Nicholas Caruso
Media Paper
When I think about someone or something that changed media as we know it, I think about controversy. And when I think about controversy I think about violence, sex, drugs: all things that put into one pot and stirred up can become a heinous concoction. Few forms of media can create such a dastardly brew, but the one I’m talking about is in the gaming industry. That’s where Rockstar Games comes in. Rockstar Games is a video game developer and publisher, based in the United States. They are well known in the gaming industry and outside of it, due to the relentless titles that have produced over the past twelve years When Rockstar Games are brought up in a conversation with non gamers; they instantly think a negative thought, that’s how big of an impact they have had on our society. They have had such an impact that politicians have waged full scale wars against the company, in hopes of burning it to the ground to never hear a peep from them again. But Rockstar is relentless; they fight the system and show that nothing can hold them back.
Rockstar Games was founded in 1998 in New York City, around the time when gaming was starting to rise in popularity more and more. The games produced around those times were very good, but none of them really dealt with real life situations, true to life characters, or anything really out of the realm of science fiction. This is not saying that games back in 1998 weren’t violent, but when Rockstar moved into the picture, they took things to a whole new level. It took a couple of years to get Rockstar into the gaming industry’s eye. Four, to be exact. In 2001, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto III. This game single handedly changed gaming history, and revolutionized how gaming is seen in the publics’ eye.
GTAIII was the first of its kind, in terms of story, style, and most of all, its ambition push the industry to its limits. The game was extremely violent for its times. Gamers could steal cars (as the title would elude), pick up prostitutes, kill innocent pedestrians, and much more. The games story was also, dark, gritty and very unorthodox considering the time period in which it was developed in. The industry ate it up, it was a masterpiece, but not everyone thought so. Wal-Marts all across the country started checking I.D’s for everyone who purchases a game rated M for mature. The lawsuits started to rain down on Rockstar’s head, and made one of the greatest enemies known to the freedom of expression.
Enter Jack Thompson. An activist and former attorney with a gigantic chip on his shoulder. Infamous for attacking N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton CD and 2 Live Crew. To understand where Jack Thompson stands on the freedom of speech I have chosen a quote regarding 2 Live Crew’s lyrics, said by Mr. Thompson:
"I understand as well as anybody that the First Amendment is a cornerstone of a free society—but there is a responsibility to people who can be harmed by words and thoughts, one of which is the message from Campbell that women can be sexually abused.”
Clearly, the man is delusional. He has proved more than once that he doesn’t even know what he is saying half the time, and most importantly, he shows no interest in caring about what other people think. He doesn’t understand the fact that people can make choices, no one can get brainwashed from a video game, no one can get brainwashed from a song, it’s all a persons choice. And if someone even considers using gaming, music, movies, or TV as an outlet to find a way to kill, rape, or murder, those people have a physiological problem that was never taken cared of or evaluated before they were put in a situation where they were in front of a Grand Theft Auto III, or if they put their headphones on to listen to Straight Outta Compton.
During the first few years of GTAIII’s release, many crimes were committed and pinned on the game. Most of these crimes involved a teenage male murdering a family member or close friend, then usually blaming the video game for putting the ideas and encouragement. Jack Thompson always felt the need to intrude and make the situations worse and because of this, he became public enemy number one in the eyes of gamers. This man was a renegade that would stop at nothing to put Rockstar Games down. But what Mr. Thompson didn’t realize was that Rockstar was a renegade company in their own right. They made games that changed entertainment as we know it, and because of that no matter what, business was always good for Rockstar.
