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     % &' %(')"#*+,!  -./00  /1/2 56(              ! " # $  % # & $' (  ) (# # $ ) (* !#+ ##  ,-!.*    /#$$# $#/  # (((# /  $ ! #$  % #0/ !# 1% #* 2'# ARTS EDUCATION POLICY REVIEW https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2019.1656127 Review of music education in an age of virtuality and post-truth Melissa A. Arnold, Amanda E. Ellerbe, and Shawn L. Goodman Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana, USA KEYWORDS ABSTRACT In his book, Music Education in an Age of Virtuality and Post-Truth, Woodford presents a welcomed discussion of the aims of music education in a time of political unrest. This timely text is needed due to the stresses of the current political climate in which students are seldom encouraged to seriously question or otherwise challenge the existing political system (p. 2). Woodfords consideration of contemporary political phenomena sheds new light on issues related to arts education policy implementation as well as intersections of music education and students lived experiences. Throughout this text, Woodford questions the current application of democratic values in music education, condemns the misuse of art in contemporary politics, and explains the purposes of a liberal music education. Woodford addresses current social and political issues that impact music educators and anticipates future problems so that they might better defend themselves and their students, and ultimately democratic society, from those who would pervert the purpose of education by reducing it to job training and/or thought control (p. 10). After providing an overview of the book and a summary of each chapter, we offer our reflections of the authors points and extensions for consideration. Specifically, we reflect on how generalizing the views of political populations might be problematic and how the inclusion of multiple perspectives might enhance a liberal music education. We then propose possibilities for how Woodfords liberal music education might look in K12 classrooms and pose questions related to the presentation of this book in collegiate music education courses. Overview Paul Woodford divides the book into eight chapters. In chapters 14, Woodford addresses general and specific examples of how the arts and music have been and are being used to persuade citizens toward political agendas in the distant and recent past. Throughout these chapters, he also reveals ulterior motives that exist in education. In chapter 5, he addresses current problems in education. He then offers ways to present these truths to students in music classrooms in chapter 6. Woodford presents Donald Trump as problematic within the context of education in chapter 7. Finally, in chapter 8, Woodford offers more forward-thinking proposals for music educators to move toward teaching what the author promotes as a liberal music education. In chapter 1, Woodford approaches the purposes and aims of music and music education from a unique perspective that synthesizes philosophy, political science, sociology, media studies, economics, and history (among other things) to expose the underlying political agendas in music and music education (p. 4). CONTACT Melissa A. Arnold ! 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC marnold0001@gmail.com Philosophy of music education; posttruth; virtuality Woodford describes how those who seek to acquire and keep positions of power often use music to persuade people toward particular political ideologies. He argues convincingly that the aims of music education in higher education are not what they ought to be, stating that curricula should be designed to teach students how to research and develop arguments so they can think more critically about what they read, are told, see, hear, or do (p. 2). In this way, the author argues that critically thinking about systems of government, oppressive ideologies, and capitalism ought to be the aim of education. He writes that social intelligence, which he describes as a process of socializing children into their humanity, is a stronger rationale for music and arts education, more so than the ideas of art for arts sake, transfer of skills, or the need for future professional or amateur musicians alone (p. 7). In chapter 2, Woodford depicts music as an economically viable industry through employment data from three countries (Britain, Canada, and the United States), which he says is important for those who believe that the government should function primarily Indiana University Bloomington, 205 S. Jordan Ave., Bloomington, IN 47405-7000, USA. 2 M. ARNOLD ET AL. to sustain the economy. However, because empirical research has not concluded that children are able to transfer critical thinking skills or other skills that are useful in the economy outside of the music classroom, many advocates of music education buck economic justification for music education and instead rely on the art for arts sake argument. This does not help the case that music education can contribute to a more democratic society. The art for arts sake rationale bolsters an economic attitude toward a legitimate curriculum, situating art among the subjective subjects that need not be concerned with democratic issues. In chapter 3, Woodford suggests that those discussing democratic citizenship in the classroom be explicit about the models of citizenship they use. Failure on the part of music educators to speak about democratic citizenship with any sort of specificity may stem from their fear of critically challenging outdated or economically motivated educational ideals. Woodford believes that neglecting to teach toward democratic citizenship is a violation of teachers ethical and professional responsibilities. According to Woodford, teachers need to screw up their courage and think bigger and more critically about attending to problems in society through democratic education (p. 41). This requires a more radical view of the democratic citizen, like the justice oriented model, which responds to the inequities of societal structures in pursuit of a more just world rather than focusing merely on the cultivation of personal virtues (p. 31). In chapter 4, Woodford discusses how the fear and disdain of experts and the culturally elite can lead to an assault on the arts community. He presents his argument through the example of former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. Woodford writes that Harper, who studied piano and music theory as a child, was determined to muzzle artists and musicians perceived to be either a threat to conservative rule or who could be scapegoated for societal problems (p. 55). Additionally, Woodford discusses how Harper, and politicians like him, co-opted antiestablishment popular music for campaigning purposes and reduced that music to a saccharine sentimentalism that diverted the attention of the public (p. 50). Woodford claims that when these two elements are combinedthe attack on elite musicians and artists and the politicians use of popular music for their own endsit is done to tame culture; this taming results in the ability to steer society. Finally, Woodford discusses how those who exhibit authoritarian tendencies (he cites Harper and Trump) are wary of provocative musicians because they are able to be moral prophets and influence the masses in their opinion of social and political problems (p. 56). In chapter 5, Woodford discusses the problems with universities and what James Mursell referred to as the defeat of the schools (p. 64). The author states that students are generally not inspired to ask deep questions or research topics of interest because schools adhere to standardized curricula and pedagogies that are generally disconnected from students lived experiences and interests. The result is a lack of transferability and a stifling of personal agency, creativity, and growth. The author proposes that schools should focus less on preparation for some far off and imaginary future career and should instead provide the intellectual tools needed to make sense of, to act upon, and to vivify present lived experience (p. 66). Woodford claims that students now attend universities to earn appropriate credentials for future employment and are less concerned with their own betterment, learning, or ability to think. He states that education is no longer about intellectual curiosity and self-determinationor about living life more fully in the here and nowbut about getting somewhere else (p. 68). With specific regard to music education majors, the author addresses a regime of positive reinforcement as contributing toward a general lack of work ethic, oversensitivity to criticism, and a sense of self-esteem based on the illusion of their own perfection (p. 71). Instead of contributing to the betterment of students and communities, Woodford believes that schools now contribute toward lives of permanent financial, social, and even military instability because they do not encourage students to question the status quo while envisioning new possibilities to create more equitable societies (p. 73). In chapter 6, Woodford asks that musicians and educators critically examine the role of music as both a reflection and agent of history: Artistic activities and products give a sense of particular times and places, many of which were de facto oppressive, but also contributed to shaping peoples beliefs about politics, culture, and society. To critically engage with history and musics place within it, Woodford advocates that teachers and students analyze and question the structures of hegemony complicitly defined by musical works and practices. One example of these types of works is the Popeye cartoons that use music to vivify American military propaganda and symbolically violent racist tropes (p. 82). I yam what I yam, Popeyes famous catchphrase, reflects U.S. blindness toward its own oppressive past and, without critical ARTS EDUCATION POLICY REVIEW reflection, enduringly ignorant present. Additionally, American media is exported to other cultures in order to infiltrate them or as a method of asserting soft power (p. 84). The news media, economically motivated to increase its ratings, uses music to sensationalize the stories it selects for viewers and to signal in advance how they should feel (emphasis his, p. 85). These problematic examples are convincing evidence that students, and citizens more broadly, should cast a critical eye when consuming media. In chapter 7, Woodford presents a provocative discussion about Donald Trump, problems with the U.S. educational system, and how these problems affect the arts and music education. Citing Fareed Zakaria, the author begins by calling Trump a bullshit artist (p. 86), a term he continues to use throughout most of the chapter. Woodford compares Trump to former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and offers that, like Harper, Trump attempts to connect with the masses through his usage of colloquial language and by portraying himself as an ordinary guy (p. 93). However, both men were born into privilege and therefore are not necessarily representative of common people. Trump, according to the author, is a pragmatist willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals without consideration for moral standards, and his attempts to tell it like it is are bullshit, hypocritical, and often disregard truth (p. 94). After a short discussion about Trumps assessment of the U.S. education system, Woodford determines that the decline of music education is due to the fact that educators do not properly assess music and other arts in education because the experience of music is qualitative and imaginative and therefore not easily quantifiable (p. 101). He notes that both the creation of national standards and the standardization of curricula at the local level are especially damaging to music and the arts. One answer to this problem may be for academics and teachers to develop qualitative assessment tools that demonstrate to politicians and parents that the arts develop habits of mind, skills, and abilities that are useful not only to the economy but also to the life well-lived (p. 102). However, Woodford argues that qualitative assessment tools alone are insufficient justification for the existence of music in public schools if those music classes do not prepare students to be critical thinkers who can engage with political issues. In chapter 8, Woodford discusses the need for a liberal music education in light of the culture of 3 crudeness and aggression that is normalized by political figures and reality television shows. The author writes that music and education can help with this important task of countering injustice and authoritarianism while fostering social and political renewal (p. 112). In order to do this, teachers need to reconceive of themselves as cultural workers, preparing students for adulthood and to be democratic and global citizens (p. 112). Woodford challenges Deweys position that musicians, artists, and children learning musical skills should not exercise social criticism as it might negatively impact the quality of their art. Instead, the author argues that liberal music education could use more musicians who engage in social protest. Woodford writes that while the first step of liberal education is to challenge students to think for themselves, this is not enough. Students must also be challenged to read, analyze, and question deep issues, so as to better respond to those issues in larger contexts. Naming, reconciliation, and the new liberal music education Bradley (2012) might laud Woodfords explicit account of a deeply flawed American context for education by virtue of Woodfords no-nonsense, no-bullshit language. What Bradley derides as a tendency for educators to avoid political topics in fear of confronting their own dark histories, Woodford jettisons. Education is politicalWoodford is sureand it reflects and relates to greater socioeconomic issues with the capacity to replicate them. Hess (2017), too, recommends that music educators learn to speak in systems and power rather than in euphemisms (p. 24). Woodfords indictment of neoliberal education practices as colonialist and functioning to promote economic and cultural supremacy is anything but euphemistic. He calls the offending politicians who enforce these realities out by name. The ways in which Woodford clearly names problems allows readers to understand and contribute to his argument. However, although problem-naming is important and necessary to move toward finding possible solutions for a problem, the use of a figurehead to represent a larger group is problematic. Insinuating that the views of a figurehead represent those of an entire political party may lead to the generalizations of a larger group of people, a group that may only align with portions of a figureheads rhetoric. By using a figurehead (e.g., Trump) to represent a larger group of people (e.g., conservatives), Woodfords work has 4 M. ARNOLD ET AL. the potential to mobilize forces (e.g., liberals) against a false enemy (e.g., conservatives), which can result in the collective (mis)identity of peoples. It is possible that Woodfords argument may hinder conversations between those of different political stances rather than including more in the problem-naming and -solving processes. By aligning problems so strongly with specific figureheads, such as Trump and Harper, Woodford may be limiting his ability to reconcile groups. Woodford is writing in a way that may cause discord rather than encourage reconciliation. We wonder: How might including the experiences of more people, rather than relying on singular figureheads to represent larger groups, contribute to making Woodfords liberal music education more reconciliatory? For example, Nussbaums (1998) new liberal education is part and parcel a process of inclusion, inviting new and unheard perspectives and voices into educational discourse, and promoting better understanding of marginalized groups through new course content. In her book, Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education (1998), she devotes whole chapters to African American Studies, Womens Studies, and The Study of Human Sexuality. Contrary to Nussbaums new liberal education, the subjects of womens experiences; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer experiences; and those of other marginalized communities are absent in Woodfords liberal music education. These perspectives could be better incorporated in order to challenge systems of dominance and orthodoxies against which Woodford warns. Implications While reading this book, we frequently wondered what Woodfords ideas would look like in the classroom. How might we practically work these lessons into our K12 general music, choir, band, or orchestra curricula? How could we present this book at the university level? Chapter 6 includes examples of what a Woodfordinspired K12 general music lesson might look like. Although his examples are excellent demonstrations of how we could teach students to see and understand the political undertones in cartoons, the specific example of Popeye might be problematic because it is outdated. The examples that Woodford presents include three Popeye cartoons with Japanese nationals and American Indians whose physiognomies are grossly stereotyped and distorted. In each cartoon, Popeye proceeds to single-handedly destroy them all. While pointing out and discussing racism as it appears within contemporary society is necessary, presenting and revealing the racist undertones of outdated cartoons that may, otherwise, never have been encountered, might create more harm than good. By presenting Popeye cartoons as examples, we are subjecting students to witnessing a White man destroying the others over the backdrop of patriotic and celebratory music. Even if we discuss the reasons why this is a bad thing, we are still putting this image in students heads. For this reason, we might best serve our students by using modern examples to which they are currently exposed in their daily lives. As we consider the practical ways in which we could implement the ideas that Woodford proposes, we wonder how we might present this book to our collegiate students. Although Woodfords writing is in agreement with many of our own personal values, we also imagine the potential consequences of offering this book as required reading for undergraduate or graduate music education classes. Our classes might include students with strong conservative or religious beliefs or students that might be alienated by the ideas, language, and generalizations that Woodford presents. How could we present a book that generalizes conservative values, names a figurehead, and might potentially exclude some students or even turn them against one another? Is there a way to present this book that does not negate or alienate the views of our conservative students? If teachers are very skilled at moderating classroom dialog, they likely encourage students to listen to each other, accept the possibility that there is no right or wrong answer, value each others opinions, and not judge each other based solely on political views. However, Woodford does not necessarily model these practices in this text. In his writing, Woodford seems to insist that there is a right answer and a preferred political party. The challenge of presenting this book, then, might be that it requires educators to allow for frequent classroom discussions in which they are careful to ensure that all voices are heard and valued. They must teach students to listen to and respect each other and work toward understanding. If teachers model how to engage in thoughtful, welcoming discussion, then Woodfords book, in conjunction with other books written from differing perspectives, might be an excellent tool to support and encourage dialog, and thus may promote students development toward their acceptance of diverse opinions. Considering the practical applications of this philosophical approach to music education requires ARTS EDUCATION POLICY REVIEW educators to also consider the context of teaching such a pedagogy within the landscape of current arts education policy, specifically, the 2014 National Standards. With standards that focus exclusively on music literacy and teaching the three artistic processes of creating, performing, and responding (National Association for Music Education, 2019), where does this proposed philosophy fit in? In other words, in an objective/assessment-driven education system in which objectives are drawn from standards, how do we justify and practically apply lessons that require deeper understanding of current events in the music classroom? Perhaps the answer lies in what edTPA (Stanford Center for Assessment Learning & Equity, 2018) refers to as contextual understandings. edTPA is quickly becoming the new standard for teacher licensure throughout the United States. The 2018 edTPA K12 Performing Arts Assessment Handbook requires educators to connect learning objectives to contextual understandings, which they describe by giving examples, e.g., social, cultural, historical, global, personal reflection (p. 10). Perhaps this is the necessary loopholea way that educators can justify addressing political motivations as they relate to or are masked by music if they can also manage to teach music literacy in the process. Conclusion In its response to what can only be considered a political paradigm shift, Woodfords Music Education in an Age of Virtuality and Post-Truth is an especially prescient contribution to music education scholarship. Woodford is signaling a warning bell that certainly needs to be rung. In the age of virtuality, the music 5 education profession can and should respond to political realities by working against post-truth. Herein, Woodford offers a way forward. We must be vigilant about the information we consume and critical of the economic interests that underlay it. We must teach students to critically engage with the world, beginning with music, and all of its problems, to encourage a better understanding of the forces at play. Through this more critical examination, music education might foster students capacities to form a more liberal democracy in the midst of a challenging political landscape. References Bernard, C. F. (2019). Lived experiences: Arts policy at the street level in the New York City Department of Education. Arts Education Policy Review, 112. doi:10. 1080/10632913.2018.1530713 Bradley, D. (2012). Avoiding the P word: Political contexts and multicultural music education. Theory into Practice, 51(3), 188195. doi:10.1080/00405841.2012. 690296 Hess, J. (2017). Equity and music education: Euphemisms, terminal naivety, and whiteness. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 16(3), 1547. doi:10.22176/ act16.3.15 National Association for Music Education. (2019). Overview of the 2014 music standards. Retrieved from https:// nafme.org/overview-of-2014-music-standards/ Nussbaum, M. C. (1998). Cultivating humanity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Shaw, R. D. (2019). Finding footprints: Analyzing arts education policy implementation. Arts Education Policy Review, 19. doi:10.1080/10632913.2018.1530711 Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, & Equity. (2018). edTPA K-12 performing arts assessment handbook (6th ed.). Stanford, CA: Leland Stanford Junior University.  ...

