Just Looking ...

Today's lecture discussing both Barthes's ad Andrejevic's conceptions of reality and Professor Kalmar's interesting association with reality TV and capitalism provoked me to think about computer and video gaming. Personally, I am not a follower of one or the other but I couldn't help remember feeling so disturbed seeing a bunch of YouTube videos of intense gamers, of all ages cursing and screaming at the computer or television because they were so enraptured in the game they were playing. Gaming is certainly not a new phenomena but it seems with the advancement of computer technology, the ability to create a 3D virtual simulation that is vivid and "real" has created a fascination and absorption with video games unlike before. After watching these videos one can only deduce these gamers are taking these games very seriously, that in some way they appear to be submersed into the reality of the character they are controlling. As a non-gamer however, it is hard for me to imagine that they believe somehow that the game is real or even represents reality in some way, as a simulacrum of some kind. The issue of gaming has gone so far that Dr. Phil has episodes where a husband and wife are divorcing and people are refusing to get jobs because they are fixated on gaming. A couple of weeks ago a child ran away from home (because his parents were concerned with his gaming) only to be found dead days later. Is gaming the new reality of our time and the non, gamers haven't 'clicked' in yet? Is our generation the true progeny of capitalism that we need to be competing at all times? Or are graphics so refined and detailed that people cannot help but escape?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTwgNhX4BSo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u15om2udjE

Labels: capitalism, gaming, reality, simulacrum