September 30, 2016 - 15:58
Many children have once played in some sort of ruin. This does not always mean they have played in a dump or construction ground or old building; this means they have played and laughed in an environment that was harsh, an environment we typically try to hide them from. When children are given the opportunity to play, they are able to do so in many different conditions that can be safe, unsafe, regulated by a guardian, or unregulated. There are many different types of play as Tim Edensor describes in “Playing in Industrial Ruins”. He divides play into four categories: destructive play, hedonistic play, artistic play, and adventurous play. But play is complicated and can be placed in even more categories or subcategories. Kids explore and find use of any kind of ruin with smiles and laughter. It is interesting to look at how children are able to find joy in the darkest situations.
Imaginative play is very common among kids where they may take on a role or character and act as they believe that character would act. It could be anything from a doctor, to a teacher, or parent. They imitate the adult world, even the harsh world we try to hide from them, as they have seen it through their eyes. It’s amazing how much of the world children see and remember clearly. Kids are seen as naïve and this may be true in that they might not fully understand the severity of circumstances or the wrong in certain occurrences, but they can play back or act out harsh instances clearly and vividly. They play in imagined ruins or relive episodes that they should’ve not seen or are too young to completely understand.
I was struck by how vivid, realistic, and accurate Kayleigh’s experience of play as a child was. She described how she played mainly based on stories or experiences she and her friends had seen or lived through. This could be anything from living with a drunken abusive father where someone played the father, the mother, and the kid. Harsh scenes acted out by children from seven to nine with smiles on their faces and laughter. In her blog post she gives a narrative of one of the scenes her friends acted out: a birth. The doctors had names, equipment was named out, there was a vivid and clear image of this birth. And props were used, suggesting that they had seen someone give birth before, whether that be on televison or a home video. They knew exact details and emotions attached to the birth (Kismet, 2016). This is not necessarily a harsh scene it is a scene in which the kids are imitating something they have had no experience with and don’t have a full understanding of, though they might have memorized every detail of the experience. For children it is fun to act out experiences that seem as though they are for older people or adults. For them, it’s another form of entertainment.
When categorizing play, it’s hard to give it specific names because there are different factors that impact play. Edensor puts play that happens in ruins into four categories: destructive play, hedonistic play, artistic play, and adventurous play. The play Kayleigh engaged in as a child doesn’t quite fit in either of these categories. Even though she didn’t play in a literal ruin, she played with ideas of the world that she and her friends may have seen in the media or even a peer of hers could have lived through a traumatic event. This is where imaginative play comes to light. This play can happen in literal ruins or figurative ruins. When someone imagines being somewhere else, being someone else, or generally creates a new reality is engaging in imaginative play. There are also overlaps of different types of play.
Children have played in actual ruins where the world around them crumbles down as a result of violence, war, or natural disasters. Recently there has been a ceasefire in Syria and children have come out of their homes and shelters to play in the streets that are now covered in the rubble of fallen buildings. They play on swings and go to parks that they haven’t seen for a long time. They are smiling and laughing, and seem to have put the memories of the sound of bombs going off in the back of their minds as they play with their friends. I can’t help but wonder if any of these kids have friends or family members they may have lost during the bombings. To be able to play and be happy is so amazing during a time of disaster. Children have an ability to play in ruins and find fun in the rubble. In this instance the Syrian kids are partaking in imaginative play, in which they have escaped their reality by creating their own world in the midst of chaos. Their play is also adventurous as they play in bomb craters and collapsed buildings.
There is evidence of kids playing in ruins historically. Anne Frank engaged in artistic play as the world as she knew it fell apart. In her two years of hiding during World War II she wrote about her experiences with her deep thoughts and feelings. Anne Frank found artistic play as a way to deal with the chaotic world she was living in. This is a very different type of play than the one my think of because Anne Frank wasn’t playing outside with games or friends; that was not an option for her. She was able to play with her writing and it was an outlet. In her first entry she wrote, “I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support” (Frank, 1942). Children use play as a sort of security blanket when they don’t quite understand what’s going on around them but are fully present and aware of the chaos.
Children live through unthinkable situations that are traumatic and hard to understand at a young age but ultimately, play will win. Children will somehow find a way to make fun and be happy in the roughest moments. Or they make fun of the adult things they have not fully understood yet. Play is an escape from reality and an opportunity to create an new world better than the one falling apart before them. Although a child’s world may be ruined, their spirit and desire to be joyful will not be ruined.
Citations:
Kismet. “Operation.” Serendip. N.p., 20 Sept. 2016. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.
Cook, Jesselyn. “Syrian ChildrenLaugh and Play During The Ceasefire.” The Huffington Post. N.p., 2016. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.
Jorgensen, Anna, and Richard Keenan. Urban Wildscapes. London: Routledge, 2012. Print.
"Anne Frank." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.