In 2002, Rockstar released a sequel to Grand Theft Auto III, GTA: Vice City. This game took the idea of the previous one and made it fifty times better. The story resembled the Al Pacino classic: Scarface, except was grittier and more violent. To sum up GTA: Vice City, it was a great success as many would assume. But, like its predecessor, it was followed by controversy. This game was so “bad” in the eyes of the Australian government that before its release, it was censored. The game was literally just censored, watered down, and over all destroyed because of how the government thought it would effect the youth. Not until 2010 were the censors removed from the game. That’s eight years, eight years it took a whole government to realize what a foolish move they had made. Oh, and let’s not forget Jack Thompson. He helped out the families of two idiot kids who decided to murder a bunch of people. Both times, the theory of the game having anything to do was rightfully dismissed. You want to know why? Because the kids were on anti-depressants. They were both psychologically malformed, therefore saying a video game helped them want to alone makes no sense. You have to have a real problem to go about doing something as drastic as murdering your father, step mother, and step sister. That’s what Cody Posey did in September 2006 at his ranch in Hando, New Mexico, and Jack Thompson was there to try and take Rockstar down, once again.
In between 2002 and 2004 Rockstar released more games that broke the usual template of what a game should be. Such as Max Payne 2: The fall Of Max Payne, Manhunt, and Red Dead Revolver. Out of those three, Manhunt brought the most controversy to Rockstar Games. In order to understand the games controversial background, you need to know the basic plot to the game. You play as a guy on death row who is dropped into an abandoned city and is the main star of a snuff movie. Basically, you need to kill your way out of the city and once you follow the directors’ orders, you will be released. So basically, you spend 95% of the game killing people. From firsthand experience, this game is brutal to say the least. The executions are so realistic; I could understand people getting physically ill from playing this game. The game was so graphic in fact that if you live in New Zealand and posses the game, it counts as an offense. Bottom line, Manhunt was made to brew controversy. Here’s a quote from a former Rockstar Games employee Jeff Williams on Manhunt:
“There was no way to rationalize it. We were crossing a line."
Fast forward to the year 2004. Rockstar games is on top of its game, a sequel to GTA: Vice City is released. GTA: San Andreas, the highest selling game on the Play Station 2 with 17.3 million units sold. Again, Rockstar pushed the boundaries and really strutted their stuff with this one. At the time of its released, I remember personally getting the game, and I remember all of my friends getting it. Looking back on it now, I realize that Rockstar had the industry in the palm of their hands. They were really in control of everything and continued to rake in the cash. GTA: San Andreas was one of those “must have” or “must own” titles for its time, and I still believe every hardcore gamer should give it a spin, it’s definitely worth it.
What GTA: San Andreas is mostly remembered for is something Rockstar probably wishes was never discovered. Within the story line of the game, the main character, CJ, is required to date in game girlfriends. The gamers’ job is to play little mini games in order to win you’re girlfriend over. Well, Rockstar had added a little “something” to the mini games. It’s known as Hot Coffee. A little mini game in which the players are to basically take the girlfriend into their room and have sex with them. Now, Rockstar got rid of the mini-game by basically burying it in coding. That didn’t stop hackers to find the game on the PC version, and when it was found, the gaming community exploded. No one thought Rockstar would go THAT far, not only did they thing Rockstar wouldn’t go that far, they thought it was nuts to try and hide it!
As you probably could have guess, Jack Thompson jumped right on this burning freight train and just added to the fire. Accusing Rockstar of trying to brainwash the youth by “training” them to be violent. A new face appeared in the political spectrum, Hilary Clinton, our very own Senator! She joined the Hot Coffee party by taking sides with the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). With ESRB (one of Rockstars’ main villains), Jack Thompson, and Hilary Clinton against Rockstar, New legal actions were taken against the company, including the Family Entertainment Protection Act. This was a bill enforced and shown by Hilary Clinton which basically says that if you sell a Mature or AO rated game to a minor, you will be charge a $1000 fine or be sentenced to 100 hours of community service. This onslaught brought forth to Rockstar a gigantic headache. 85% of the gaming market had been forced to remove Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from their shelves. All of the games in production were recalled. People began trying to sell their copies on eBay in hopes of trying to make some major coin, and failed due to eBay taking them down from the main pages due to the fact that it went against its terms and policies.
