Deconstructing LEGO

The Medium and Messages of LEGO Play
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-3-030-53667-1
Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 281 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 421 g

This book investigates a paradox of creative yet scripted play—how LEGO invites players to build ‘freely’ with and within its highly structured, ideologically-laden toy system. First, this book considers theories and methods for deconstructing LEGO as a medium of bricolage, the creative reassembly of already-significant elements. Then, it pieces together readings of numerous LEGO sets, advertisements, videogames, films, and other media that show how LEGO constructs five ideologies of play: construction play, dramatic play, digital play, transmedia play, and attachment play. From suburban traffic patterns to architectural croissants, from feminized mini-doll bodies to toys-to-life stories, from virtual construction to playful fan creations, this book explores how the LEGO medium conveys ideological messages—not by transmitting clear statements but by providing implicit instructions for how to reassemble meanings it had all along.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lee, Jonathan Rey

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Altersgruppen Kinder- und Jugendsoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Kultursoziologie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Populärkultur
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1.Theorizing LEGO Bricolage: Medium, Message, Method.- 2.Housing Play in LEGO Construction Toys.- 3.Playing House with LEGO Friends.- 4.Digital Analogs: Bricks, Worlds, and Dimensions.- 5.Story Toys: Transmedia Play in LEGO Star Wars.- 6.Toy Stories and Attachment Play in The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Movie 2

Über Autor(innen)

Jonathan Rey Lee teaches just outside Seattle at Cascadia College. In the spirit of “hard fun,” he deconstructs material play media such as toys and tabletop games. Jonathan has previously published articles on the material philosophy of the LEGO System and the ideology of creativity in The LEGO Movie.