A 'Griefing' Matter

A 'Griefing' Matter

By Jayson Ligthtbound

The term flaneur originated from France in 1798, which has the basic meaning of ‘stroller’, ‘lounger’ or ‘loafer’ (The Brooklyn Flaneur, 2010). Charles Baudelaire developed a derived meaning flaneur “A person who walks in a city in order to experience it” otherwise described as someone who isn’t there for a reason, just simply there (The Brooklyn Flaneur, 2010).

During the French revolution, while communities were rapidly growing, populations were on the rise which meant a more variety of cultures and individuals; with the largest population being in Paris (400,000) (Norman, 2017). With a growing variety cultures and individuals within the cities, there were an increased amount of these Flaneur characters, wondering around, observing what is revolving around them.

In today’s society, it is simple to be a Flaneur without even knowing you are one. Whether it is someone who scrolls through Facebook or Instagram without liking, posting or messaging anyone. Or is someone in an online community who just wonders and watches everything happen around them. 

A perfect example of this could be someone in a Minecraft server, who just wonders around and watches everyone build, while every now and then mining and placing blocks.

As mentioned in the reading ‘A turtle on a Leash’ by Richard Prouty “The anonymity of the masses freed him to move about without anyone paying any undue attention to him” (Prouty, 2009) can be easily referenced to some players in Minecraft Servers as there is such an enormous population building their own structures, although there is the occasional player who walks around, sitting in the background of everyone else’s game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKg4ahzZZbQ
Unknown (2015)

It is interesting to see this Flaneur characters in amongst populations as they don’t necessarily have their own space or place. They don’t have somewhere where they are going, or a route they must follow, they are simply there just because they are there. However, they often have power over certain people as they can use their anonymous identities to grief, sow discord or start arguments in which they had no part in in the first place. This can often be seen in Minecraft where a player could be minding their own business, building their house and then suddenly, a Flaneur comes along and destroys a part of it, or kills the player. However, instead of being called a Flaneur, these kinds of players are often called ‘Trolls’. 

All in all, a Flaneur can’t be defined using just one or a few words, he is one who wonders and observes his surrounding with no productive intentions in mind. They can use their anonymity to their advantage to be troublesome or a nuisance; with once again, no intentions of getting something out of their actions. These characters are seen throughout today’s society, whether they know they are being one or not, in all types of social media platforms. Minecraft being a big example of this, as it is known for having players who don’t play the game ‘properly’ and cause mischief just because they can.

References

Norman, J. (2017). The First Official National Industrial Exposition Occurs in Paris. Retrieved from History of Information.com: http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=3692

Prouty, R. (2009, October 2009). A Turtle on a Leash. Retrieved from One-Way Street: http://www.onewaystreet.typepad.com/one_way_street/2009/10/a-turtle-on-a-leash.html

The Brooklyn Flaneur. (2010). What is a Flaneur? Retrieved from The Brooklyn Flaneur : https://brooklynflaneur.wordpress.com/what-is-a-flaneur/