Popular Culture Review Vol. 8, No. 2, August 1997 | Page 119

Perspectives on Generation X

115

Although shiny and impressive. Transformers represented
toys of display more than use, adding a new category to those of
Sutton-Smith mentioned earlier. Play was imitative of the show,
reflecting little Imagination. Any meeting between boys had a clear
outcome in terms of ranking; mock battles had a foregone conclusion.
Children participated by watching the program daily, sharing
comics, and admiring one another’s machines.
Eventually,
Transformers were placed on shelves, repacked in boxes, traded, or
trashed. Their attraction as objects of game play was clearly
limited.
Traditional American values involving strategizing,
individual achievement, team-work, favoring the underdog, and
equality of opportunity were not reflected in these games. Rather,
much emphasis was placed on the acquisition of power and wealth,
just as it was in adult society and the media during this time in Los
Angeles.

Return to Traditional American Values: G.I. Joe

When Initially issued, G.I. Joes were large male doll-figures.
These toys went out of fashion, partly because of their resemblance to
"dolls." But because of a fundamental appeal to core American
values, the G.I. Joe comics and television show remained popular and
finally a new, small action figure was produced. When tired of
Transformers, children returned to G.I. Joe characters, allowing for
more creative play with less predictability of outcome. A child
playing with G.I. Joes could strategize and cooperate to create more
imaginative ways to outwit enemies. G.I. Joes fostered socially
interactive and imaginative play, albeit aggressive. Figures were
used with other to y s- such as trai ns, arts and crafts materials-to
create new scenarios. Play involved two types of games distinguished
by Avedon and Sutton-Snuth: strategy and physical interaction, as
boys ran, jumped and wrestled in concert with their action figures.

Role Playing Games in Adolescence

After the age of eleven or twelve, children change markedly
in their intellectual orientation, relationships with peers and adults,
and vision of the world. They enter Piaget's formal operational
period. Power, of course, remains a focus, as does problem solving
through individual and team initiative. A more elaborate fantasy