Abstract
Exploring some of the key tenets of neoliberal American culture, this article examines the historical forces behind the meteoric rise of interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” (CYOA) children's books in the 1980s. Despite selling over 250 million copies worldwide and becoming the fourth most popular children's series of all time, the CYOA phenomenon has yet to be placed in its larger social, economic, historical or cultural context. When explaining the rise of interactive narratives, previous literature has mostly focussed on technological change – namely the invention of video games, computer consoles and hypertext narratives. Moving away from such claims, this article demonstrates how the incredible success of solely text-based CYOA books stemmed largely from the cultural ascent of individual market choice to the heart of American notions of agency, liberty, subjectivity and selfhood in the 1970s and 1980s.
Highlights
On August, New York Times columnist Aljean Harmetz wrote a short article on a new cultural phenomenon that was taking adolescent America by storm: Choose Your Own Adventure books
Exploring some of the key tenets of neoliberal American culture, this article examines the historical forces behind the meteoric rise of interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” (CYOA) children’s books in the s
“The books do appear to be as contagious as chicken pox,” exclaimed Harmetz, noting that according to kids the “greatest care package” one could receive at summer camp that year included “Jordache jeans, whistle pops and an assortment of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure Books.’” Amazed by the books’ rapid ascent to the top of the publishing world, Harmetz described how Random House subsidiary Bantam Books had launched the series only two years prior yet it had already managed to publish a whopping million copies
Summary
Exploring some of the key tenets of neoliberal American culture, this article examines the historical forces behind the meteoric rise of interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” (CYOA) children’s books in the s. When explaining the rise of interactive narratives, previous literature has mostly focussed on technological change – namely the invention of video games, computer consoles and hypertext narratives. Moving away from such claims, this article demonstrates how the incredible success of solely text-based CYOA books stemmed largely from the cultural ascent of individual market choice to the heart of American notions of agency, liberty, subjectivity and selfhood in the s and s
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