h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A583481

found the text for this in a forum posting in the workshop - the author is long gone, but I think the text might make a good entry, never the less. Has anyone else played "Russian River", or a variation thereof? And what do you all think of the entry?

Lucinda - can jump higher than any beastly Russian soldier...

I guess I like it, it can be in the Guide. WHo knows, someone might sometime want to know something about russian river - and then there it is waiting for them, all moral musings and politically correct ponderance. That is tone is the one thing about the article that doesn't sit well with me, but it's a well written article nonetheless.

Yeah - the tone is a little odd, but I'm not sure how to change that withour destroying the piece...

First: Well written. I particularly liked the tone and the description; the innocent way a child thinks about war, being caught and if everything else fails, daddy will come and 'bash 'em commies'...

On a second glance it is a quite profound and inciting essay. It is a very sad thing to see children playing war games (As a child - of course - I also played war-games, and later I had all kinds of military airplane-models, and a huge booklet collection on gunships, WW-II Airplanes and all that... I still find it extremely fascinating how creative mankind can become, when things are down to killing eachother.) It is also very sad to see how easily these grown-up conflictss are projected into a child's universe. (Think of TV series and Video-Games.)

A minor thought: Who said the russians were the BAD guys?

About this entry being 'edited-guide'-worthy. I'm basically with Lucinda: Major modifications would inevitably destroy the piece. Adding to that I think that a major modification is needed to put this 'essay' in a more meaningful context.

Greetings,

HELL

The tone is no problem - it's just someone having a pop at Us paranoia over the 'red peril'. It's an interesting enough piece of ephemera, but i don't think that it evokes the lofty ideals that some are attributing to it. Oh, and as for what would replace the Russians today, it would be paedophiles, without a doubt.

... to the kids, the russians were def'ly the bad guys, which is what counts. coglione, don't equate russians with pedos. pedos don't hide in muddy ditches

I guesss the tone is not exactly BAD... but it's a... it's a... cliché for sure, that's all. I don't know, just doesn't sit well with me. ANyway, I totally agree that changing it would rip the piece apart, so don't. just flip it in, be done with it

I'd say it's an entry for one of the alternate places like the
AWW http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A608799 or AGGH http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A506675

Bossel

Hmm, perhaps. I can certainly see the argument that it's too personal to be in the edited guide. But it's still informative and factual, so I'm unsure. What does everyone else think?

it depends, lucinda. do you want articles with this kind of a moralising tone? it'S well.written, smooth, my only criticism is that I think it's kind of conservative, pining for the old days etc.

why am I at all chafed with this one? there have been other articles with accents and tones I didn't agree with, why does this one in all its cuteness give me the taste of cotton in my mouth? like I said, flip it in!

As it stands, I think this entry is really more suited to be a forum thread on the Edited Guide entry on children's games.

To be a stand alone edited guide entry, I'd want to see a more in-depth analysis of the cultural/historical/sociological context in which this game was invented. Alternatively, you might include a variety of games which children have historically created and used to deal with the issues surrounding war.

Just my 2 cents.
Mikey

Hey, Lucinda -- still haven't heard back from you on this one. What direction are you thinking you'll want to pursue?


Mikey

#i was just waiting to see whether other people agreed with you Mikey - get a second opinion, you know?

*sigh* Starting to get the feeling that we're the only ones who've subscribed to this thread......

Could we *please* get a second opinion from the peanut gallery????


Mikey

move it as suggested above.

There you are.

Bye,

HELL

do you want to move this thread to the Children's Games entry, then Mikey? That seems the best place for it...

OK, I'll send the requisite message to the italic boys...


Mikey

be sure to give them a tip - it is the holiday season...

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'Playground Games'.

...at the author's request.