... Idea Bank Rehearsing Ensembles Online by Shawn L. Goodman Photo of Shawn L. Goodman courtesy of Terry Bateman A s we navigate this new world in the COVID-19 era together, we all long for a return to normalcy. Although many schools across the United States are returning to in-person classes this fall, there exists a real possibility that schools may switch to online learning at some point this school year. If this happens, we can provide our students with a small sense of normalcy by rehearsing our ensembles online. Online learning may not be the preferred way to teach music, but it can be effective. Michelle Miller, a cognitive psychologist that studies the brain and how technology can aid learning, describes the effectiveness and success of any online learning program as requiring emphasis on student effort, students feeling connected, students quickly and regularly receiving informative feedback, and teachers basing instruction on students current knowledge and understanding. 1 If we make these concepts foundational, then online rehearsals can be both effective and enjoyable. The purpose of this article is to provide ensemble directors with the necessary information and confidence to rehearse their ensembles online. This summer, I rehearsed a symphony orchestra and a jazz ensemble completely online. Through this process, I learned that although it does require substantial lesson planning, it is not very difficult to do and does not require much new software or hardware. The big advantage was that the students really enjoyed getting together with their friends again to make music. Planning Online Rehearsals Before rehearsals begin, directors must select repertoire for which professional recordings of those exact arrangements can be accessed. This is imperative. Much of the time spent in full-ensemble rehearsals will involve the students listening to and playing along with recordings. For example, if the recordings are not in the same key, then this becomes an issue. Directors must also determine the time stamps on the recordings for the rehearsal markings on each score to ensure efficient rehearsals. Each instruments part in your warmup chorales can be recorded and mixed with Pro Tools.2 Playing along with our Shawn L. Goodman is an assistant professor of music at Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana, as well as a Yamaha Performing Artist and a Vandoren Artist Clinician. She can be contacted at sgoodman@marian.edu. www.nafme.org chorale recording became part of our daily warm-up routine. We also hired local jazz musicians to individually record their parts to our big band charts, which we mixed with Pro Tools to create rhythm-section-only play-alongs. We uploaded the ensemble recordings to YouTube 3 along with instructional videos for each instrument. YouTube videos can be organized into playlists for easy access, and students who subscribe to your YouTube channel will receive notifications when you upload a new video. Best of all, YouTube accounts are free. Be sure to get permission from the publisher for any recordings you upload for your classes. For our teaching platform, we used Zoom. 4 Zoom allows for bringing in outside instructors and has a breakout rooms feature for sectionals. When using Zoom, it is necessary for all participants to adjust their audio settings for original sound.5 Rehearsing Ensembles Online When rehearsing ensembles online, I recommend using both prerecorded videos and live rehearsing to keep the students engaged. To share video or audio recordings, click the share screen button at the bottom of the Zoom screen; then click the picture of the page or file that is already open on your desktop or browser. Remember to also check the two boxes at the bottom of the screen share window to enable computer sound and optimize for video sharing. Copyright 2020 National Association for Music Education DOI: 10.1177/0027432120957434 http://journals.sagepub.com/home/mej 15 I like to begin rehearsals by allowing the students to warm up unmuted. This gives the students the feeling of walking into the band or orchestra room when they log on and a sense of normalcy. For warm-ups, directors can share recordings, use call-and-response with the students on mute, or have students play along while on mute. During rehearsals, it is not possible to have entire sections or the ensemble play together unmuted due to the delay. For this reason, you must rely on the students to assess their own progress. Check in with them frequently. Sectionals in the breakout rooms are an excellent way to listen to each student play individually and offer feedback. Zoom allows the host to rotate from room to room to check in with each section. Online sectionals are also a great way to keep your staff or local freelance teachers employed. Much of the full-ensemble rehearsal involves students playing along with professional recordings while on mute. I believe this is excellent for the students because they are listening to recordings of professionals playing with great style, and they strive to imitate them. Also, the sound of the ensemble in both ears gives them the feeling of playing in an ensemble and a return to normalcy. Rehearsing in this way, though, requires 16 directors to anticipate issues in advance and teach toward those issues because they do not have the luxury of listening to the ensemble and diagnosing issues as they go. Creating Virtual Concerts When the time comes to put together a virtual concert, have each student record his or her own personal performance videos using their cell phone while listening to the recorded track via earbuds connected to a separate device. Have them upload their tracks to their personal Google Drives, then have them share the link with you or whoever you hire to compile the video. Many audio/ visual companies are willing to do this now for reasonable prices.6 You are also welcome to download videos and other online resources from www.shawngood manjazz.com/educational-resources. In the spring of 2020, we commissioned a piece written specifically for virtual instrumental ensemble. The piece, Snitchin in the Kitchen, 7 is highly choreographed and involves students playing their instruments in their kitchens, improvisation, and use of kitchen utensils as percussive instruments. Putting this piece together was a lot of fun, and I highly recommend the piece to any groups that are rehearsing online. NOTES 1. See chapter two, Online Learning: Does It Work?, in Michelle D. Miller, Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014), www.jstor.org/ stable/j.ctt9qdsqd.5. 2. Pro Tools offers reduced educator pricing. The free version, Pro Tools First, works well for a few small projects. https://shop.avid.com/ccrz__ ProductDetails?viewState=Detail View&is CSRFlow=true&sku=DYNA20000. 3. https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCulNKkWNSGkP3KeR5IFsiVA/playlists. 4. A Zoom Pro account is $15/month; students do not have to purchase anything. https://zoom.us/pricing. 5. Instructions for how to adjust the audio settings to enable original sound on Zoom can be found on https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/ articles/115003279466-Enablingoption-to-preserve-original-sound. 6. We compiled the performance videos together ourselves using Pro Tools for the audio and Adobe Premiere Pro for the video. Both programs offer special educator pricing. 7. Benjamin Taylor, Snitchin in the Kitchen (Bloomington, IN: Benjamin Taylor Music LLC, 2020). Commission made possible by a grant from the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Music Educators Journal September 2020  ...

... "Truer than the Real Thing": "Real" and "Hyperreal" Representations of the Past in Das Leben der Anderen Wendy Westphal German Studies Review, Volume 35, Number 1, February 2012, pp. 97-111 (Article) Published by Johns Hopkins University Press For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/465662 Access provided by Marian University (23 Jun 2017 19:43 GMT) Truer than the Real Thing: Real and Hyperreal Representations of the Past in Das Leben der Anderen Wendy Westphal ABSTRACT 8JUI
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would most certainly focus directly on the question as to what kind of GDR-image is being suggested and constructed.5 Mhe explains that, compared to the many others he read, the script of Das Leben der Anderen struck him with its authenticity: There have already been many attempts to capture and reorganize the GDR reality and also the topic of the Stasi. I read a lot of screenplays on this topic especially JO
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Coming after Sonnenallee, Good Bye, Lenin!, NVA, and Der rote Kakadu (The Red Cockatoo), Das Leben der Anderen
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UIPSoughly serious look (without any Trabi-nostalgia, Spreewald pickle romantics, and other folkloristic hullabaloo) at what the essence was of the German Democratic Republic that collapsed in 1989the systematic intimidation, harassment, and suppression of its citizens in the name of state security.7 0UIFST
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accepting the story and the imagery at face value as truthful representations of the QBTU
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of conveying a true picture of the GDR: #Z
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Das Leben der Anderen by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck stakes a more serious claim and is now shown to school classes with the intention of painting a true picture of the conditions in East Germany. Although QSFDJTFMZ
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true GDR and its popular use as an alternative to a thorough historical examination of the topic in schools: One after the other, classes of school children are being shuttled to the movie theaters. That makes things easier for many people: the students believe that they now know what it was like in the GDR and politicians can get back to their daily business.9 Debates surrounding the artistic representation of the past and its impact on individual and collective memories are nothing new to Germany. Indeed, the theory of French sociologist Maurice Halbwachs on collective memory, originally a tool for negotiating narratives about the Holocaust and World War II, is now key in the current debate about the portrayal of the GDR and in answering the question: What image of the GDR will be passed on to future generations? As memory scholar Aleida Assmann reminds us in Erinnerungsrume: Formen und Wandlungen des kulturellen Gedchtnisses, our collective memory and our collective forgetting are inextricably intertwined with our conception of ourselves. Thus the memories that are now selected to represent the former state will have a lasting impact on the GVUVSF
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identity. In addition, Halbwachs has shown in La mmoire collective (On Collective Memory) that memories are selected and sustained not just by individuals, but also by 100 German Studies Review 35 /1 s 2012 certain groups, and that even private memories cannot be separated from the societal JOnVFODFT
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or autobiographicalare therefore themselves constructs. If invention is part of this memory-forming process, then the authentication of these memories plays an equally important role, ensuring that the audience engages with the memories as if they were truthful representations of the past. To this end, EPDVNFOUJOH
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surrounding the fall of the Wall. The latter example actually complicates the question of authenticity, since the real documentary news footage is viewed on the television PG
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each other a gleam of truth and a shimmer of illusion, and thus forcing the larger questions: What is real? And exactly what is the status of guarantors of truth in a mDUJPOBM
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In Das Leben der Anderen
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with him. Dreyman, on the other hand, is said to be one of the few writers whose work is completely in line with party doctrine. Only after his friend, Albert Jerska, a (formerly) famous East German director, commits suicide as a reaction to his longterm ban from the profession does Dreyman take up his pen against the GDR. The 4UBTJ
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base motivation and, in an unlikely twist in the plot, undergoes a dramatic moral transformation which is largely induced by the moving piece of music, the Sonate vom guten Menschen (Sonata for a Good Man) that Dreyman plays on the piano BGUFS
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work on an article about suicide in East Germany, and in the end even conceals the most crucial piece of evidence, a West German typewriter, to save Dreyman from QSJTPO
