I write on LARP in popular Media relatively frequently, so I’m always excited to get other perspectives. Inspired by recent conversations on facebook and elsewhere, Anthony was inspired to write this essay on the use of LARP in popular media. As a media-positive person, I think this is really provocative. I’m curious to hear people’s responses, as well as possible solutions to this problem.
Why LARP Should Not Be Portrayed in Film and Television
by Anthony Reed
Recently, Zoe made a post on her facebook page about a clip from the IFC show Portlandia; the clip was about some steampunks in a hotel, and the larger conversation spoke to the representation of LARP in media. Related to this, the Portlandia clip really bugged me, and I love Portlandia (Seth Meyers is fantastic). Within the facebook threat, people were springing to defend the clip as being what Portlandia “does”: Carrie and Fred, acting like idiots while existing inside a subculture (this time steampunk RPers), is the whole point. I understand that argument and would mostly agree, except it wasn’t Carrie and Fred being idiots that got me about this skit. It was a discussion they have with an old woman outside of the elevator. I couldn’t nail down specifically what bugged me about it, but I knew that was the scene that was sticking in my craw.
Then, I listened to the most recent episode of LARPCast. (I should add that I am LARPcast’s biggest fan, and I will fight anyone who tries to say otherwise). They were speaking with Kristin Brumley about her Kickstarter project Basic Adventuring 101. When Kristin started talking about her project I was really excited. This fit in perfectly with what I had been contemplating earlier! A filmed version of LARP, by LARPers, portraying the magic of LARP. Unfortunately, it was only about 15 minutes in that all of that hope drained out of me: in describing her project, she described what I think might be the biggest trap regarding LARP related media.
Kristin described the show as following two different perspectives: the first perspective involved the LARP “from the eyes of the LARPer.” In this fantastical perspective, the LARPers throw around magic blasts, stand in shining armor, and fight full-sized dragons. The second perspective, in the show, represents LARP as it “really is”: foam swords, bird seed wrapped in cloth, and people in costumes portraying monsters. This feels, to me, like the epitome of the misconception portrayed in the media. That LARPers, in character, somehow see the world differently-- that they create a reality and sink into it. This is the characterization that is offensive to me. This is the patronizing tone the media takes with us, the LARP community. The joke is that the LARPer can’t differentiate between real life and the game like normal people can.
To delve into my own LARP experience a bit... maybe it’s me, and maybe I’m not getting “into it” enough, but this fantasy-as-experienced-reality has not been my experience. When I LARP, I don’t see a charge of orcs coming over the hill, arrows and fireballs slinging over head, as I close the wounds of my friends with healing magic. I see my friends charging down the hill, in costumes and make-up, while packets of bird seed fly over head, and I touch-heal my other friends, and shout things at them while they do math in their heads... I just pretend it’s the other thing. That’s the point. Suspension of disbelief is not the same as altering my perception. Yet, when LARP is portrayed in films and television, it is portrayed as something people are so buried in they can’t find their way out. Often times, popular representations of LARP feel like instances wherein people who “don’t get it” create a story about a type of person who doesn’t exist. Most times, despite best intentions, the whole thing just turns into poking fun.
And this leads me to a second question? In the “offending” pieces, do all of these involved writers/directors/actors really not get it? I thought on this for a bit-- to be fair, there are a lot of “geeksploitation” films made, presumably, by geeks and for geeks. Are the self-identified geeks really that removed from their subject material? The more I think about this, the more I find that hard to believe. I came to this realization-- that the writers/directors/actors do understand their material-- after I saw the film Unicorn City. As a film, Unicorn City didn’t “get it.” However, it was clearly made by people who seemed like they should have. The film is sprinkled with moments of brilliance that speaks to people who understand the mechanics and subtleties of LARPing communities. However, the film fell into the pattern of portraying LARPers as disconnected dreamers. The makers of the film clearly understood LARP, so why did their film still fall into these tropes of people who, taking fantasy too seriously, are unable to connect to the world around them? Well, maybe it didn’t.
Films and television ask us to suspend our disbelief to some degree. Some more than others to be sure: for instance, something silly like 30 Rock is going to ask more of us than something serious like West Wing. But I am sure of the millions of people that went and saw The Hobbit, a vast majority of them were able to enjoy the film without believing there were actually orcs running around. LARP clearly asks the same from us, and on a pretty large scale; maybe larger than any movie. So, for me, maybe the problem, in translation from LARP to popular media, arises when the film asks us to suspend our disbelief a little, while we watch people on screen suspend their disbelief a lot. That suspension of disbelief is a tough thing to convey, so instead it comes across as an acceptance of a perception. In this regard maybe Unicorn City nails it, despite its tired tropes of nerdy guys who don’t understand girls, and fat guys who can’t hold down a job (among others).
Maybe, in that regard, the best representation of LARP is actually Role Models. Within Role Models, we watch characters start with minimal commitment to the game world, and work their way in over time. Maybe this is a fairer representation of how LARP works. (Then again, the film still has Ken Jeong playing exactly the kind of character that is, in my opinion, patronising. Though, I have long suggested the scene where Paul Rudd kills the king’s assistant, and he thanks him and the guy tells him to come back soon, is just about the best media representation of LARP I have ever seen.)
