Mid-term Exam Pop Culture

Semester 7 2021/2022
Nicholas Valentino Handoko – A11180011

Hit the Power Button: An Analysis of the Similarities in

Identity Performance within Different Contexts

Do you remember your first moment of gaining consciousness? I was four when it
happened. There, I stood, eyes closed, where my parents’ motorcycles would normally be
parked. After opening my eyes for what felt like the first time, I heard vibrant sounds coming out
from the bedroom. I peeked in and saw my parents gleefully playing Puzzle Bubble on the
original PlayStation together. Gaming has been woven into my identity ever since the first few
seconds of gaining my conscious self. It is a pastime handed down by my parents—a hobby and
a luxury my father could not enjoy in 20th century Indonesia. I act upon this identity in my daily
life, both digitally and otherwise in a similar manner, attempting to solidify it within my social
group.

To start with, why would one choose to identify as a gamer? After all, video games, with
its ability to simulate actions which can be considered gruesome and immoral in real life, have
been linked to violence (O’Brien & Szeman, 2018). Even worse, as with the case of a non-digital
role-playing fantasy game called Dungeons & Dragons, the antagonization of games involves
linking them with occultism and demon worshipping (Haberman, 2016). It is true that while, in
the past, media often represented games with criminality, more recently have games been put in
a good light. Twitch streaming, starting a YouTube channel, or even delving into the world of
esports have convinced people that one can make a living out of gaming. Moreover, it is not just
a matter of profitability. In conjunction to it, geek culture is also being captured to appear
appealing. It connotes wittiness among various things. This is culture industry at play, or as
Nicholas Garnham put it, “institutions in our society which employ the characteristic modes of
production and organization of industrial corporations to produce and disseminate symbols in the
form of cultural goods and services, generally, though not exclusively, as commodities”
(Garnham, 1987). In the non-digital world, my belief in its legitimacy is also solidified by the
structure of authority’s approval. More concretely, I am speaking of Petra Christian University’s
adoption of esports UKM and the advent of Indonesia Esports League. For these reasons, I do
not shy away from identifying as a gamer.

Furthermore, society has ascribed praiseworthy yet illogical values to gaming. An

example of this commodity fetishism, with games being the commodity and playing them being
the cultural practice, can be seen in the attribution of intellect and planning ability growth to
chess. Although chess does require planning and the capability to notice every option its players
have, society has come to connect those skills with real life management. Perhaps unconsciously
or otherwise, I have taken this phenomenon to my advantage, as proven by the numerous times I
represented my class or faculty by competing in chess competitions in high school and university
(and losing every time, I might add). Continuing the theme of public display of identity, I have
also in a number of occasion played the aforementioned pen-and-paper game, Dungeons &
Dragons, in a few restaurants over a meal, a board game shop, and the old ILC. The game, which
is more popular in the West, saw us role-playing in English, making witty puns, and using
intricate jargons. This potentially affects people’s perception of its players’ assimilation of
Western cultures and its appealing connotative meanings. For example, from an economic
standpoint, westerners are generally more well-to-do. Culturally, they are more liberal and free.

Onto a more digital context, I form and perform my identity by engaging in related
platforms. This includes using the ever popular Discord and Steam. The former is a group
chatting platform which was initially made for gamers to be able to use voice to communicate in
real time, allowing them to coordinate in team games among other uses. Furthermore, friends in
Discord can see what others are doing based on their automated status message. This means my
friends are always notified whenever I play games and for how long. Next, the use of Steam is
also paramount in forming my digital identity. It is a gaming portal, which distributes games
digitally. Moreover, it also has a friend function, letting them know what games you own,
recently purchased, reviewed, put in your wishlist, and played. However, the move to digital
game distribution has also affected my spending. While in the past I used to rent games with my
father, now I find myself buying a new game every few months or so, most often during seasonal
sales. Though the rate in which I make my purchase might be one variable in determining the
adoption of a consumeristic lifestyle, the reason (or the lack thereof) for making those purchases
also matter. However sad it is to admit this, I have at times bought games for the sake of
spending money. I believed that by doing so, I was rewarding myself for my hard-earned cash
from having a part-time job on top of learning in university and being a member of an
organization. However, it resulted in game purchases with very brief “shelf life” like Wargroove,
which I only played for 50 hours despite costing almost a hundred thousand Rupiah. Meanwhile
the free Dota 2 has been played for over 3,500 hours since January 2015. This proves the
“capacity of the commercial media to lure audiences into habits of unthinking consumerism”
(O’Brien & Szeman, 2018, p. 18).

In conclusion, I form my identity as a gamer through my actions in both the digital and
non-digital context with no differences. The culture industry has made gaming alongside geek
culture appealing, resulting in my bravery to identify as one. Furthermore, commodity fetishism
sees people of my society attributing positive yet illogical value to playing games that I play such
as chess. The connotative meaning that Dungeons & Dragons brings also caused me to display
my hobby publicly. Moreover, the use of Discord and Steam achieves a similar purpose,
although the latter prompted a consumeristic lifestyle.

References

Garnham, N. (1987). Concepts of culture: Public policy and the Cultural Industries. Cultural
Studies, 1(1), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502388700490021

Haberman, C. (2016, April 17). When dungeons & dragons set off a 'moral panic'. The New
York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2021, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/18/us/when-dungeons-dragons-set-off-a-moral-
panic.html.

O'Brien, S., & Szeman, I. (2018). Popular culture: A user's guide (4th ed.). Nelson College
Indigenous.