HNRS 353
Tuesdays class left many of us discussing the concept of Kitsch in relation to videogames. I was pretty puzzled when reading this portion of the text, wondering if this was truly a category worthy of being a chapter. My group posed the question; Can hardware be classified as Kitsch?
Kitsch is classified as:
- Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way. The lava lamp is an example of sixties kitsch
- Excessively garish or sentimental art; usually considered in bad taste
- Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value
I believe I have found the answer to that question.
There have been a variety of game hardware systems that I would consider being Kitsch. I remember seeing a game console when I was younger that looked like a Nintendo 64 controller but was a whole system that connected to the television. This system contained a variety of games. While I could not track this down, this concept of other game systems that are counterfeit can be seen here:
http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/photos/16-ridiculous-knock-game-consoles
Whether it be the black market game console, or a multipack of technically legal but cheaply reproduced Tetris and such games, I feel that these concepts and consoles are Kitsch. This hardware would fall under the classification of imitation and inferior.