Growing up during Rockstars prime as a teenager, I really got a first hand look at how they changed Gaming as a media outlet. For example, they changed the way games are played. Before, everything was very one-dimensional, but after the release of Grand Theft Auto III, games have copied it's template countless, and I mean, countless times. Rockstar titles literally have their own style and way of presenting their stories and quiet frankly no one can match up to them.
Like I said, I grew up during the era of THE Rockstar games, and I really got close to seeing how they sold. Having an uncle that has a video game store, I grew in and around that place. So, I would see, first hand, how these games would influence and sell to the market. People would line up outside the door to get a Rockstar game. No exaggeration, the line would be outside of the door. I remember peoples' parents complaining because their kids would do stupid things and blame the acts on the games. It would happen quiet frequently to be honest and I remember it bothering me at the time, same as it does now. If you're kid doesn't understand how certain things work, they shouldn't be able to even get near a gaming console or watch certain movies. This whole trend with children playing violent video games stirred up a lot of controversy in my neigborhood as well as the world.
Did this bother Rockstar? Did Hot Coffee really bother them? Did making children turn into sociopaths bother them? No. They moved on, they continued to create masterpieces. They continued to brew their trademark controversial beloved games. Now, Rockstar is one of the most recognizable icons in entertainment. Almost any teenage male has played a Rockstar title, and it has even spread to the older ages as well. The games continue getting pumped out, on and on and Rockstar shows absolutely no sign of ever stopping.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Blog 10: Gattaca
I somewhat agree with Annas hypothesis, in a few ways. Well, first off, I think if something is the original, let's say, for example, a video game system. You have the first generation: Nintendo Entertainment System. A few years later, Nintendo finds a way to make it a better experience and release the Super Nintendo. At this point, everyone has a Super Nintendo, but still remember the Nintendo and sometimes remember it for nostalgic value. In reality you need to stay with the times or else you're behind. So, in a way, it's a choice of the people.
What would happen is, the new humans would be superior in many ways. Flawless, beautiful creatures, but here's the thing, they aren't really REAL. The first generation of humans would be the ones that would be remembered for being the original. And the original are the ones that are perfect in the way in which, it's natural, you can't fix something that isn't broken, you can only corrupt it. And messing with genetics and human life is just altering something that is already perfect.
What would happen is, the new humans would be superior in many ways. Flawless, beautiful creatures, but here's the thing, they aren't really REAL. The first generation of humans would be the ones that would be remembered for being the original. And the original are the ones that are perfect in the way in which, it's natural, you can't fix something that isn't broken, you can only corrupt it. And messing with genetics and human life is just altering something that is already perfect.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Blog 9: Essay 2
The mass media always has a way of proving its dominance over human minds. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we can never escape the media. What we see on TV, advertisements, logos, media are almost inescapable. The media's job is to pretty much take over your mind and turn you into a consumer with no real mind state. The media also does something else: they create falls gods. They can take any average Joe and turn him or her into a god. The film Hero demonstrates how the media works and really goes into how the media changes lives. The film not only has classic morals to its story, it has modern ones as well, ones that include how the media works and why or why not you should trust everything you hear on television.
Hero is about a guy named Bernie LaPlante who's an average guy, a petty criminal, with loser-like attributes. He ends up getting thrown into a big disaster involving a plane crash and saves the victims. Instead of going straight for the media's attention like many would, he was more concerned about the loss of his shoe. After fleeing the scene, he meets up with Vietnam vet, John Bubber. After discussing things for a bit, Bernie gives John his remaining shoe. The media jumps right on the disaster and finds out about this anonymous person that went into the burning plane to save the lives of the victims. The news media goes on a full on search for this mysterious 'hero'.
Out comes John Bubber with the shoe given to him by Bernie. So now, John is suddenly the hero. This is where the media comes in. John is cleaned up: he gets a nice shave, a haircut and a couple of thousand dollar suits and he's the hero of the incident. Just like that. The media blows him up, puts him on the cover of newspapers, magazines, interviews and all of the stuff you would expect from them.