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unaware that his apartment had been wiretapped, that his girlfriend Christa-Maria had betrayed him to the Stasi, and that Wiesler had saved him by removing the typewriter GSPN
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episode of his life, dedicating the work to Gerd Wiesler in gratitude. Thus the plot Wendy Westphal 101 PG
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and their victims and visiting museums and former Stasi prisons, as well as examining visual media from the GDR. In Das Leben der Anderen a number of techniques XPSL
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mise-en-scne,11 and the incorporation of both the bureaucratic language and the interrogation techniques of the East German secret police. In the audio commentary to the German DVD, von Donnersmarck makes a point PG
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wherever we could, we tried to obtain the original equipmentfrom the wire taps to the device . . . with which Ulrich Mhe [Wiesler] steams open letters at the end PG
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steamed open. It was important to me to be very authentic even in these small details. Of course we could have also just made copies of these devices, but I believe that one really does sense something. One senses that these devices are imbued with many real experiences and real suffering. And that then helps one intensify UIF
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I believe that places somehow store memoriesthat feelings that were experienced at a certain place do not somehow disappear but rather are still there, somewhere in the stones. And I think that I sensed quite a lot at these sites.13 #Z
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von Donnersmarck adds, and I believe that we convey a sense of authenticity with 102 German Studies Review 35 /1 s 2012 these little details that would otherwise have been hard to create. From the outset, WPO
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in Die Welt, the question of the authenticity of Das Leben der Anderen was the focus of the October 2008 volume of the German Studies Review. In this discussion, scholars note inaccuracies ranging from small details like how Stasi reports were signed14 and the fact that sleep deprivation was no longer used in interrogations in the 1980s,15 to UIF
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time when, as Anna Funder notes, groups of ex-Stasi are becoming increasingly belligerent. They write articles and books, and conduct lawsuits against people who speak out against them.17 Hubertus Knabe, the director of the Berlin-Hohenschnhausen Memorial, a former Stasi prison, strongly objected to making a Stasi man the hero and denied von Donnersmarck permission to shoot on site.18 He also pointed out that OPU
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the truth.20
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Das Leben der Anderen is a human drama about the ability of human beings to do the right thing, no matter how far they have gone down the wrong path.21 Thus, on this level, the plot of Das Leben der Anderen depicts not truth, but rather a moral ideal draped with the trappings of reality. In addition to his use of real props and settings, von Donnersmarck credits the DPMPS
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media of and from the East, he noticed that the colors red and blue tended to be less prevalent than in images of the West. In the audio commentary, he explains that Wendy Westphal 103 in fact, there tended not to be that much really bright red or blue. We said that TJODF
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the strangest nostalgia trip that one can imagine. Yet this trip actually has nothing to do with nostalgia, which romanticizes the past. Rather, it is an attempt to collect information in order to make sense of his (only partially correct) memories. In the dialog, the topic of memory and how it can both manipulate and be manipulated frame UIF
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in 1991 is a thoroughly postmodern interpretation of his work, and only the repetiUJPO
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of East German poet, playwright, and director Bertolt Brecht. Most obviously, it is a 104 German Studies Review 35 /1 s 2012 WPMVNF
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Verfremdungseffekt. The Verfremdungseffekt (distancing or alienation) prevents the audience from losing itself passively and completely in the character created by the actor, . . . which consequently leads the audience to be a consciously critical observer.22
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is clearly in this tradition: the austere stage set, the costumes, the emotionless tone PG
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positioning and posing of the actresses, which has the supporting actresses speak together in the background in the manner of a choir, are all techniques that prevent the viewer from closely identifying with the characters. The Verfremdungseffekt is intended to enable the spectator to view familiar things in a different light.23 The fact UIBU
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cinema is indeed that the eye of the camera records exactly what stands before it. As Lev Manovich explains in The Language of New Media, in contrast [to animation], cinema works hard to erase any traces of its own production process.24 At the same UJNF
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reality. One hyperreal element is the thoroughly theatrical sequence of events that DVMNJOBUFT
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Christa-Marie in the Piet pose) and in ironies such as having Minister Hempf be the person who provokes Dreyman to revisit the past. Another hyperreal element is the intensity of the characters, which reduces them to stereotypes. Bruno Hempf is the typical corrupt Communist politician (a man who is easy to despise). Grubnitz is the self-serving opportunist, Albert Jerska the politically persecuted artist, Dreyman the idealistic writer, the embodiment of integrity (a man the viewer cannot help liking), and Gerd Wiesler is pure Stasi. Sitting in the attic at all hours of the day BOE
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Stasi.29 Friendless and without family, Wiesler, Grubnitz, and Hempf are portrayed as having no lives, no interests outside of the Dreyman case. Author Timothy Garton "TIT
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nine to spy on and denounce others. Without the order of a minister. Completely of his own accord. A Stasi man like you and me. Showing the daily routine of such 106 German Studies Review 35 /1 s 2012 treachery would be a painful process of self-exploration. For both East and West. Where does everyday opportunism start and where moral courage? Perhaps by now there is a willingness to face a story like this, one that does not only depict the past in black and white but rather includes the many shades of gray. Because that is precisely where it gets interesting.32 #VU
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present someone with two hours of Communist drabness. I wanted to present it as beautifully as I honestly could.33
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something like: people can change.34 Yet in addition to the obvious issue of human NPSBMJUZ
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truth and reality. The plot of Das Leben der Anderen shows a world in which each DIBSBDUFST
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concepts of truth and reality as, at best, elusive ideals. In Good Bye, Lenin!
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the plot of a nonexistent play about Lenin. Von Donnersmarck explains in his audio commentary that it was especially important for him to show multiple layers of mutual observation between the characters PG
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all three on CC-TV, and in turn forces Dreyman to also witness their affair, by ringing the doorbell. The Stasi, however, are not just the observers, they are also part of the DIBJO
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does not personally witness the events she reports. Others seek the truth, but Marta JT
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108 German Studies Review 35 /1 s 2012 JOUFSQMBZ
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... The Illusion of Control: Reinvigorating Colonial Desire through Fantasy Footballs Procedural Rhetoric / R. Kyle Kellam Style: This essay follows MLA style and Reconstruction specific formatting Abstract: This essay examines the online game of fantasy football as a collection of rhetorical procedures, or programmed processes that present a particular ideology through how the game is played. I argue that the procedures of fantasy football, from the transformation of human action into numeric representation to trading players with other fantasy owners, are processes that bear the marks of its dominant messages: commodification and ownership. This relationship between subject and object operates as a kind of colonial logic, rearticulating an already troubling relationship that the NFL holds with Americas plantation past. While fantasy footballs procedures invite owners to exercise control over NFL players, gamers soon realize that they have little impact in the outcome of games. Rather than discouraging the fantasy community from participating, this illusion of control rearticulates the bond between the NFL and its fans and rejuvenates a colonial desire. Bio: R. Kyle Kellam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Marian University in Indianapolis, IN. He holds his doctorate in Communication (2012) from Wayne State University. At Marian he teaches courses in rhetorical theory and also serves as the Assistant Director of Forensics. As a teacher, coach, and scholar, he brings critical rhetorics into pedagogical practice. Correspondence to: rkellam@marian.edu. Authorization: As the author of this essay, I authorize its review for publication in Reconstruction. This essay is not currently under review elsewhere nor has it been previously published in whole or in part. Keywords: Culture Studies, Postcolonialism, Rhetoric Introduction <1> In 1962, Oakland Raiders part owner Bill Winkenbach and two sports writers gathered in a New York hotel room and fleshed out the rules for a new, interactive game: fantasy football. More than fifty years ago, its safe to say that Winkenbach could not foresee how his simple idea would bloom into the industry it is today. What drove Winkenbach to create fantasy football was his love of the game, as well as other fantasy sports like baseball and golf. However, this 1994 description illuminates another motivation: The man who conceived the idea for fantasy football, and who deserves the most credit for the birth of the game, is the late Wilfred Bill Winkenbach, who was a limited partner with the Raiders (he owned a financial stake in the team, but had no say in its operation) [1]. Most notable about this description of Winkenbach is that he was a part owner of the Raiders, with financial investments in the team, but no control over the operation. Perhaps he wanted more operational control in the Raiders organization but did not have any real influence over the players. So Winkenbach did what he could. He took the statistics and made a game where he could play with them, compete with them, and conceivably, attempt to control them. Fantasy football, as it is currently played by millions every year, remains fraught with the same tension as its origin. <2> This essay is concerned with the way that fantasy football operates as a colonial rhetoric that positions NFL players as objects and urges gamers to become owners of these players and beneficiaries of their on-the-field production. By colonial, I mean the rhetorical construction and expression of the objectified other through colonial actions and discourse, which includes a desire to possess and control through symbolically violent means [2]. And while this relationship emerges out of white, masculine, and heterosexual domination, it transcends these demographics into a normalized, but sometimes hidden way of thinking and acting. Kent Ono argues, Since colonialism is generally not apparent, because it is repressed, colonialism persists through traces, markers, or symptoms, all of which register colonialisms continuing presence [3]. Fantasy football and other gaming byproducts of the NFL rearticulate the colonial logic already persistent in the National Football League (NFL). <3>From the practices of team ownership to the discourse surrounding the April draft for new players, black oppression is prevalent and sustained in the NFL. Although blacks are the majority of players, their marginal status keeps many of them off the sidelines or in the front office in positions of power [4]. Over two-thirds of the players in the NFL are black, as compared to less than one-fourth head coaches and zero