The representation of older people playing a digital game in the short film 'Pony Place': A semiotic and narratological analysis

Abstract

This article focuses on Dutch older adults’ use of digital devices in general, and digital games in particular, from an intergenerational perspective. We first present some facts related to provide insight into how Dutch older adults use such new media. Then, the case of the Dutch short film Pony Place is analyzed using a semiotic and narratological approach, to examine how older adults are represented as so-called ‘digital immigrants’, digitally illiterate persons who are unable to master a digital game device. Finally, an intergenerational digital game design approach is presented to show how older adults can actively be involved in the world of digital games, which could lead to a change from their unbalanced representation as digital immigrants to persons who are, like younger players, able to be active in the world of digital games.

Authors and Affiliations

Eugène Loos, Piotr Kubiński & Margarida Romero

Keywords

Related Articles

Social structure vs. self rehabilitation: IDF widows forming an intimate relationship in the sociopolitical discourse

The public discourse pertaining to IDF (Israel Defense Forces) widows, especially those cohabiting with a partner out of wedlock, is presented by means of a study that analyzes competing representations in the sociopol...

A case of auteur cinema in a changed cultural context: “Funny Games” (1997) and “Funny Games, US” (2007) by Michael Haneke

The article is a case study of a cross-cultural auteur film-remake by Michael Haneke of his earlier film: Funny Games, US (2007) and Funny Games (Austria 1997), that is a part of a PhD project devoted to the cross-cult...

Subversions of the social hierarchy: social closure as adaptation strategy by the female marriage migrants of Taiwan

This study explores how female marriage migrants employ various forms of social closure to help them adapt to the receiving society. As for female migration itself, although it has begun to dominate the migration flow...

Flowerman

I am engaged in a project about reverie, using poetics and storytelling as my method. Where does one person’s reverie start and another’s end? What uses might anthropology have for reverie? Taking the form of a braided...

Parental involvement in schools. A study of resources, mobilization, and inherent inequality

In this article I explore issues of parental involvement in school activities in former communist countries of South Eastern Europe. Although parents with higher socio-economic status feel more efficacious and thus get...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP41066
  • DOI -
  • Views 211
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Eugène Loos, Piotr Kubiński & Margarida Romero (2017). The representation of older people playing a digital game in the short film 'Pony Place': A semiotic and narratological analysis. Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology, 8(2), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-41066