With the recent discovery of Bubbers past in the Army during the Vietnam War, he is now held on an even high pedestal. This is how the media works: If you can be turned into a semi-good looking person with a past that makes you look good (ex soldier, fireman, policeman, etc), then you too can become a hero. You just need to do something heroic in the peoples' eyes. The media basically gives John even more attention and when the government gets wind of Bubber, they find out he did something even more heroic in Vietnam, giving him the Medal of Honor. That's another thing the media does to people, if you blow up and become an icon, they can go into your past and bring up things that you may or may no want them to bring up. In Bubbers case, it made him even more of a god-like character in a sense and was sensationalized in a new way.
This film also shows us how Americans work in terms of media. When someone in another country does something courageous, they are indeed brought up in conversations and yes, they are spoken about, but in general, they aren't idolized like we do here in the states. When someone is made into a hero like figure in the United States, we really put them high up there. We buy the shirts, the buttons, the DVD’s, everything. Just because it’s shoved so far down our throats that we can't even try to escape it. The mindless zombie sheep that do what the media says just fuel the fire by supporting and helping the cause that's putting them as people down.
America loves a good, old fashioned hero. It's what America's all about right? We do everything the best, we are the strongest, and we can never fail because we have people that do courageous things. That's the mind state of most American's, and that's the mind state the media wants you in to sucker you into buying and incorporating your life into. It's all a joke when you look at it. The real heroes are the ones that do things to risk their lives every day. Yes, it's a courageous act to save people in a burning plane; yeah you are a hero to a certain extent, but not a true hero.
Hero is about a guy named Bernie LaPlante who's an average guy, a petty criminal, with loser-like attributes. He ends up getting thrown into a big disaster involving a plane crash and saves the victims. Instead of going straight for the media's attention like many would, he was more concerned about the loss of his shoe. After fleeing the scene, he meets up with Vietnam vet, John Bubber. After discussing things for a bit, Bernie gives John his remaining shoe. The media jumps right on the disaster and finds out about this anonymous person that went into the burning plane to save the lives of the victims. The news media goes on a full on search for this mysterious 'hero'.
Out comes John Bubber with the shoe given to him by Bernie. So now, John is suddenly the hero. This is where the media comes in. John is cleaned up: he gets a nice shave, a haircut and a couple of thousand dollar suits and he's the hero of the incident. Just like that. The media blows him up, puts him on the cover of newspapers, magazines, interviews and all of the stuff you would expect from them.
With the recent discovery of Bubbers past in the Army during the Vietnam War, he is now held on an even high pedestal. This is how the media works: If you can be turned into a semi-good looking person with a past that makes you look good (ex soldier, fireman, policeman, etc), then you too can become a hero. You just need to do something heroic in the peoples' eyes. The media basically gives John even more attention and when the government gets wind of Bubber, they find out he did something even more heroic in Vietnam, giving him the Medal of Honor. That's another thing the media does to people, if you blow up and become an icon, they can go into your past and bring up things that you may or may no want them to bring up. In Bubbers case, it made him even more of a god-like character in a sense and was sensationalized in a new way.
This film also shows us how Americans work in terms of media. When someone in another country does something courageous, they are indeed brought up in conversations and yes, they are spoken about, but in general, they aren't idolized like we do here in the states. When someone is made into a hero like figure in the United States, we really put them high up there. We buy the shirts, the buttons, the DVD’s, everything. Just because it’s shoved so far down our throats that we can't even try to escape it. The mindless zombie sheep that do what the media says just fuel the fire by supporting and helping the cause that's putting them as people down.
America loves a good, old fashioned hero. It's what America's all about right? We do everything the best, we are the strongest, and we can never fail because we have people that do courageous things. That's the mind state of most American's, and that's the mind state the media wants you in to sucker you into buying and incorporating your life into. It's all a joke when you look at it. The real heroes are the ones that do things to risk their lives every day. Yes, it's a courageous act to save people in a burning plane; yeah you are a hero to a certain extent, but not a true hero.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Blog 8: Follow Up.
