Let's not play: Interpassivity as resistance in 'Let's Play' videos

摘要

This article examines contemporary practices of 'idling' (playing 'idle games') and 'let's playing' (watching 'Let's Play' [LP] videos of performed gameplay) as forms of power and resistance in the attention economy. Throughthe prism of interpassivity, a theory developed by Robert Pfaller and Slavoj iek, it establishes idling as relegating certain enjoyment from gameplay to the machine, while reproducing the anxieties associated with digital work as a whole. LPs, on the other hand, position theviewer as a critical analyst rather than a hands-on player. This vicarious experience of delegating play to others can allow avoidance and disengagement, which in turn may allow for a critical examination of the system as whole. As I will argue in this article, such interpassive practicescan thus be seen as forms of resistance enabling users to step outside the controlling mechanism of digital media and the associated cybernetic feedback loops.