Blog 6

Blog Prompt 6 (Due after the movie)

How does Existenz, the film, fit into Plato’s hierarchical scheme of reality? How does the game, Trancendenz fit? (Due Saturday after class).

In Plato’s hierarchy of reality there are different realms. The first realm is the wold of forms. In this world our five senses are useless and only critical thinking and a thirst of knowledge are valuable in this realm. It consists of ideas and forms of objects in the physical world which are considered to be perfect. For example, computers in the real world have lots of shapes and sizes but they are not made for every task; therefore the idea of a computer is more perfect than a physical computer because it is much more versatile and incorporates every physical form of a computer. The second realm is the world which we perceive in our waking lives. It is different than the first realm in that ideas and viewpoints are constantly shifting and that any object in this world will never be perfect but just an imitation of a form in the world of ideas the first realm.

The game inside the film Estinenz has a number of references and similarities to Plato’s realms of reality . The participants play bazaar roles and their environments, problems and view points are constantly changing. One minute they are in the woods and next in a fish factory its very quick and un-trust worthy. The characters are also dictated by physical lusts, like death, sexual innuendos and sometimes beak the fourth wall and make sure that their desire for lust is known to the audience. In this way they are in Plato’s view point falling victim to humanities predisposition for physical lusts and desires. and the constant shifting of setting makes us question how reliable senses are in that world. Anyone could be lying, you need background knowledge and logic when considering who and what to trust not desires and physical senses.

Would Plato like this world? I think not. This game does not bring people closer to reality. Plato would have sided with the realist and fought to keep the game out of society. There is an interesting parallel with the game and virtual reality today. I think Plato would not like VR’s use for some gaming because the purpose of a game is to teach a message. In cards we teach counting and lying, basketball and soccer we teach team work and trickery. But in some video games it becomes unclear what we are teaching thus the message is blurred. In the case of teaching if we can use technology to further emerge kids in learning i think Plato would approve. If technology provides for a higher capacity and more robust passage for ideas and knowledge to be passed the message can be better shared and possibly more clear.

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