I'm rarely considered "the other" in many people's eyes because I will admit, I am a likable person. But I can come up with a certain situation in which I was a part of "the other" category. Here's the scenario:
Walking with a girl through Brooklyn projects, being the only white dude in a 30 mile radius is not fun. The eyes all on me, trying to keep cool, don't give any accidental dirty looks. Yeah, it's not fun. They never become "the other" and I never really officially become "the other" but the threat stands, and we both know what can potentially happen if something was to pop off.
But that's really the only time I feel that way, like I said, I'm a chill guy, I like getting along with people.
Walking with a girl through Brooklyn projects, being the only white dude in a 30 mile radius is not fun. The eyes all on me, trying to keep cool, don't give any accidental dirty looks. Yeah, it's not fun. They never become "the other" and I never really officially become "the other" but the threat stands, and we both know what can potentially happen if something was to pop off.
But that's really the only time I feel that way, like I said, I'm a chill guy, I like getting along with people.
Blog 8: The Concept of the Other
a) give a description of your "other."
My "other" would be a douchebag from Long Island that loves Math, The Islanders, would probably hate his family and watch The Jersey Shore, and would probably not use his/her brain often.
b) explain what it is about it that makes you feel such opposition to it
I just genuinely HATE those things with all of my heart and soul, and knowing that there's someone out there that is like that makes my blood boil.
c) discuss what has happened or would happen in situations where you have to interact with someone who belongs to "the other" as you define it. You should make sure that you do not write something offensive to members of that group, but at the same time if you keep good manners you should express your ideas openly.
I would keep my distance, keep my mouth shut because I know if I'm thrown in a situation where I need to speak with someone that fits that bill, I'm just going to open my mouth and possibly really hurt someone. If I don't like you and you challenge me on it, I'll tell you straight up.
My "other" would be a douchebag from Long Island that loves Math, The Islanders, would probably hate his family and watch The Jersey Shore, and would probably not use his/her brain often.
b) explain what it is about it that makes you feel such opposition to it
I just genuinely HATE those things with all of my heart and soul, and knowing that there's someone out there that is like that makes my blood boil.
c) discuss what has happened or would happen in situations where you have to interact with someone who belongs to "the other" as you define it. You should make sure that you do not write something offensive to members of that group, but at the same time if you keep good manners you should express your ideas openly.
I would keep my distance, keep my mouth shut because I know if I'm thrown in a situation where I need to speak with someone that fits that bill, I'm just going to open my mouth and possibly really hurt someone. If I don't like you and you challenge me on it, I'll tell you straight up.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Blog 7: Bibliography
http://www.rockstargames.com/
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2007/04/jack_thompson_w/
http://www.nomorehotcoffee.com/
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/15/news_6129301.html
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2007/04/jack_thompson_w/
http://www.nomorehotcoffee.com/
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/15/news_6129301.html
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Blog #6: Hero
The film Hero is a great example of how the media will build up a normal guy that meets a certain criteria into a celebrity. In the movie, John Bubber is a Vietnam War veteran who has taken credit for saving the lives of many people that have been involved in a plane crash. The fact that Bubber could be cleaned up, have makeup put on him, and had a Vietnam War background helped the media create a celebrity out of this man. Anyone that has some kind of background involving risking their lives will always been a positive factor if someone is trying to become a star over night by doing good. In the movie, the media and masses are portrayed very realistically.
American’s love a hero and the movie shows that off pretty well.
The minute someone is blown up on TV and all you see is this persons face, I’d say that you’ve got about eighty percent of the American population on the hero’s side in a matter of a day. The other ten percent are the one’s who realize that stuff like that happens all the time and just because this one guy can be thrown into the spot light doesn’t mean he’s a god. Because let’s face it, if everyone who saved lives and risked their own life was created into a god like figure in the media, there would be a lot of gods.
American’s love a hero and the movie shows that off pretty well.