owners [5]. However, it is not simply that blacks are left out of the owning and management rights. Black athletes are in a perpetual state of possession, whether it is by NFL owners or fans, and this relationship emerges from the United States colonial history with African-Americans. <4>The brutal practice of slavery subjugated the black body into an object as it became the physical property of white plantation owners. However, the public policy of ownership was not the only result of slavery. After all, whites did not seek to own blacks simply to strip them of their human rights. Rather, the ownership of blacks was the means by which whites cultivated black labor. As Claud Anderson notes, A slaves life was committed to producing wealth and comfort for white masters [6]. Thus, the black body became an important possession for whites because of its ability to increase economic growth. As white plantation owners possessed more black slaves, plantation labor production and financial growth increased. Essentially, black persons were reduced to a commodity to be bought, sold, and valued based upon their ability for labor. In fact, in the slavery marketplaces, this is exactly how plantation owners coded the slaves bodies. Walter Johnson claims, Gazing, touching, stripping, and analyzing aloud, the buyers read slaves bodies as if they were coded versions of their own imagined needs [7]. Therefore, slavery not only played a central role in creating the public, legal discourse of ownership that is so prevalent in the black-white racial tensions in the United States, but it also established the institution by which black bodies became an object of commodity and desire for whites. <5>Sporting spectacles have become an integral part of this institution, where black athletes have punished their bodies for not only personal glory, but also the demands of white owners, managers, and audiences. According to Elizabeth Alexander, Black bodies in pain for public consumption have been an American national spectacle for centuries [8]. Sports media also describe black bodies through a language that hearkens back to the colonial discourse of the 19th century. Ann DuCille argues that, professional sports repeats the language, though not the economic conditions of slavery: owners, playerssometimes called propertiesbuying, selling, trading [9]. This discourse is rampant in the NFL, one of the key institutions in the Old Plantation South of sports [10]. Thomas Oates argues that the NFL draft, in its obsessive and sexualized desire for black bodies, puts black players in the same owned position that was present before Emancipation. He further explains that the draft serves to reassert the white male power structure by positioning increasingly non-white athletic bodies as commodities and encouraging fans to imagine themselves as potential possessors of these bodies [11]. With the NFL hierarchy structured as it is, black athletes cannot avoid being owned or commodified, barring advancement for blacks in the NFL and maintaining it as a site where remnants of colonial ideology persist. <6>As a gaming byproduct of the NFL, fantasy football may utilize the same colonial logics and discourses present in the NFL. Oates argues that fantasy football, along with the NFL draft and the Madden NFL videogame franchise, is a form of vicarious management, or the ways that a mostly white NFL fan base is invited to use various forms of new media to control predominately black NFL players through a context of racialized androcentrism [12]. Oates contends that vicarious management invites audiences to identify with the institutional regimes of the NFL (and the authorities who conduct them) rather than with the athletes [13]. He goes on to add that athletes framed by this mode of fandom are positioned as property, often valuable, but ultimately disposable [14]. Fantasy football discourse even describes players using the language of the marketplace, referring to players as commodities, sleepers, busts, and lottery tickets. Furthermore, NFL players are often described as studs, workhorses, and bell cows, colonial metaphors that argue players are valuable for their labor and production. Thus, when I label fantasy football specifically as a colonial rhetoric, I am referring to a type of discourse that is designed by colonizing whites to distance the non-white subject as a colonial other for the purposes of objectification and commodification. Within a traditional system of colonization, this type of discourse functions to normalize these otherizing colonial logics, which allows the space for violent colonial practices, like slavery, to make sense to both the colonizer and colonized. I am certainly not declaring that the discourses or ideology of fantasy football result in slavery, but rather arguing that fantasy football operates in a colonial logic where the objectification, commodification and consumption of NFL players for the purposes of entertainment is normalized and makes sense to those who participate in the game. <7> Rather than study fantasy football as an articulation of multiple discourses and ideologies, I seek to understand it as what Ian Bogost would call a persuasive game [15]. To proceed in this way would enable examining fantasy football as a collection of procedures that ask fantasy owners to make choices about their own fantasy teams and NFL players. As a persuasive game, fantasy football is unique. Fantasy football does not attempt to create the same virtual experience as the Madden NFL franchise which, at its most basic level of game play, asks the audience to become the NFL player and control his actions on the field in simulated contests. Fantasy football also operates differently that other similar videogames like NFL Head Coach, because in this game, users are asked to simulate the role of the head coach specifically, making detailed decisions that NFL head coaches make during the off-season, preseason, and regular season games. While the gamer is the owner of the team, the players and statistics are artificially generated in these videogames. In fantasy football, on the other hand, participants are invited to become the owner of actual NFL players and follow the results of NFL contests, but have no control over what these players do on the field in real-time. Their only form of control comes directly through who they choose to own, field in their lineup, place on the bench or disown entirely. From this position of ownership, the fantasy football owners must actively assess NFL players based on their relative value to other players, making them a kind of commodity. This collection of decisions allows participants to experience the unique social power that predominately White, male owners of professional sports teams possess on a daily basis [16]. <8> In this work, I explore how the procedures of fantasy football, which restrict the relative choices available to fantasy football participants, argue that those who play fantasy football are owners and the people they play with, NFL players, exist solely as commodities. In playing fantasy football, participants see the personalized effect that the commodification of players has on their fantasy team through the processes of the game. As a result, gamers, like capitalists, seek to control and manage their commodities, which is most often the driving force for owners to play [17]. Even though owners recognize that the game is a fantasy, by looking at these procedural arguments through their remediated ontology, I argue that it is perhaps the mere illusion of control that reinvigorates the colonial desire. <9> Bogost claims that just as visual scholars argue that verbal or written rhetorics are unable to explain the unique expression of images (e.g., an image argues all at once), visual rhetoric is not fully equipped to explore the procedural and expressive nature of videogames [18]. Even digital rhetorics (i.e., email, blogs, web pages, etc.) do not fully account for how videogames make arguments through programmed processes. Thus, to demonstrate that games such as fantasy football are argumentative, it is necessary to expose how the procedures or the relative choices offered to the player of the game make arguments about the subject or object being acted upon with the game. <10> While Bogosts work focuses specifically on videogames, fantasy football is not exactly that. The game occurs predominately online and makes use of programming language that assists in its functional game play, but it takes on procedural qualities that are different than traditional videogames. Bogost contends, Despite my preference for videogames, I should stress that I intend the reader to see procedural rhetoric as a domain much broader than that of videogames, encompassing any mediumcomputational or notthat accomplishes its inscription via processes [19]. Hence, my focus here is not necessarily the procedures that are central to the way the game is programmed for online interactivity, but rather the primary practices, rules, and processes of the game that existed long before fantasy football was ever an online or programmed game. These core rules and steps primarily teach participants how to be owners and how to view players as commodities. As Bogost suggests, Procedural rhetorics do not necessarily demand sophisticated interactivity [20]. The procedures I will analyze are socially interactive practices, such as drafting and trading players to other league members, and online interactivity, such as choosing a lineup on a website. I will also consider how the procedures convert NFL players into statistical commodities by utilizing statistics and ranking players. In an attempt to succinctly explain the procedures of fantasy football, I will separate the game into three phases: draft preparation, the league draft, and season management. <11> The draft preparation stage includes rankings players against others in their respective positions, creating tiers or hierarchies within those rankings and doing practice mock drafts that test this evaluation process. This includes the conversion of NFL players into statistical representations, or forms that can be commodified and manipulated. In the drafting stage, fantasy owners take turns selecting NFL players in their individual fantasy leagues, attempting to capitalize on each players projected commodity value by not spending too high of a draft pick on him. Drafts come in many different arrangements and forms, but primarily rely on the assessment of value and choice. In the regular season stage, characterized by processes of management, fantasy owners make decisions that try to maintain and optimize the commodity value of their teams. These processes include choosing which players to start and which to bench, as well as the adding, dropping or trading of players. In order to bring these procedures to life, I draw from various sources: fantasy magazines, websites, broadcasts, blogs, and my own experience with playing the game. Finally, while I do not believe that I can extrapolate all the nuances of fantasy football procedures in this project, a cross-section from various media will effectively highlight the colonial spirit of the game. Procedural Arguments <12> Fantasy football, if considered as an assemblage of rhetorical procedures, makes some unique, yet troubling arguments about NFL players and the mediated relationship they share with fantasy owners. First, fantasy football argues that players are numerical objects. The computational design of fantasy football takes the very real actions of human beings and converts them into numerical representations, first as statistics, then as points. This process exemplifies what Oates and Meenakshi Gigi Durham call enumeration, or the practice of converting NFL players into numbers [21]. In fantasy football, enumeration creates a relationship between NFL players and fantasy gamers that solely values statistical production and, thus, commodifies players. <13> Before each fantasy season even begins, NFL players are evaluated, ranked and placed into hierarchies so that they may be judged on their relative worth to fantasy owners. These fantasy owners will then choose to own or not to own these commodified players in fantasy football drafts based on their perceived value. For example, KC Joyners Metricmania is based on comprehensive game-tape breakdown and reveals hidden truths. Joyner professes, These truths can give you a big edge at your draft table [22]. Joyner describes his Metricmania: In addition to the raw statistical intel, each positional section contains a few rules of thumb, designed to serve as numerical guideposts when walking the compendiums roads. They detail the threshold a player needs to be considered elite, what figures should be seen as acceptable minimums for backups and, most important, which metrics condemn a player to the draft-unworthy bin [23]. During the fantasy season, these NFL players will be continually evaluated for their worth within the game, which is contingent on the amount of statistics, or on-field production, generated by the