BOOK REVIEW: Nikki Bado-Fralick And

268 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PLAY • Fall 2010 of an additive culture of play. The au- Monopoly imitators (Mormonopoly, thor too quickly passes over Marx’s will- Catholicopoly, etc.) as well as Christian ing reinforcement of racial stereotypes. games with unsettling colonialist over- He does not do justice to Marx’s 1950s tones (Missionary Conquest, Settlers of political and cultural platitudes, which Canaan), and games representing Juda- trained a generation to believe in the in- ism, Islam, and Eastern religions (Race to vincibility of white America. He fails to the Kabah, Mecca to Medina, Exodus, Ko- put the world of Marx into the context of sherland, Karma Chakra, BuddhaWheel, what happened after (with Star Wars and and Mahabharata Game). As these ex- other fantasy play sets). And he ignores amples show, the work cites wide-ranging what the contrast between toys from the examples of toys from African religions to 1950s and 1980s tells us. In short, he might syncretic Brazilian women’s Catholicism have done much more by putting Marx’s to Wicca. It notes sports from Aztec ball play sets into the context of the TV and to the Greek olympics to Native American movie world of the 1950s and what these lacrosse, each with its associated religious toys said about parents as well as kids. The roots. It surveys various religious products sheer subjectivity of his account and rev- including Hindu finger puppets; bobble- erence for his toys at times might make headed Jesus, pope and Buddha dolls; some readers wince. But I left this book punching rabbi dolls; Nunzillas wind-up liking Jeffrey Hammond and feeling that toys; Easter-lily hand and body cream; and his obsession with his desktop of toys was Last Supper lunch boxes, card games, and not a reflection of his longing for escape testaments. The book focuses chiefly on into immaturity but of an encounter with the “shifting boundaries and restructured memory that might well have led him to a relationships among religion, play, work, new stage of maturity. commerce, toys, and ritual” (p. xv). The book presents a good general —Gary Cross, Pennsylvania State Uni- overview of an array of religious games, versity, University Park, PA establishing the field of inquiry within the context of relevant debates about religion’s place in contemporary culture from Indi- ana to Iran. What emerges is a broad dis- Toying with God: The World of cussion useful to students of religious or Religious Games and Dolls cultural studies. Like F. R. B. Whitehouse’s Nikki Bado-Fralick and Rebecca Sachs study of Victorian board and table games Norris or J. A. Mangan’s work on the ideology Waco: Baylor University Press, 2010. of athletic games, this is a niche study. It Bibliography, notes, images, photo- participates in the social history of play graphs, index. 232 pp. $24.95 paper. begun by Roger Caillois, Johann Huizinga, ISBN: 9781602581814 H. J. R. Murray, and R. C. Bell. It might, however, have paid more attention to the In this engaging, interesting, and lively field of children’s literature and culture, text, the authors introduce readers to where some fine work has been done on a world of toys and games that include dolls by Miriam Formanek-Brunell and on AmJP 03_2 text.indd 268 2/18/11 1:17:09 PM Book Reviews 269 toys by the contributors to Beverly Lyon afternoon of easy and carefully regulated Clark and Margaret R. Higonnet’s Girls, fun” (p. 117). Such games reflect the cur- Boys, Books, Toys. rent notion that fun cannot simply be en- Bado-Fralick and Norris employ a hor- joyed for its own sake, but instead must be izontal approach by introducing concepts safe, productive, and educational. It must, like fun, play, commerce, or rituals and that is, result in ameliorated behavior, im- looking at a range of games, toys, dolls, or proved socialization skills, or increased cards across various cultures and periods religious knowledge. which define or challenge those concepts. The book also views games as ex- This may not please those scholars looking amples of a lived cultural experience of for a deep cultural context and speculation religion, pointing out how in the divide about its significance or for extended close between high and low cultures a text- readings of particular toys. But given the based religious knowledge is privileged breadth of material Bado-Fralick and Nor- over daily practices in the home. Calling ris cover, it seems a practical approach. toys artifacts of “vernacular religion” (p. The authors patiently lay out the case 14), Bado-Fralick and Norris explore how for religious games as learning tools that games transmit ideology. As they see it, “enculturate children into a religion’s val- there is more at stake in games than cross- ues” (p. 7), and they acknowledge the argu- ing the finish line. The battle of the toy ment about trivializing the sacred. Games box is one of religion, culture, politics, and can illustrate dogma. In the Hindu and social norms. Buddhist versions of Snakes and Ladders, In their fascinating discussion of dolls, players learn to attain enlightenment. The Bado-Fralick and Norris question how Holigame teaches about Jewish holidays. these playthings transmit not only reli- Players of Karma Chakra go through five gious information and moral guidance cycles of rebirth. And Missionary Con- but preserve and promote cultural values. quest players raise money for Christian The book probes whether dolls are empty missions. vessels or objects freighted with meaning. Toying with God also confronts the For instance, Barbie was touted by her cre- deeper discomfort over religions in the ator as a blank canvas for young girls to marketplace. Such unease, the authors project their hopes for womanhood, but speculate, may arise from the Ameri- the doll’s unrealistic proportions and her can political insistence on a separation infamous declaration that “Math class is of church and state. Yet, they also note tough!” have alarmed Western feminists. that “promoting Christ is big business” Though secular, Barbie has sparked (p. 73) for megachurches and religious an ongoing cultural-religious dialogue. theme parks. Religions are not immune In the face of her “pernicious” influence, from market forces or pop culture, and toy makers, devout believers, and even the authors demonstrate how “religiotain- government agencies have created alter- ment” participates in mass media. Toys natives: the Jewish Gali Girls, the Chris- present “belief bites” pulled from their tian Virgin Mary and Biblical Esther, and richer, fuller context and “watered down Muslim dolls including Iranian Sara and for mass consumption and reduced to an Dara, Muslim-American Razanne, and AmJP 03_2 text.indd 269 2/18/11 1:17:09 PM 270 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PLAY • Fall 2010 Syrian Fulla. All purport to offer examples This book fills an important gap and of wholesome, faithful, modest woman- suggests a new area of study. Bado-Fralick hood. Though Fulla is meant as an alter- and Norris mention using the games with native to Barbie, the two dolls have more their students, perhaps the fodder for the in common than you might think. Both question: what happens when children go are manufactured in the same Chinese fac- off script and subvert the play narratives tory, of the same materials, with the same that religious toys encourage? In terms high-heeled feet and height, and Fulla, of field research and a pedagogy of active too, has a line of accessories ranging from learning, this certainly suggests a promis- prayer rugs to bling. Fulla has also caused ing area for the authors’ next book. controversy; her hijab led to her removal from Tunisian shelves over fears that she —Megan A. Norcia, SUNY Brockport, was promoting too radical a brand of Is- Brockport, NY lam. AmJP 03_2 text.indd 270 2/18/11 1:17:09 PM.

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