The minute someone is blown up on TV and all you see is this persons face, I’d say that you’ve got about eighty percent of the American population on the hero’s side in a matter of a day. The other ten percent are the one’s who realize that stuff like that happens all the time and just because this one guy can be thrown into the spot light doesn’t mean he’s a god. Because let’s face it, if everyone who saved lives and risked their own life was created into a god like figure in the media, there would be a lot of gods.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Blog 5: Plan for my Media paper.
My topic of choice for the midterm is Rockstar Games. Rockstar is a video game developer and producer, known for their controversial as well as groundbreaking titles. In media in general, they have destroyed the third wall and took something like videogames and made art form story lines. Professional actors and actresses began to catch wind of the growing popularity and were brought along board on many of the growing titles in the collection. Not only that, Rockstar traveled to unknown lands in terms of where you can take the video game industry. Guns, drugs, violence, sex, nudity, “bad” language, and many more topics have been used in the games Rockstar produces.
In this paper, I’m going to be taking the stance of being happy that Rockstar exists and defend it against the ignorant, s*** for brains government officials and politicians that always have something to say. I am glad a company with balls exists. They keep everything they do real and never always push the envelope when it needs to be done. They constantly keep pumping out these games that just sell based on their controversy and I have so much respect for the company as a whole. When Rockstar releases a game, you know it’s going to sell, you know you’ll be entertained and you know it’ll be worth your money and time. The sources I am going to use are probably mostly going to be internet articles discussing the controversy the company has stirred up. Not only that, but growing up in a gaming environment, I have seen the side effects of the games on people, on the industry and the world of mass media. So I will be using my own account growing up on Rockstar games as a legible source because I’m living and lived through Rockstar Games.
In this paper, I’m going to be taking the stance of being happy that Rockstar exists and defend it against the ignorant, s*** for brains government officials and politicians that always have something to say. I am glad a company with balls exists. They keep everything they do real and never always push the envelope when it needs to be done. They constantly keep pumping out these games that just sell based on their controversy and I have so much respect for the company as a whole. When Rockstar releases a game, you know it’s going to sell, you know you’ll be entertained and you know it’ll be worth your money and time. The sources I am going to use are probably mostly going to be internet articles discussing the controversy the company has stirred up. Not only that, but growing up in a gaming environment, I have seen the side effects of the games on people, on the industry and the world of mass media. So I will be using my own account growing up on Rockstar games as a legible source because I’m living and lived through Rockstar Games.
Blog 4: Reflection.
So far, I have learned quite a bit about academic texts. I realized that a lot of what I thought about certain things was wrong. For example: The difference between opinion and standpoint. If I hadn’t been in class for that day, I would believe that they meant about the same exact thing. Even though I argued about certain opinions and facts that I believed were untrue, I kept an open mind. Because of that, I now know a lot more about the difference between opinionated matters and standpoints. I’m a hard headed guy and for some reason it took me a while to admit that there was a difference, but once it was explained and there were a few examples being thrown around the classroom, I realized it was all true.
The interaction with ENA 099 was interesting. I like being put in the teachers’ seat from time to time. Knowing that I was the person that was basically grading this person’s hard work was in a way pretty empowering and I enjoyed it to say the least. Trying to critique someone else’s work actually did help me understand the criteria a lot more. It does sort of make things more meaningful to comment and post on other peoples’ things when you blog. To be honest, it feels pretty good knowing that I’m helping someone out, and truly understanding where they’re coming from. Also, it felt pretty natural to comment on someone’s blog that wasn’t a classmate because I really felt as though I was helping them out with their work and I really enjoy helping people do better in anything so it felt good.
What else would I like to tell you guys? Eh, enjoy life to the fullest because you’re not promised tomorrow. Go have fun, do stupid things, just don’t get hurt or hurt anyone around you and you’ll be okay. Love the ones that deserve it and keep away from the people that give you bad vibes because those people will bring you down in the future, for real.