NFL player. If these players do not produce enough to maintain their worth, then fantasy owners will disown these players through dismissal or trade. Gamers quickly learn that retaining a player for non-statistical reasons, such as fandom or emotional attachment, will not be rewarded in fantasy play. <14> Statistics, while not required to play a sport, have become an integral part of the sports industrial complex. While they may function differently depending on the sport, statistics are another informational layer for fans to understand and interact with the game. From a Marxist perspective, statistics are not central to producing the game but rather represent a commodity surplus, a byproduct of the production process. As the NFL and its processes grew more complex over time, the need for more elaborate statistics grew as well, which resulted in keeping track of nearly every facet of the game. Harry Braverman contends that this same process of keeping track of surplus and managing it marks the emergence of two particular industries in modern day capitalism, the financial industry and clerical workers, whose only function is the struggle over the allocation of the social surplus among the various sectors of the capitalist class and its dependents [24]. Braverman provides a more detailed description of these industries: Each step is detailed, recorded, and controlled from afar, and worked up into reports that offer a cross-sectional picture at a given moment, often on a daily basis, of the physical processes of production, maintenance, shipment, storage, etc. This work is attended to by armies of clerks, data-processing equipment, and an office management dedicated to its accomplishments [25]. Considering this description, I contend that fantasy football emerges out of this same function of capitalism. Not only did the NFL employ a type of clerical workforce to keep track of its growing body of statistics, but also another industry materialized to capitalize on them. <15> At its core, this industrys main purpose is to relay the commodity value of NFL players. Magazines and websites full of fantasy experts take statistical information from previous seasons in the NFL and convert it into useable fantasy data for gamers. Before the next season begins, these media outlets enumerate, dissect and commodify the players by translating their NFL potential into fantasy value. The players are then put into extensive rankings and hierarchies based on different common point systems. Beyond the print magazines, mainstream networks like ESPN and the NFL Network have already integrated the fantasy game with hourlong shows dedicated to only covering fantasy football. These networks, along with NBC and FOX even weave fantasy updates into their regular Sunday broadcasts, and their websites have expanded to offer fantasy advice along with NFL news and scores. For instance, NFL.coms Michael Fabiano produces a column each week called Start Em & Sit Em, which is the ultimate look at the weekly NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy team [26]. In this column, Fabiano provides details on questionable players, and barely mentions the weeks must starts. Fantasy football and its enumerative processes are not just an isolated, fringe sector of the media. Instead, the game has integrated itself within the mainstream as a way to capitalize on its popularity and potential for revenue. More critically speaking, it has made the enumerated identity of the player as ubiquitous as his human action in the NFL community and proliferated the colonial mindset that players are mostly controllable objects. <16> Another way to look at this relationship between the technology of fantasy football and human action is through the work of both Walter Benjamin and Friedrich Kittler. Benjamin argues in his essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, that the reproducibility of a piece of art removes the aura attached to the presence of the original piece. As art is constantly replicated, the aura of the original becomes lost [27]. Moreover, Kittler, in his work, Gramophone, Film, Typewriter, contends that ones handwriting was connected to his/her soul, as there was something unique and personal about individual styles of handwriting. However, with the invention of printing and the typewriter, people were no longer an integral part of their technologies, as communicating in print became sterile and standardized through these industrial machines [28]. <17> When considering the work of Benjamin and Kittler, I suggest that fantasy football, through its hypermediated, numerical representation, takes the aura away from the human action of NFL players, stripping the excitement of their individual plays, and converts them into a sterile, reproducible form: statistics. Furthermore, the technological apparatus of fantasy football, through a similar process, takes the soul out of an NFL player and removes his body from the game, allowing the fantasy owner to interact only with his enumerated production. Thus, all NFL players represented in fantasy football are not depicted by their unique physical bodies and distinct styles of play, but rather by the same digitized and enumerated form transmitted in black and white on the computer screen. In other words, fantasy football is programmed to convert players into these simplified numerical objects so that they may be more easily judged in their commodity form by fantasy gamers. Fantasy footballs essential design relies on this objectifying enumeration. However, playing fantasy football and engaging in the processes of management, gamers also become oriented as colonizing agents. <18> The second critical argument advanced by playing fantasy football is that those who play should think and act like owners, not like fans. While fantasy footballs enumeration begins the process of turning NFL players into objectified commodities, fantasy footballs gameplay experience reinforces this commodification from the moment the draft begins and continues throughout the season. So if the enumeration makes football players into objects, then actually playing fantasy football and engaging in the processes of managing a team asks individuals to take on the subjective position of owner of these objects. Playing the game, owners learn the importance that production has on winning and are invited to use control as a means to reach this success. Those who play fantasy football are asked to think like capitalists. Braverman argues that Like a rider who uses reins, bridle, spurs, carrot, whip, and training from birth to impose his will, the capitalist strives, through management, to control. And control is indeed the central concept of all management systems [29]. If fantasy football owners can understand the market logic of the fantasy game by doing research, staying focused on production and thus playing the game effectively, then fantasy football reinforces through its procedures that owners will increase their amount of control and predicted outcomes. <19> Thinking like an owner includes the starting, benching, trading, dropping, adding, and continual evaluation of players. Throughout the season, the fantasy owner must manage his or her lineup to ensure that the draft value of the player maintains or improves. This process consists of deciding who to start each week based on his projected future performance, which also entails weighing factors like the players game history and his matchup that week. Also, because some players decline and others emerge, a fantasy owner must always be willing to drop cold or add hot players or potentially trade these players with other owners based on want and need. Each week, fantasy owners must field a starting lineup based on his or her team of acquired players. Fantasy football owners only receive points for players they put in their starting lineup, so it is important to try and field the lineup that will maximize the point production for each week. Typically, at the start of the season, these decisions are easy because the owner simply starts the players they drafted the highest, or the players with great potential for production and value. However, as the season moves on, these decisions become more difficult because NFL players get injured, do not play certain weeks, underperform compared to reserves, or face tough opponents in a given week. Thus, it is the role of the fantasy owner to constantly decide who holds the highest value and is worth starting based on their ability to generate points. <20> This commodity logic becomes a kind of discourse between gamers in individual fantasy leagues. When proposing a trade, for instance, one owner might use the logic of the marketplace to convince the other. If one owner has a lot of running backs on his or her roster, but is missing quality production at wide receiver, then he or she may choose to attempt a trade with someone who is plentiful at wide receiver, but lacking at running back. These trades can become very beneficial for both owners because keeping valuable commodities on the bench at a particular position does not earn points each week. Here is an example of a trade proposal: I see that you have three No. 1 receivers but are starting LenDale White at running back. Well, good news: I have a player in Knowshon Moreno who can step in right away at RB2 and keep from giving away points at the positionpoints that could cost you a playoff spot in such a close division. So, heres what I propose: Knowshon Moreno and Eddie Royal for Calvin Johnson and LenDale White. Take a closer look because the trade will make both our lineups much better. Imagine getting Morenos 20 carries a week instead of Whites 10! And imagine what Moreno will do when he faces the Raiders in week 15! Look forward to hearing back from you [30]. In this trade scenario, the one player attempts to improve his or her own team value, while making a case for a fair exchange to get the deal done. By playing fantasy football, owners learn that these trades can greatly improve teams that are not generating enough production to win. <21> By inviting gamers to think like owners, fantasy football argues that players are not judged and evaluated for their human qualities, but solely for commodity value and production. And in playing the game, fantasy owners will typically abide by the procedures that support market logic over human qualities even if, for example, the player has a bad reputation or is well liked by NFL fans. For instance, a fantasy owner quickly learns that keeping a player in the starting lineup just because they have name value or play on the owners favorite team will quickly cause the fantasy owner to lose if that player does not produce points. ESPN Fantasy Football echoes, Reputations and names dont always equal huge numbers [31]. There are examples where owners add or maintain players on NFL rosters for their ability to draw fans into the stadium or by offering mentorship to younger players. In fantasy football, these qualities do not bring any value to the fantasy team because they do not produce statistics and, as a result, they maintain no commodity value. However, fantasy football participants learn by actually playing that there is no place in the game for well-respected players who do not produce; fantasy football procedures do not translate those qualities into production. As an article from ESPN Fantasy Football reminds us: Respect Your Seniors, Just Dont Draft Them [24]. In this article, the magazine discourages fantasy owners from drafting running backs over the age of 30, because while they may seem like attractive names that are loved by NFL fans, they will give you little fantasy production. Furthermore, it is better to select younger backs that might have less to do with the actual success of the NFL team, but create statistics that will ultimately help your fantasy team. While fantasy owners might glean such information by reading this article, they do not understand the way the game itself specifically argues such a claim without playing and seeing the results. Making these choices within the game helps the fantasy football participant to see not only the NFL players value within the language of the marketplace, but also the actual effects this has on ownership of the players. <22> Just as positive human qualities like leadership do not affect fantasy football, so called character issues do not generally impact the outcome of fantasy games, unless the NFL punishes the player and he is unable to play. Otherwise, the procedures do not allow for character to matter. For example, NFL quarterback Michael Vick went to prison in 2007 for owning a dog fighting operation. As a result, the NFL suspended him from the league. After Vick rejoined the NFL in 2009, fans hated him, despite his regained dominance. Drafting Vick in fantasy football became a dissonant issue for fantasy owners because he was a valuable commodity, but people did not agree with his personal actions. While NFL fans can choose to not root for Vick on the field due to personal concerns with his character, for