college and graduated with straight A's, the illusion was shattered. Clearly WVU was not just a place for booze and couch fires but a place of academics as well. Even if some less than savory media coverage surrounds the university, it does not make it all bad. 

Games let players experience many stories about a place or community by introducing them to new perspectives of thought. Games put players in the shoes of others and let them experience things they normally would not. This allows players to more fully understand other places and communities and even the other people around them.

1 comment:

  1. I love how games allow people to participate in new experiences. It's the best of both worlds.

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