Talking about Steal Away Jordan
Julie Bond Ellingboe talks about her game on slave narratives and the issue of misery tourism, Steal Away Jordan:
I like slave narratives, both historical artifacts and fictional works (Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Marlon James Book of Night Women are my favorites). My mom is an African American History professor. And my parents grew up in Western Tennessee during the Civil Rights Era. I grew up with an academic and literary understanding of slavery and civil rights, and with first hand accounts. Slave narratives to me are not stories where black folks are victims. They’re about survivors and heroes who beat the odds to attain simple pleasures, to stay alive, to protect their families and themselves.Most role playing games are also about heroes and survivors who beat the odds to attain their goals.
I’m also a story teller. I love folktales of all cultures, I appreciate the oral tradition. Story telling is the piece I love most about table top role playing. And I like games that push emotionally. I’m *not* into games that are about making you feel like shit for your shit, or about finding a way to act your anger and aggression out on your friends, but I do like games that push me and my fellow players to the edge of discomfort. My taste in literature and film is pretty much the same.
Anyway so one day, I decided to write a role playing game, and the voices in those slave narratives are the voices of my heroes. So voila! A role playing game set in the Ante-bellum South. I wanted to share that sense of heroism with people I play with, and with people who like to role play in the same way I do.
To be clear, I didn’t design a game to generate white guilt, or a game where you can passive aggressively beat up or victimize your friends. I don’t play victims in roleplaying. Toussaint L’Ouverture, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Lilith in Book of Night Women are not victims. They are heroes whose lives make for great story telling.
Context #1- Julia is one of the few women of color rpg game designer and publishers out there.
Context #2- The post that kicked it off is here at We Are Respectable Negroes.
One of the most powerful aspects of tabletop roleplaying is the ability to create our own stories. Having a woman of color produce a game designed to create POC focal stories, not to mention, critically demonstrate the issues of power dynamics and institutionalized racism in the game mechanics itself, and be slammed without anyone having read it is really frustrating.
Anyway, go read her post, and if you're into roleplaying games consider supporting her by picking up a copy.
I like slave narratives, both historical artifacts and fictional works (Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Marlon James Book of Night Women are my favorites). My mom is an African American History professor. And my parents grew up in Western Tennessee during the Civil Rights Era. I grew up with an academic and literary understanding of slavery and civil rights, and with first hand accounts. Slave narratives to me are not stories where black folks are victims. They’re about survivors and heroes who beat the odds to attain simple pleasures, to stay alive, to protect their families and themselves.Most role playing games are also about heroes and survivors who beat the odds to attain their goals.
I’m also a story teller. I love folktales of all cultures, I appreciate the oral tradition. Story telling is the piece I love most about table top role playing. And I like games that push emotionally. I’m *not* into games that are about making you feel like shit for your shit, or about finding a way to act your anger and aggression out on your friends, but I do like games that push me and my fellow players to the edge of discomfort. My taste in literature and film is pretty much the same.
Anyway so one day, I decided to write a role playing game, and the voices in those slave narratives are the voices of my heroes. So voila! A role playing game set in the Ante-bellum South. I wanted to share that sense of heroism with people I play with, and with people who like to role play in the same way I do.
To be clear, I didn’t design a game to generate white guilt, or a game where you can passive aggressively beat up or victimize your friends. I don’t play victims in roleplaying. Toussaint L’Ouverture, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Lilith in Book of Night Women are not victims. They are heroes whose lives make for great story telling.
Context #1- Julia is one of the few women of color rpg game designer and publishers out there.
Context #2- The post that kicked it off is here at We Are Respectable Negroes.
One of the most powerful aspects of tabletop roleplaying is the ability to create our own stories. Having a woman of color produce a game designed to create POC focal stories, not to mention, critically demonstrate the issues of power dynamics and institutionalized racism in the game mechanics itself, and be slammed without anyone having read it is really frustrating.
Anyway, go read her post, and if you're into roleplaying games consider supporting her by picking up a copy.