Digital Idenity

This lesson was all about identity online and focused on online video games. The main one that was mentioned was a game called 'Second Life'. A game that was launched in June, 2003 and has lasted for nearly 10 years. It is currently one of many online games that are free to play, which attracts a lot of people who are interested in just trying the game out.

It is intended for people aged over the age of 16, but has many different things about it that attracts those of any age. To sum the game up, it is a virtual world recreated online where somebody can create an avatar and literally have a second life.

From watching videos like the one above, it can clearly be seen that there are no restrictions. Whoever you want to be, no matter how the appearance can be created. A player could even go as far as to create a fictional world and even work in your dream job that you have always fantasized about. This game seems to cater for almost everybody, whether you be a gamer, a loner or you just want to be yourself and make friends. This game states that a player could live your fantasies from the comfort of your own home.

There is a film called 'Surrogates' which starred Bruce Willis playing the starring role as somebody who was almost forced into being an avatar in everyday life. The main pay off was that he had 'no risk or danger' as when his virtual form died, he could just buy another one. Almost like in a video game when you would just respawn. The film goes into great detail about people and how jaded they are when it comes to looking after themselves.

The other main protagonist in the film is a plastic surgeon who removes the avatars faces and then works on them in a rather Gorey way. This could be seen as representing todays real life obsession with plastic surgery and the constant need to want to change the way we look.

A different film that was also mentioned in class was the film 'Avatar', where Humans find a civilisation and use an avatar to try and understand the culture and twist it for their own needs. It's not an original story, and has been seen 100 times in many different forms of entertainment. Like Pocahontas but with blue people instead of indians.