fantasy owners, the choice fell on the logic of the marketplace. As fantasy expert Matthew Berry argued, Heres my argument as to why Vick is not only worth a first-round pick, and not only should be the No. 1 quarterback taken, but should be the No. 1 pick overall. Its actually very simple. If Michael Vick is as good as he was last season and stays healthy all year, you win your league. Period. And hes the only guy you can say that about [25]. Furthermore, Vick, despite all of the fan hatred and dissonance in drafting him, was on 21.7% of teams that made it to ESPN.com league championship games in 2010 and owned in almost 100% of all leagues [34]. Fantasy football owners wanted to possess Vicks production more than they wanted to own up to his character issues. However, the procedures of fantasy football, and their emphasis on commodity value, production rights, and ownership made the choice easy. Drafting Vick, despite his actions, fit with the logic of the marketplace naturalized by playing the game. The Illusion of Control <23> Fantasy football, through its enumerative processes, positions NFL players as objects and invites gamers to think like owners with colonial desires to control. These persuasive procedures are problematic because they open up spaces and practices for a colonial logic in popular discourse and normalize potentially harmful ways of thinking. The reality is that in fantasy football, owners have only a virtual and somewhat passive possession of the production of a given player. Evident in the name fantasy owner, fantasy football is the mere fantasy of owning a football team. The fantasy owner has no control over what an NFL player will do in any given week. Common logic might suggest that this ontology would mitigate the rhetorical processes of fantasy football. However, as I will argue here, it is precisely this procedural illusion that so rigorously remediates and rejuvenates the colonial relationship between subject and object. <24> Brian Sutton-Smith calls games like fantasy football a rhetoric of fate, where the gamer is left at the discrepancy of chance [35]. This process somewhat compares to the logic of the actual processes of the NFL. An NFL owner typically has the power to decide who the franchise selects in the draft and what players are expected to be on the field, but he cannot go onto the field and control the results of the game. He must direct his franchise from afar and bear the results of his decisions. From a procedural standpoint, fantasy football works much the same way. Fantasy owners select players in the draft, manage who is on the roster, and make the tough call each week concerning the starting lineup. However, they must also idly watch the outcome of those decisions as the real NFL games unfold each week. As many fantasy football owners will express, this is the most frustrating part of the game because the owner can no longer control the fate of his or her team. This is a rhetoric that written or visual forms cannot fully convey in the same way as playing the game of fantasy football does. It takes a fantasy owner playing the game, performing the procedures, to experience the true nature of the passivity. <25> Ownership in fantasy football is similar to ownership in the NFL, in that the owners must watch the outcome of games, but not actually play. However, one major difference between the two is that the great majority of fantasy owners have no real access to NFL players. In The League, a bawdy, but popular sitcom about a fantasy football league on FX, this scenario plays out in an episode from season two titled, The White Knuckler. Ruxin, a main character on the show, attempts to gain additional control over his team by getting access to Cleveland Browns kick return specialist Josh Cribbs. Ruxin, a Chicago lawyer, is sent by his law firm to hospital to help a childs dream come true through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. As it turns out, the childs dream is to meet his favorite NFL player, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs. Ruxin, however, convinces the child to meet Cribbs instead because he wants the opportunity to find out how many points he is going to score that week. In the end, when Ruxin meets Cribbs, Cribbs catches on to his scheme and ends up giving Ruxin none of the information he is looking for [36]. <26> This episode of The League represents the tension of fantasy owners who try to gain additional control over their team. More, it highlights how fantasy football argues that the only control owners really have is the decision of who to own and not to own, who to start and not to start. Just like the capitalistic marketplace, where people buy, sell and trade commodities, there is an illusion of control over what will happen to these commodities. In the end, however, it is all a prediction or a roll of the dice based upon research and trends in the market, which aims to reduce risk. Fantasy football relies on this same illusion of control. In the game, owners evaluate and select players, manage them throughout the season, and deal with the consequences of those actions, but there is no real control in the game itself besides perceiving how much players are worth and then choosing to own or disown them. Control is part of what attracts fans to fantasy football, but there is little control besides the notion of ownership. <27> Apart from the procedures, the first step in understanding the illusion of control is to return to Marxism to recognize that fantasy football is what Paul Willis might call a cultural commodity. Cultural commodities, while just as fetishized as other commodity forms, bear their sense of usefulness unlike most general commodities [37]. The fetishized nature of a general form commodity, such as a luxury automobile, conceals the social relations of its production but still bears its usefulness through its fetishism. These commodities could maintain a kind of usevalue despite their fetishized existence. Whether its a Ford or a Bentley, I can still drive it to work. Cultural commodities rely on fetishization, as it is their shared popularity that demonstrates their use. Despite being a product, which includes both labor and capital, a cultural commodity could not be de-fetishized. To do so would give no basis for its existence. However, cultural commodities must communicate use-value to their consumers to maintain a kind of consumptive credibility, placing them in a state of constant contradiction [38]. Willis gives the example of commercialized music. On one hand, commercial music is a fetishized product, because consumers buy it without having any connection to the production of the music. On the other hand, the music itself still requires a sense of community and shared taste, communicated across multiple people, to value it and create a market for its need. We even call such a thing pop music because its creation demands mass appeal, but we often criticize it for having little artistic value. The result of this contradiction is not a useful commodity, but rather a commodity form where usefulness and fetishism [are] so unifyingly opposed [39]. Thus, the cultural commodity represents a constant contradiction, or a lack of stability in the commodity form, where it requires usefulness and community to exist, while simultaneously overtly admitting its own fetishized nature. <28> How does fantasy football operate as a cultural commodity? Fantasy football expresses its usefulness by building a broader community around the NFL and increasing NFL viewership and revenue [40]. This is important because not everyone can be a part of the immediate production process of the NFL by being at the game, as even the largest NFL stadium, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, holds around 82,000 people at full capacity. Also, considering the high ticket prices to enter these stadiums on game day as well as the difficulty in getting tickets, fantasy football allows access to some portion of the NFL for any fan. Most popular hosting sites are free and open to anyone willing to join. The sheer fact that fantasy football has a market of people willing to participate in its activities demonstrates its usefulness as a cultural commodity, because it has no other usefulness besides its appeal to that community and the communication surrounding it. <29> At the same time that fantasy football communicates its usefulness as a cultural commodity, it also acknowledges its own fetishized existence. The game is not called football, but rather fantasy football because it admits its own status as a cultural byproduct of the NFL. The word fantasy even bears a childish quality, one far-fetched and imaginary. So a fantasy football owner might have some access to the NFL within the game, but it is clearly not the same as being present at an NFL game or being an NFL owner. Also, what do fantasy football owners own besides the fantasized rights over an NFL players production? Fantasy football participants own some stake in the mediated production of NFL players, but they share that ownership with millions of other people. Fantasy footballs structure and gameplay clearly differentiate it from the NFL. Thus, as a cultural commodity, fantasy football operates discursively as a double gesture where it demonstrates its usefulness through its connection to the NFL and its fans, but highlights its fetishization by admitting its fantasy. <30> Fantasy football, through its procedural forms, operates in the contradiction of a cultural commodity, which adds to its illusion and instability as a rhetoric. The game also showcases this contradiction by using particular colonial procedures that rearticulate the mediated relationships between subject and object. In order to see how the media plays a unique role in resituating this relationship, I turn to Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusins double logic of remediation, which argues that our culture wants to both multiply its media and to erase all traces of mediation [41]. Remediation itself is the representation of one medium into another [42], which always operates under the cultural assumptions about immediacy and hypermediacy [43]. Immediacy refers to the attempted transparency of a medium, where the user becomes less aware of the technology, like three-dimensional graphics and virtual reality simulators. Hypermediacy, in contrast, is the logic in which technology admits its own presence and emphasizes process over perception, like the windowed style of the World Wide Web. <31> Fantasy football, as a remediated technology, follows a hypermediated logic in its presentation but falls into an immediacy when observing its effects. Fantasy football owners play the game on the Internet, in a windowed style, where the primary representation and game play comes through the interactivity between owners and statistics. There are no three-dimensional graphics and there is hardly anything one might call a traditional image in the game. Unlike Madden NFL, the representation of NFL players does not come in the form of increasingly realistic graphics and controls that grow closer and closer to a players human likeness and movement. Rather, fantasy football does not try to be anything more than a game of numbers in its procedures and technological presentation, focusing on process over perception. However, while fantasy football admits its own hypermediacy, those who play the game are still seemingly duped by its mediated game play. The procedures of the game ask fantasy owners to imagine themselves as real owners of NFL players. Simultaneously, there is a sort of recognition that fantasy football owners have no control, because they have no access or real impact on the existence of NFL players; thus, it is an illusion. So in terms of being a cultural commodity in the logic of remediation, fantasy football is always in contradiction, producing a double gesture. <32> Perhaps one of the reasons for fantasy footballs perpetual contradiction resides in the way that the game is not an isolated game space, where all the procedures of the game can be represented within its programming language. Fantasy footballs procedures seems drastically different than often-studied videogames like Grand Theft Auto [44]. In those videogames, the games designers confined all the relative choices for the gamer within the programming. The gameplay occurs entirely in an enclosed, finite virtual space and accounts for its possibility space or the myriad configurations the player might construct to see the ways the processes inscribed in the system work [45]. Also, players can explore the space of the game in isolation, being the only subject in their virtual world. The user can control any active agent within the game, while the programming does the rest of the work. <33> The possibility space of fantasy football, in contrast, utilizes the actions of real people in real spaces to become the content. Also, because its game play involves the input of other participants to play (it does not occur in a virtual vacuum), it more closely