Book Review: The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games
Document Type
Book Review
Publication Date
9-26-2018
Publication Title
First Person Scholar
Abstract
Reviewing The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games presented a bit of a meta problem for me. Once I finished the introduction, a thought popped into my head and refused to leave. I had been asked to evaluate on its merits, including the skill of the author, a book that is about the toxicity of games that “valorize skill and technique” (back cover copy). One of the major points of the book is that meritocracy is a flawed concept. Identifying meritocracy as a system in which skill is measured and outcomes tracked, with a mixture of talent and hard work rewarded, the author states that “meritocracy isolates, individualizes, and strips out context” (13).
Keywords
Christopher A. Paul; David Schwartz; Fan culture; Fan studies; Gaming culture; Meritocracy; Toxicity
Disciplines
Game Design | Interdisciplinary Arts and Media | Social Psychology and Interaction
Language
English
Repository Citation
Schwartz, D.
(2018).
Book Review: The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games.
First Person Scholar
COinS