The Emotional Cage

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The Emotional Cage ☆

القيود العاطفية

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القيود العاطفية ☆

הכלוב הרגשי

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הכלוב הרגשי ☆

The Emotional Cage represents our synthesis of three sociological theories that help us understand how modern societies create systems of both social control and cohesion. This work emerged from our exploration of how abstract theoretical concepts;Weber's Iron Cage, Illouz's Emotional Capitalism, and Yair's Cultural Trauma,
can be transformed into visual understanding and interactive experience.

Understanding the Architecture of Modern Society

The Triple Constraint

Weber’s

Iron Cage

Rationalized bureaucratic systems that trap individuals in efficient but disenchanted structures. We experience freedom within increasingly calculated and predictable frameworks.

Our feelings become products to be managed, marketed, and consumed. Emotional authenticity is structured through market mechanisms and therapeutic discourse.

Illouz’s

Emotional Capitalism

Yair and Alexander’s

Cultural Trauma

Collective memories of historical events become foundational forces in national character and identity formation, creating "never again" imperatives that shape policy and consciousness.

“These three forces converge to create what we call ‘The Emotional Cage’—a system where isolation exists within hyperconnectivity, cohesion emerges through invisible control, and freedom operates within strict parameters.”

— The Cyborg Classroom

From Theory TO Play

Players develop capacity for handling complex conversations without retreating to binary thinking, practicing intellectual humility, resilience and compassion while expanding their emotional repertoire and conceptual flexibility—learning to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously and respond to challenging ideas with curiosity .

Learning

Through Play

The game creates safe spaces for exploring sensitive topics like national identity, trauma, and belonging through structured interaction.

Game

Objectives

Beyond

The Cage?

By making visible usually invisible processes of identity construction, players can reimagine possibilities for more conscious collective belonging.

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The Emotional Cage

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The Emotional Cage ☆ The Emotional Cage ☆