resembles the also often-studied massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft, whose procedurality must also account for the actions of others in game play [46]. To play these types of games alone would be to not play them at all. Therefore, because fantasy football requires the interaction of multiple people to perform its procedures and has content based in the actions of real players, its procedural rhetoric is far more unpredictable than the rhetoric of virtual videogames. This dynamic alters the limits of a given games possibility space, thus changing the range of rhetoric that one may encounter, the consistency and frequency of that rhetoric, and who plays a part in the construction of such rhetoric. Games are reducible to their programs, but humans are not. In this way, fantasy football, in its numerical, hypermediated form, represents a modernist tension to use technology and dictate that which it cannot (e.g., human behavior on a football field) and subsequently gives the illusion of control. <34> Similarly, because fantasy football is a simulated game, but so intertwined with actual people and real events, it would also follow that this type of gaming is even stronger proof of McKenzie Warks merger between real space and gamespace. When we play a videogame portraying a character, even if that character is a digitized representation of a real person, we are controlling actions that occur only in imaginary spaces. Even in documentary games like 911 Survivor or JFK Reloaded, our actions occur in a temporal and historical vacuum [47]. But in fantasy football, owners do not play with fictional characters. They instead play with the hypermediated and numerical identities of actual people. What exactly is gamespace, and what is real space in fantasy football? What is fantasy, and what is reality? Because it incorporates the actions of humans and exists within the social relations of communities of people, the game and its procedural limits resist definition and full representation. At the very least, it rhetorically blurs the line of procedure, play and social relations. <35> It is tempting to stop there and imply that, on a rhetorical level, fantasy football creates this separation between NFL players and fantasy owner, but my suspicion is that the relationship is not that simple. Instead, I suggest that by looking again through remediation, fantasy football discourse resituates the existing relations between NFL players and their fans. While on a rhetorical level fantasy football takes the aura away from the human action of NFL players through its procedural rhetorics, it simultaneously shifts and rejuvenates the mediated bond between those same players and fans through the context of ownership, making fans more interested in players in colonial ways than ever before. <36> Remediation plays out in two particular behaviors. First, as suggested by the illusion of ownership, fantasy football owners desperately attempt to control fantasy football outcomes and reduce risk within their matchups. Sometimes, as shown earlier through The League, this even includes trying to access the real NFL player to either get some information about or have influence over the players anticipated performance in the game. While The League is fictional, as Mark St. Amant shares, this behavior is very real. He writes, Back in the old days of Broadway Joe and Dandy Don Meredith, pro football players were typically approached by beautiful women; now, unfortunately for them, its mostly [fantasy football]obsessed men [48]. St. Amant focuses his discussion around Chicago Bears long snapper Patrick Mannelly, who, as a player with no fantasy value, would constantly get questioned about the production of his fellow teammates owned by fantasy football participants. In the book, Mannelly recalls an incident when a fan at training camp shouted to teammate Anthony Thomas, I drafted you this year, A-Train, gimme some points, baby! Thomas reluctantly replied, Ill try, man, Ill try [49]. Also, former running back Fred Taylor adds that he would constantly get bombarded with fantasy owners telling him to play good for them because they have Taylor in their starting lineups; Taylor admits that he grows tired of hearing it [50]. As these two examples illustrate, while the fan pursues a more personal connection with the player, the player does not feel any more connected to the fan. This suggests that even as fantasy football owners seek NFL players for more control, they still do not have the sort of access they desire nor can they attain it. <37> The second behavior that demonstrates how fantasy football resituates and rejuvenates relations between NFL players and fans is owners altered rooting interests. Typically, fantasy owners already watched the NFL before playing fantasy football. Yet, this relationship with the sport changes as the gameplay invites personal investment in more than just one team. Owners now have a vested interest in individual players on a variety of teams, changing how many games they watch per week. As Mannelly explains, Fantasy football is probably the best thing going for our sport It makes someone an instant Falcons fan or Chargers fan if they have, say, Tomlinson or Vick on their team and makes them want to watch more than just their home teams games. It increases viewership, Internet traffic, magazine and newspaper coverage. Its only going to help the sport out in the long run. Bottom line, fans are the number one thing in the NFL, and fantasy football is probably the biggest fan interaction we have [51] As fans of the NFL engage in fantasy football, they also become more interested in particular players and, as a result, watch more games. Fantasy owners might even wear jerseys of their favorite fantasy players to their league draft. Sometimes these rooting interests cause a conflict of interest when an owners fantasy quarterback is playing against his or her favorite NFL team. Does he or she root for the individual player to produce, but also root for his or her NFL team to win? This scenario gets even more complicated if the opposing owner has a player on the fantasy owners favorite NFL team. Root for the fantasy player? Root for the NFL team? Root against the opponents player, but still root for the NFL team as a whole? In my experience, the answer to these questions usually relies on the logic of the marketplace and production: Root for all the players to score as many points as possible so that the NFL team still has a chance to win, while rooting for the fantasy owned player to score the most points individually. Regardless of the fantasy owners rooting interests, playing fantasy football increases the amount of interest in the entire NFL and its players. <38> To return to my original point, these two relationships indicate fantasy footballs remediation and its role as a colonial rhetoric. By attending games live and watching NFL broadcasts, fans already had mediated relationships with NFL players before fantasy football. However, fantasy football also remediates this relationship. While the specific rhetoric of fantasy football operates to remove the aura from the NFL players human action, on a more cultural level, fantasy football also shifts and energizes the bond between NFL players and fantasy owners in both positive and negative ways. At the same time, while fantasy football acknowledges its own hypermediacy in its technological format, it also has effects that are characteristic of immediacy as participants get lost in the fantasy of being an NFL owner. Fantasy football is a cultural commodity that communicates its usefulness to its fans, as it is the fans that establish this community of taste around it. However, the game is also a victim of its own fetishism because it is fantasy football. Consequently, fantasy football is always making a double rhetorical gesture, caught up in the contradiction of its own existence. Within this contradiction, fantasy football firmly uses control as an illusory device and rearticulates a colonial bond between subject and object. In playing fantasy football and experiencing their perceived lack of control, gamers actually desire more control and the fantasy becomes a backdrop for exercising colonial desire. In this way, fantasy football functions as an active repository of colonial action, surfacing most prominently and teaching most effectively, in the way people play it. Notes [1] Esser, Luke. The Birth of Fantasy Football. Fantasy Football Index, https://www.fantasyindex.com/resources/the-birth-of-fantasy-football. Accessed 10 Aug. 2016. [2] hooks, bell. Black Looks: Race and Representation. South End Press, 1992, p. 25. [3] Ono, Kent. Introduction. Contemporary Media Culture and Remnants of a Colonial Past. Peter Lang, 2009, p. 12. [4] Smith, Earl. Race, Sport, and the American Dream. Carolina Academic Press, 2009, p. 42. [5] Oriard, Michael. Brand NFL: Making and Selling Americas Favorite Sport. University of North Carolina Press, 2007, p. 210. [6] Anderson, Claud. Black Labor, White Wealth. PowerNomics, 1994, p. 11. [7] Johnson, Walter. Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market. Harvard University Press, 2000, p. 149. [8] Alexander, Elizabeth. Can you be BLACK and look at this?: Reading the Rodney King Video(s). Public Culture, vol. 7, 1994, p. 78. [9] Oates, Thomas P. The Erotic Gaze in the NFL Draft. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, vol. 4, no. 1, 2007, p. 89. [10] Rhoden, William C. Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete. Broadway, 2007, p. 142. [11] Oates, The Erotic Gaze in the NFL Draft, p. 88. [12] Oates, Thomas Patrick. New Media and the Repackaging of NFL Fandom. Sociology of Sport Journal, vol. 26, no. 1, 2009, p. 33. [13] Ibid., p. 32. [14] Ibid. [15] Bogost, Ian. Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Video Games. MIT Press, 2007, p. 3. [16] Davis, Nickolas W., and Margaret Carlisle Duncan. Sports Knowledge is Power: Reinforcing Masculine Privilege Through Fantasy Sport League Participation. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, vol. 30, no. 3, 2006, p. 260. [17] Farquhar, Lee K., and Robert Meeds. Types of Fantasy Sports Users and Their Motivations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 12, no. 4, 2007, p. 1224. [18] Bogost, Persuasive Games, p. 29. [19] Ibid., p. 46. [20] Ibid., p. 42. [21] Oates, Thomas P., and Meenakshi Gigi Durham. The Mismeasure of Masculinity: The Male Body, Race and Power in the Enumerative Discourse of the NFL Draft. Patterns of Prejudice, vol. 38, no. 3, 2004, p. 302. [22] Joyner, K.C. Metricmania. ESPN Fantasy Football, Jun. 2010, p. 136. [23] Ibid. [24] Braverman, Harry. Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century. Monthly Review Press, 1998, p. 177. [25] Ibid., p. 170. [26] Fabiano, Michael. Start Em & Sit Em Week 17: Runningbacks. NFL.com, 30 Dec. 2015, www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000611977/article/start-em-sit-em-week-17-running-backs. Accessed 10 Aug. 2016. [27] Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media. Michael W. Jennings, Brigid Doherty, and Thomas Y. Levin, editors. Belknap Press, 2008, p. 19. [28] Kittler, Freidrich. Gramophone, Film, Typewriter. Stanford University Press, 1999, p. 14. [29] Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capital, p. 47. [30] Burton, Scott. Play Diabolical Head Games to Get What You Want. ESPN Fantasy Football 2010, p. 16. [31] McCormick, Jim. Individual Defensive Players. ESPN Fantasy Football 2010, p. 97. [32] Cockcroft, Tristan. Respect Your Seniors. Just Dont Draft Them. ESPN Fantasy Football 2010, p. 14. [33] Berry, Matthew. My Draft Day Manifesto. ESPN.com, 3 Aug 2011, www.espn.com/fantasy/football/ffl/story?page=NFLDK2K11_TMRManifesto. Accessed 9 Aug. 2016. [34] Ibid. [35] Sutton-Smith, Brian. The Ambiguity of Play. Harvard University Press, 2001, p. 53. [36] The White Knuckler. The League, created by Jeff Schaffer, Jackie Marcus Schaffer and Jeff Schaffer, performance by Nick Kroll, season 2, episode 3, Fox studios, 2011. [37] Willis, Paul. The Ethnographic Imagination. Blackwell, 2000, p. 55. [38] Ibid., p. 56. [39] Ibid., p. 58. [40] Yost, Mark. Tailgating, Sacks, and Salary Caps: How the NFL Became the Most Successful Sports League in History. Kaplan Publications, 2006, p. 102. [41] Bolter, Jay David and Richard Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. MIT Press, 1999, p. 5. [42] Ibid., p. 45. [43] Ibid., p. 21. [44] Bogost, Persuasive Games, p. 43; Wark, McKenzie. Gamer Theory. Harvard University Press, 2007. p. 019. [45] Bogost, Persuasive Games, pp. 42-43. [46] Galloway, Alexander R. Warcraft and Utopia. CTheory.net, 1000 Days of Theory, td033, 2006, ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=507. Accessed 10 Aug. 2016. [47] Raessens, Joost. Reality Play: Documentary Computer Games Beyond Fact or Fiction. Popular Communication, vol. 4, no. 3, 2006, p. 215. [48] St. Amant, Mark. Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie. Scribner, 2005, p. 180. [49] Ibid. [50] Ibid., p. 181. [51] Ibid., p. 182.  ...