In Culture Jams, Lasn says, “life has become an alien landscape." It actually has. The natural world does not seem as real to society as it used to be. People are so caught up in the virtual and unrealistic things in life that they cannot even enjoy the beauty of real life. Going hiking and socializing seems unreal because people are more interested in technology and not things that will continue to help stimulate their mind. Frankly, it seems like the real world seems rather foreign to us, which is ridiculous. We are like aliens to our own planet. It seems as though society operates better in virtual world rather than reality.
When it comes to the documentary Second Skin, the question arises if virtual relationships operate in the real world? From Lasn’s point of view about the world being an alien landscape, it would seem as though it is possible. However, I strongly disagree that they can operate in the real world. Now if you are speaking in terms of online dating then yes it is a possibility, but overall it does not. Anyone can have a virtual relationship, but would you consider it an actual relationship. Things such as games are virtually made because they cannot be real. That is the whole point. If virtual became the real world, there would be no need for anything to be virtual and imaginative. When things are not real, it provides people to think so they can have an imagination. A virtual relationship is also an imaginative relationship; it only became real again when the people first met in person. Now people may ask what is the difference between this in Facebook? We’ll most of the time, people know some of their friends before they branch out and start accepting people they do not know. In this virtual relationship in the game World of Warcraft, they did not even know each other, they started liking each other based off of what they may have had in common in the game and flirting. So back to the question about virtual relationships operating in the real world, I still say no.
The person on the virtual game is not exactly the same person in real life. They create themselves as a beautiful person and better looking. Now I’m not saying they are not attractive in real life, but in the game they make themselves look like an image of perfection, because you are able to do so, rather you’re a man or a woman. No one is perfect, so they may be giving the person they are flirting with the false assumption that they are more gorgeous than there character on their game. They may have a beautiful heart, but there physical appearance may not be what they think it is. So yes we live in an alien landscape and try to put ourselves into a virtual world where we can be anyone we want, but at the end of the day we return to reality and away from the virtual world. So no, virtual relationships will not operate in the real world.
I think that you have a good point about the fact that some people make their characters completely different from their actual selves for a break from reality. In a way I kind of agree that to make a relationship off of a virtual character that may or may not people what the actual person is a huge gamble that doesn't always pay off, just look at the woman who flew out to meet the guy and four months later they were living together and still figuring out what they disagreed on. But at the same time we have to look at virtual dating sites as well, there are probably people on their that make up profiles completely different from their actual personality, but that's the risk that people take when they choose to try to find love online.
ReplyDeleteI liked the whole thing with the "alien landscape" and it couldn't be stated any better. The natural world is slowly being overtaken by the virtual world, but there is nothing we can do about it now. You seemed really transfixed on the relationship aspect of games and the image of the characters not reflecting the person behind them. In these game (which I have too much experience with lol) there are no options to make your character "ugly" or fat and so you are left with making a character who is skinny and "attractive". So the blame should really be placed on devolopers. but like you put it "at the end of the day we return to reality and away from the virtual world" and for a moment we all return to the natural world
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that a lot of the time online relationships don't work out because people can change how they look and how they act. As Evan said, you don't really have every option to change how you look. I'm guessing that the programers figured that no one would ever want to make themself look bigger in a video game so why should they bother making it an option. I do think that the main reason the relationship may not work out because of how they act in the game. In reality, they could be compltely different in person.
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