The Value of Mimicry and Playing

Roger Caillois defines what it means to “play” in comparison to “work” within adult world in his book, Man, Play and Games. The distinction between the real world and the world of the game is separated by the rules that can define a game however are often not always respected in the real world. The freedom that also exists to play a game that does not entail any form of salary or monetary exchange related to the real world makes the outcome of the game arbitrary except for terms of entertainment or amusement. While these rules and restrictions on what actually constitutes “playing”, the relationship between games and the impact on the players of the game may affect the behavior of players when they are not longer playing. Callois points out how this form of crossover related to “mimicry” will often “cross the border between childhood and adulthood”. The importance of this time of “play” is so crucial that one would have difficulty discovering passion if they are not able to actually have time in structured work or education where the goal is not entertainment.

Mimicry will often consist of scenarios where the individual must make decisions where the consequences can be understood in another form of context. The child is “thus confronted with a diverse series of manifestations, the common element of which is that the subject makes believe or makes others believe that he is someone other than himself” (10). While the individual is often faced with obstacles in their own world of imagination, creativity to advance the game and alter the rules will lead to scenarios where one can be the happiest. When compared with our own education system, I am actually surprised that student is not presented with more opportunities to engage in mimicry prescribed by instruction of the teacher. The value of playing a game that is not make of strictly one’s own imagination is that new possibilities become available similar to the parameters of more modern games. This form of copying helps to reflect where a child might feel a particular passion for what they enjoy as entertainment or even their favorite kind of game.