post class- fang

The past week's classes have been nothing short of tragically depressing. Essentially, we've covered a lot of ground from the demolition of my childhood love of Disney to critically analyzing whether not I even understand reality despite the fact I claim to live in it. Though overwhelming, the past few discussions have enabled me to think about my own perceptions of reality and the ramifications, if there were any, of drifting off into a fantasy land or even just skewing the reality you live in then.

As children, particularly during recess, many of us are told to use our imaginations and play games of "make-believe" where you are a cop and others are robbers or a game of king of the hill turns into knights trying to get into a castle. When the bell rings or a teacher calls you back in from recess, that game gets paused and it then becomes time to go back to the reality of school. It is at this young age and early development that the idea of breaking from reality is incredibly appealing. When given the option (even today) of the monotony of school versus the exciting and unpredictable recess, recess wins every time. So, really, why should people want to pursue reality when the alternative is grandiose and uplifting?

In the The Office episode "Local Ad", Jim finds out that in an effort to cope with his break-up, Dwight created a profile on Second Life and lives the same life he leads in his actual life only he is manager, not assistant to the regional manager and he is still with Angela, his love interest. He even goes so far as to make a game in Second Life called "Second Second Life" where that avatar seeks his dreams as CEO and married.

 The episode demonstrates that is human nature to see the grass as greener on the other side and to always want more. That is how our perception of reality is. Now, however, with intense disillusionment about government and technology, our inclination to seek out a new reality, better than our own, is greater than it has been in a while. While I don't know what the proper way to handle reality is, I do think that there is nothing wrong with experimenting with the simulacra to just boost your spirits in a time when a lot of things suck. The issue is can/will we come back to reality when things are better.