Expert opinions
Mojo is regarded as one of the preeminent leaders in the field of play philosophy. Widely celebrated for the depth and breadth of his play behaviors, Mojo has created a vast repertoire of novel play forms and has won numerous awards for his work in the field of cross-species play. He is a widely sought-after speaker and travels the world as a dedicated play advocate. The following interview took place in October, 2004, in Seattle, Washington.
"Say Mojo, would you be willing to answer a few questions about your play philosophy?"
"Can I have a biscuit?"
"You just had your dinner."
"No biscuit, no interview."
"OK."
Interviewer capitulates and delivers biscuit.
"OK Mojo, I have a list of questions…"
"Can you rub my belly first?"
"Well, OK."
Interviewer rubs Mojo's belly.
"OK, can we start now?"
"You have to scratch my ears first."
Interviewer scratches Mojo's ears.
"OK, can we talk NOW?"
"OK, I'm ready. So what's up?"
"Well, I need to know a few things about play. Maybe you could start by telling me a little bit about your play history."
"Oh that's easy. I've been playing ever since I was about 4 weeks old, so that would make it about 8 years so far. I play pretty much every day, unless you drag me out on one of your stupid car trips or leave me alone in the house."
"So you consider yourself something of an authority on the subject of play."
"Well yeah, I guess I would, but I never thought of it that way before. I mean what's there to be an authority about? You just start playing and when you're finished, you stop."
"So you would say that play is an important part of your life?"
"Well obviously. I mean isn't it an important part of everyone's life?"
"Is it? What about the other animals? Do they play too? What about cats and birds and squirrels and fish?"
"Everyone plays. They just play in different ways. You can't always tell by looking, you know. It's sort of what you would call a state of mind. Although, to be honest, I don't really know about the fish."
"So what about the humans then? Do they play too?"
"Well I assume they do, but it's really hard to tell sometimes. They aren't like other animals, that's for certain. Sometimes they run and jump like normal animals, but a lot of them just sit there, for hours on end, hardly doing anything at all. I worry about them. At least the young humans are playing, but they sit around a lot too. Mostly they just look at boxes with flashing lights."
"Do you think that they might be playing in other ways?"
"No, well maybe, but even if they are, they're missing the point."
"The point?"
"Yeah."
"Well what do you mean?"
"You humans are so dense sometimes. The point is that play begins in the body and that it involves movement. That's the most important kind of play, you know. All the other forms come from that. You might say that you're playing in some other way, but if you're not moving your body, you're missing out. You might be playing with all of your objects and tools and the sounds that you make, but if you don't actually move, you're missing the best part."
"OK Mojo, now maybe you could tell me about the purpose behind your playfulness."
"The what?"
"Oh, you know. The experts are always saying that play is preparation for hunting and evasion and other behaviors that you'd be doing as an adult."
"I thought I was the expert."
"Well, OK, but what do you think?"
"Do you see me doing any hunting? Huh? Hunting is so retro."
"Er, well, what about all the retrieving you do?"
"That's your gig, brother, not mine. You throw all that stuff away, I'm just bringing it back."
"So you wouldn't describe play as a means to some other end, then? You're not playing to be a better hunter."
"Grrrrrrrr."
"What?!"
"You humans are so slow sometimes."
"I don't get it."
"Of course you don't. That's why you have to ask all these questions. Play isn't for anything. We do it because we like to do it. Maybe we get better at some skill or something, but that's besides the point. We'd do it no matter what. And besides, if you're an animal, you can't predict what's going to happen in the future, so how can play be for anything? Maybe play makes us stronger or faster or smarter, but I really don't care about any of that."
"OK then, well let's move on to some other questions."
"Do I get a biscuit when we're done?"
"It depends on how cooperative you are."
"OK, I'll be good."
"Alright, now what's going on when you play with the other dogs? It seems like sometimes you're doing the whole dance to see who's alpha, but other times you go back and forth, like you're trading off."
"I am the alpha dog, you know."
"Yes, I know that, but what about the trade-off thing? It seems like you make a deal, ‘I'll chase you for awhile, then you chase me.'"
"That's the play contract, you bonehead. We all do it. You know how we bow down to each other, like we're ready to spring? That's the play position. It means, ‘everything after this is pretend.' Once you make the contract, you can do whatever you want and it's OK…you didn't know this?"
"Er, well…"
"You see, once you make a play contract, you can be dominant or submissive or you can switch off. You can chase or be chased and none of it matters. It's just fun."
"I had no idea…"
"Well obviously. The play contract is really a special thing, you know. Not too many animals can do "let's pretend." It's a sign of intelligence. When we do a play contract, we can play whatever role we want and it's all OK. Somebody can be chewing on your neck or chasing you at top speed, but it doesn't matter. We also get to imagine what the other is thinking. It's not just a sign of intelligence, it also stimulates intelligence. That's why I'm so smart."
"Well yes, you are pretty smart…"
"But the thing I can't figure out is why you humans never do a play contract. I mean, you don't have a play position or anything. You hug and shake hands and things like that, but I never see anything that looks like a play contract."
"Well we used to bow to each other in martial art class."
"Maybe that's the same thing then, although it seems like anything's possible with you humans. Do you have any more of those biscuits?"
Interviewer delivers a biscuit.
"So Mojo, what about this whole idea that play is just for puppies, not adult dogs? That's what a lot of people think."
"You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm serious. The play scholars say that young animals play, but adults don't.
"There you go with those experts again."
"Well what do you think?"
"It's total nonsense. We'd play every day if we could get away with it. If you weren't always dragging us to those field trials, obedience trials and glamour shows, we might get a chance to live a little, you know what I mean? And besides, who comes up with these ideas?"
"Well Mojo, you've got to admit that they young animals are always playing, but that the adults don't do it nearly so much."
"That's just a question of conditions. You take an animal, give him a friendly place to live and he's going to just keep on playing forever. Just like me. Play is normal. Not playing is a sign of trouble."
"OK Mojo, one last question."
"It's about time. I need to go play."
"OK, what can you tell me about the difference between the way people play and the way that animals play?"
"I don't get it."
"You know, do animals play one way and people play some other way?"
"Grrrrrrrrr."
"What?!"
"Haven't we been through this before? Your tired, old distinction between humans and animals…when are you going to wise up, primate?"
"I was just asking…"
"Is this more of your human supremacy thing? How many times do I have to tell you? We're all animals. Every last one of us. Your list of "unique" human qualities keeps getting shorter every day. Remember the tool using thing? The chimpanzees and their termite fishing? Your claims are all nonsense. You all think you're so special, but look at you. You're sitting here asking me questions about the most basic parts of being alive. Next thing you know, you'll be asking me for advice on how to breathe or how to have sex."
"Now wait just a damn minute!"
"Ha! Just kidding! Wanna wrestle?"
