Essay Proposal-Gamer Analysis

For this essay I would like to analyze Gamer and further explore my post regarding the analysis of my blog regarding the film. In Gamer, the film follows a corrupt individual changing and revolutionizing the way society looks at video gaming. Castle, an extremely wealthy madman enjoys his riches while bringing down society and individuals making them into his mindless puppets. To explore Gamer’s society, we have to first take into consideration society’s involvement in their virtual worlds. Individuals are immersed in their second lives as society changes drastically into somewhat of a dystopia. HUMANZ is an organization created to destroy this corruption, and their legacy lives on with the help of Kable. Slayers and Society are the worlds created by Castle. I will add on to this analysis and get deeper into the examination of the world of Gamer. 

Gamer

In the film Gamer, “Society” was a game very similar to “Sims.” In “Sims” users basically create a world with fictional people and make them function as a society. Society is the keyword in this scenario, as the film Gamer took the functions of the game and escalated them to a whole new level, naming the game “Society.” In the film, users can create ideally create their world of individuals and make them do absolutely whatever they desire. However, there is something truly disturbing about this version of the game as it involves real human beings. Ken Castle, the creator of “Society” in the film, created a world where humans would not be able to think for themselves anymore. The users of “Society” are controlled like puppets by users from Earth. Once they are in the game, their actions, words, and emotions are controlled by others. To be honest, I do hope I’m wrong, but I feel as if some individuals in present times would take this opportunity to have their decisions made by others in this world. It is a disturbing thought but this issue goes far beyond laziness into a pathetic phase which no one should undergo. “Slayer” on the other hand, took a more extreme violent approach to the film. “Slayer” was a game in the film that literally took death row inmates and gave them the option to play in this gruesome video game rather than to face their death penalty in other various ways.  Users then control these inmates as the inmates are transformed into the virtual world. The question here is if it is morally correct for this situation to occur. In my eyes, watching death occur on a live telecast or television is wrong at all costs. This can emotionally disturb people and can severely mentally damage individuals for years to come. Televising death is the same as murder to me. If there comes a time where society allows this to occur, then it will be a chaotic world filled with horror. No one should have the opportunity to witness such horror in their life time. 

Realism VS. Fantasy.

RPG games have revolutionized the video game industry. I myself play the newest game from the Elder Scrolls series entitled Skyrim. RPG’s are a refreshing way to get your mind off of your worries in the real world. However, the question some of the users in Waggoner’s forum should ask themselves is that where exactly can they draw the line between reality and their fantasy world. I treat video games as a stimulating experience that is able to almost completely get rid of any stressful situations that are surrounding me, and I am sure that millions over the world do exactly the same. The key here is how to apply moderation in your life. It is not a crime to absorb yourself in these epic fantasy worlds and to lose yourself in these games from time to time, but psychologically these games can definitely cause a significant amount of damage to the users nervous system.  I was appalled at people’s reactions in Waggoner’s forums. Some actually felt guilty about killing a certain character in a game. This action affected their lives in a negative way. When I read stories similar to Waggoner’s article, I realize that there is no other way for some of these users to get help unless they stop playing once and for all, or to significantly cut down the amount of video games they play by finding different hobbies. Coming from a once extremely avid gamer, I speak from personal experience that an individual needs a more healthier way to pass time than indulging themselves with video games for hours and days. Heavy RPG can indeed blur one’s ability to distinguish their lives with fantasy and reality. These users need drastic changes in their lives and need to preoccupy themselves with something of greater value. Love, happiness, and excitement can all be acquired with broader interests that have more depth. An individual needs to realize this and come to terms with themselves while understanding that moderation can be the most helpful thing in their lives. An excess of anything will almost always harm you, and moderation is in fact in my mind, one of the major keys to happiness in life. 

Facebook vs. Myspace

After I read this article, I realized that there is in fact a very distinct line between the two social networks. At first, MySpace was the prominent social network for teens especially when Facebook was only limited to college students. As time progressed, I felt as if younger teens who were using MySpace wanted to gain a certain level of maturity. They wanted to join the world of the college kids and wanted knowledge of what these college students were experiencing. I had this exact same mindset when I had just entered high school. Facebook was the next big social network, and as a result, Facebook had a good amount of MySpace users switch to their site. As for me, there are two main reasons on why I’m on Facebook and not MySpace. The first being the obvious that all my friends have switched social networks a while back and MySpace feels almost inexistent. The other reason is that I am in a rock band. At first, MySpace was the most outstanding site to promote your band, but ever since Facebook came into play, its users slowly started to die down. In my opinion the buzz is going to stay on Facebook for at least another 5-7 years. That same buzz revolves around my band because of the fact that we have a band page on Facebook. For example, in three days, my band “WhiteHorse” got 273 “Likes” on Facebook. Since we are also talking to record labels, A&R representatives say it’s one of the most essential factors that a band promotes their music on this social network. Facebook is where the online word of mouth takes place, and it’s crucial for our music to be up there. It also lets us create event pages when we have gigs, and it sure as hell beats putting up flyers all over the valley. Facebook is our best tool, and quite frankly has helped us in a countless number of situations. I do hope the buzz on this website never slows down, and continues to reinvent itself to keep their users interested.