Even when I consider these films, and their relative advantages and disadvantages, I still have a time reconciling my reactions. I think this has to do with LARP as a performance. Bottom line: LARP is a story-telling medium above all else-- in that way, it’s just like film. However, the specific mechanics of LARP-- the many and varied things that make LARP, in my opinion, awesome-- just don’t translate well to film. For instance, it wouldn’t be terribly interesting to watch a movie where a guy is reading a book for two and a half hours; but LARP, as a larger narrative, requires that length of time (and, in many cases, much more time). Maybe filming the medium of LARP just doesn’t translate well.
Admittedly, there are plenty of films that are able to use books as an interesting framing for a story-- and that might be possible with LARP too, but I imagine it would have to be handled very delicately. So far, I haven’t seen anything that even comes close to doing the medium justice. Part of the power of LARP is that the stories that are told are there for those who experience them, and can only live on in memory. Maybe that’s for the best. (And, to be clear, the continued attempts to “film LARP,” no matter the intention, only seem to bury the medium further in an embarrassing PR nightmare.
Until they can figure out a way to do it right, or LARP, and the various (and very different) communities therein, becomes a much more understood sub-culture, maybe we, collectively, can just put LARP-in-media on the back burner.
***
Related Links:
LARPcast Episode 41
Kristin Brumley's Kickstarter for Basic Adventuring 101
(As an editor's note, I think Anthony brings up some really relevant points. I also think Kristin Brumley's project is really cool-- so please check it out, and make your own decisions. -Z)
Yes. Larp is not a spectator sport. It always looks stupid, or silly, or sad, when viewed by non-participants. This is because it requires interaction and at least some immersion, otherwise the entire point is missed.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the only way to make a larp look cool in a video is to alter it so it looks like a film... otherwise the appeal is lost in the translation.
I agree. I've had this conversation with friends before. Friends will say, "I want to see what LARP looks like!" And I say, "it doesn't really 'look' like much-- but it feels like something. If you want to feel that something, you need to get involved in a LARP." I have no problem with participant-observation, but participant needs to be emphasized.
DeleteAnd, to be honest, I think there's some inertia in the indie industry right now: directors and writers want to be "the first" people that capture LARP. While that's a natural progression, I also think it's really limiting to participants and LARP-as-performance-art.
I agree that LARP does not translate well to film. Stuff looks a lot goofier than it feels (the most frustrating thing about trying to counteract the Lightning Bolt video is that it's real.) LARPs lack elements that make most filmed stuff look slick, like choreography and musical scores, So I sympathize with the argument that it's hard to give an audience an actual feel for what LARP is like for LARPers.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I still think that there are various legitimate complaints about most portrayal of LARP in the media. Monster Camp was particularly egregious- they chose to focus on players who provided sensationalist quotes like the LARP was more important than their real life or whatever. Low budget documentaries get a pass for not including the most flattering shots and overlaying music, but there's no reason not to include non-diagetic music to make things look a little more slick and less awkward. This is one of the reasons I liked the portrayal of Dagorhir in Wreckreation Nation.
I went to school for film, and been working in production ever since. Every once in a while, the topic or idea comes up to make a film about LARPing. I always shot it down. Just knowing that something would be lost in translation.
ReplyDeleteHaving seen a few of the movies that have been made, I'm very glad I made that decision.
I think the big challenge is that LARPing is a unique combination of theater and sport. Film has established methods of shooting both, neither of which really work well for LARP. Mainly because of the costuming and location. Fixing that would be an important first step, which requires money. And even then, we're still using foam weapons...
Roleplaying and fantastical monsters. There's a world of difference between a costume that looks good at a LARP and looks good on film. Filmgoers are used to either Henson muppets or CGI dragons. A pretty leather mask is not worth a $10 ticket to most folks. ;)
Putting aside the budget constraints for a minute. Imagine shooting a field battle like a football game. The main difference is, there's no central object (like the football) to follow around. You miss all the details of individual efforts, can't see good strikes and combos. Having seen a SCA field battle, that's the only way to shoot it, and it looks impressive... for a few minutes. Also, fantasy movies have gotten us used to close ups, shaky cam, and dramatic individual conflicts. Imagine if you only watched the Lord of the Rings battles without close ups of the main characters.
The best LARP movie I've seen so far was The Wild Hunt. While most people hate the movie for the content (real life rape and murder happens at the LARP), the scenery, sets, and cinematography were very well done.
Second favorite so far was Role Models. Sure, it's a silly rom com. They had a budget of some size, but still showed LARPing for what it usually is: a bunch of folks in a park. The main reason that I think it worked is because I saw it in the theater with LARP friends. For the first half of the movie, we were groaning and hiding our faces, while some jocks were laughing and making jokes. I was wondering how badly this was making LARPing look. Somewhere in the middle, our positions switched, we started laughing and cheering, while the jocks looked at us with confusion.
Anyway... long response. That's what you get for combining my two favorite topics. ;)