> The larp concluded, and a half-hour decompression began. We talked about what had happened and what our characters might have done next, then sat for a live Zoom call with Fatima AbdulKarim, a Palestinian larper living in the West Bank. Fatima saw larp as a way for players to imagine what it’d be like to live in a similar situation as Gazans and to understand their feeling of injustice.
> It is worth noting at this point that Seaside Prison was co-created by Mohamad Rabah, a Palestinian. That doesn’t insulate it from criticism, but it should inform any questions about cultural appropriation. Nothing about the larp felt trivial. The larp might give players the false impression they know what it’s like to be in Gaza, but its alternate universe setting and the contextualising videos and Zoom call are all attempts to correct any such misapprehensions.
Of course Palestinians would probably feel more legitimate to make a larp about themselves. An Israeli could do the same to represent their side. If anything, I somewhat would find it quite beautiful to see two larp back to back trying to convey what each other feel. Maybe it would be a form of way to make each other come to an understanding.
Sadly, it is very much a childish vision.
> The larp concluded, and a half-hour decompression began. We talked about what had happened and what our characters might have done next, then sat for a live Zoom call with Fatima AbdulKarim, a Palestinian larper living in the West Bank. Fatima saw larp as a way for players to imagine what it’d be like to live in a similar situation as Gazans and to understand their feeling of injustice.
> It is worth noting at this point that Seaside Prison was co-created by Mohamad Rabah, a Palestinian. That doesn’t insulate it from criticism, but it should inform any questions about cultural appropriation. Nothing about the larp felt trivial. The larp might give players the false impression they know what it’s like to be in Gaza, but its alternate universe setting and the contextualising videos and Zoom call are all attempts to correct any such misapprehensions.
Of course Palestinians would probably feel more legitimate to make a larp about themselves. An Israeli could do the same to represent their side. If anything, I somewhat would find it quite beautiful to see two larp back to back trying to convey what each other feel. Maybe it would be a form of way to make each other come to an understanding. Sadly, it is very much a childish vision.