For my "para-academic" friends: It's important to have a consistent & coherent stance regarding academia. EITHER be a critic/contrarian OR play prestige games. I cannot take you seriously if you go after prestige whenever it's available & get contrarian when it's unavailable.
It’s an essential feature of games that playing them is synonymous with “being played” (being a participant in a larger whole). I’d agree that one can be played knowingly or unknowingly.