The Evolution of Dodgeball as Explained by American Warfare

The message board was one of many forums discussing the recent movements to ban a game that is part of almost every American childhood; a game that is played in schools and on playgrounds.

“I was hit in the face pretty hard once,” wrote Mickey265. “I can see it being a problem.”

“You’d think they’d be more concerned about making sure their kids weren’t shot at,” Bambik1 wrote back.

“Say what you want about it,” said Taylor555, “it’s popular with kids.”

The game is dodgeball.

Dodgeball

In many ways, dodgeball is the game that passes on the American love of war to small children because it has the same kind of rules that a war would have. A field is divided into two sides with an easily seen line between them. Two teams are formed, and one team gathers on each side. Without the crossing the boundary to the opposite team’s side, the children then try to hit as many of the players on the other team as possible with what are commonly known as playground balls. These are rubber balls that are used for most playground games; they are light enough to throw at a great speed but heavy enough to hurt you if you’re hit with one. However many balls happen to be around are used, and once a ball falls to the ground, anyone on the side of the field it’s on can pick it up and throw it at the other team. When someone is hit with a ball, he or she is out of the game. It’s similar to how battles were organized until the twentieth century: line up, shoot, find new ammunition.

Doctor Dodgeball

Dodgeball players have to start somewhere. And little children are too weak to really hurt each other. So they play Doctor Dodgeball. It is played in the same way as the original version, except that when players are “out”, they are rehabilitated in an area on the opposite side. No one on either team can touch the players in this sort of hospital/prison. But in order to free them, one player from the other side has to run over and tag everyone in the reserved area. The liberator has to sacrifice his or her status in the game in order to save the team. It can be compared to the liberation of France by the U.S. in World War Two. It's all very nice and civil.

Cracker Barrel, or King of the Mountain

Cracker Barrel, on the other hand, is neither nice nor civil. In fact, it involves the same methods as the guerrilla warfare used in the U.S.'s war with Vietnam. The game is played in the gym classes of older children, between 10 and 13 years, the time when it becomes more important to help yourself and less important to help others. There are no teams in this game; it is every child for himself, and you can’t always tell the difference between your allies and your enemies. Each player is given a ball that they use to throw at any random person, while picking up the balls rolling around the field to use on other players. Obviously, it becomes much more difficult when fewer players are left.

King of the Mountain is the same game, but it needs to take place on a hill, where the players fight to stay on top.

The Controversy

Not everyone loves these games, though, and parents and teachers want to keep them off the playgrounds because they say that they are cruel and dangerous. In the U.S., people have been very sensitive to anything children might do that could be violent ever since the murders that took place at Columbine High School in 1998 (two students shot and killed 12 students and one teacher, and then killed themselves). Learning that war is noble and killing is brave has always been a part of U.S. and U.K.culture, and for generations, children have enjoyed pretending to have battles. But Columbine, as the tragedy is referred to, made parents think about the effects of violent games on their children. Along with the bans on dodgeball, other changes have been made to American and British playgrounds. Toy guns now have to be painted bright colors so that they do not look too realistic. Children’s films have also been reworked. When E.T.was re-released into movie theatres for its tenth anniversary, the film was digitally altered so that the police officers held walkie-talkies instead of guns. In all of the Star Wars prequels, the only weapons used are light sabers, but in the original films, laser guns are used more often than the sabers.

And Yet...

That hasn’t stopped kids from wanting to smack each other around. Assault is among the most basic human instincts. But even the losers of these playground games can benefit from them. More often than not, the kids who received regular beatings on the playground from these games become successful because of a subconscious drive to triumph over those who seem threatening. In other words, the need to win is universal, but so is the need for revenge.