Taking Hostages: Exercises in Design Détournement

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acronym PIGS. Should a player land on one of these spots on

closing on their mortgages. The final element of the game that

the board game, they are required to pay a “bailout” fee and

was detourned was the Luxury Tax space, which was changed

this fee reflects the severity of the countries underlying debt.

to Goldman Sachs. Should a player land on this space they are

The “Go To Jail” spot on the board game has been changed to

required to pay a “kick back” to Goldman Sachs and must pay

“Go To Tent City” and the “In Jail” spot has been changed to

the Bank $100. Goldman Sachs has been identified as one of

“Tent City”. These spots were “detourned” to highlight the

the main contributors to 2008 housing market crash because of

impact the financial crisis had on individual families, and how

the unethical subprime, mortgage backed securities they sold

it has forced many people, who used to own their own homes,

to other financial institutions throughout the world. They

to now live in tent cities throughout the United States. Both

were also accused of “betting against or hedging” those se-

the Chance and Community Chest cards have been changed to

curities they sold to other financial institutions because they

represent the financial consequences and challenges that many

believed that the securities would fail and lose value. Gold-

American households felt after the market crash. These in-

man Sachs amounted huge profits from those transactions and

clude paying health care premiums, banking fees, income tax

faced intense SEC investigations into those activities.

payments and in the most extreme case declaring bankruptcy.

As society and capitalism continue to clash, society is at-

The Utilities on the original Monopoly board game were

tempting to stand up and challenge the economic system that

changed to the US government agency that was responsible

has evolved. Movements like Occupy Wall street, Greece’s

for overseeing and insuring mortgages throughout the United States. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac were both held accountable and responsible after the housing market crash, for helping to fuel the housing market bubble. These two agencies required a bailout from the government after homeowners began foreTent City Images of the Tent City in Reno Nevada after the 2008 bursting of the US housing bubble. This was scene was common for many cities in the US that were directly affected by the housing bubble .


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