The interaction with ENA 099 was interesting. I like being put in the teachers’ seat from time to time. Knowing that I was the person that was basically grading this person’s hard work was in a way pretty empowering and I enjoyed it to say the least. Trying to critique someone else’s work actually did help me understand the criteria a lot more. It does sort of make things more meaningful to comment and post on other peoples’ things when you blog. To be honest, it feels pretty good knowing that I’m helping someone out, and truly understanding where they’re coming from. Also, it felt pretty natural to comment on someone’s blog that wasn’t a classmate because I really felt as though I was helping them out with their work and I really enjoy helping people do better in anything so it felt good.
What else would I like to tell you guys? Eh, enjoy life to the fullest because you’re not promised tomorrow. Go have fun, do stupid things, just don’t get hurt or hurt anyone around you and you’ll be okay. Love the ones that deserve it and keep away from the people that give you bad vibes because those people will bring you down in the future, for real.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Blog 3: The Matrix Analysis
The matrix is a lie. The world as we know it as of 1999 is a total lie. It’s a simulation, a distraction for the real life that we as humans should all have the privilege to know about and understand. But, is living in The Matrix that bad? The “real world” really isn’t all sunshine and rainbows itself. Knowing that you live in the planet as opposed to on the planet is a little unsettling to me personally. Knowing that the food is nothing but this strange jelly substance is also unsettling. Are there any positive points to living in the “real world”, besides the fact that you are now aware of the truth? It’s really quite depressing when you really think about it.
In the real world, you are nothing but a machine. You are not a human being. You have artificial skin and hair, but you are a computer. You live the life of your human self day in and day out, living through the daily struggles presented to you as you continue your quest to understand and enjoy the life ahead of you. Then suddenly, you are dragged out of this world that you know, and are told that it is a lie. You would feel pretty crappy to say the least. The matrix is the only way you know, the only way of understanding. The real world offers no real refuge or safeness. It’s a mean, mean place where you can die of famine or disease in an instant, that’s really the only similarity it has to the real world.
In essence, the matrix is the perfect life. You live with everyone that you love, you have friends. On top of that, the real world is a real mind ****. Everything you ever believed, in terms of religion and fate are thrown out the window. None of it exists; it was always a figment of your imagination, along with everything else in the matrix. I’m not saying that I’d seriously enjoy living in the matrix if I was aware of it, but the real world has no future. It’s dark, grimy and just depressing. I seriously would go crazy knowing that I am a computer, with a plug outlet on the back of my neck. Knowing that I would have to re-evaluate EVERYTHING about life in a short amount of time would kill me. What would be my purpose in the real world? I’m just a battery waiting to happen. I can learn anything I want by having something plugged into me and sent to my brain. It would be pointless.
When you take a step back and look at it, it’s really one of the toughest decisions you would ever have to make. Think about it, the matrix is hell. Everything is fake, a lie, your friends, family aren’t real. On the other hand, the real world is just a depressing future, with no other future but destruction and strife. Nothing to really look forward to except being chased by other computers and being turned into a living battery. The real world is also, in a sense hell. So if Morphus presented you the chance to follow him into the real world, I would probably say you would have to be careful, and pick your poison. On the bright side, if you choose to return to the matrix, you forget about any discussion about the real world that ever happened and you can go back and enjoy your steak with your family and friends.
Personally I would choose to live in the real world. I’m the kind of guy that doesn’t like to be lied to, I actually really hate to be lied to, thus I would rather live in a strange new world where at least I am told the truth. It would suck for a long time, knowing that I’d have to try and forget about the people I love back at my old home, but you have to move on and fight the power. You have to move on to bigger things when the opportunity presents itself or else you’ll be living within your own lie. Your own matrix.
In the real world, you are nothing but a machine. You are not a human being. You have artificial skin and hair, but you are a computer. You live the life of your human self day in and day out, living through the daily struggles presented to you as you continue your quest to understand and enjoy the life ahead of you. Then suddenly, you are dragged out of this world that you know, and are told that it is a lie. You would feel pretty crappy to say the least. The matrix is the only way you know, the only way of understanding. The real world offers no real refuge or safeness. It’s a mean, mean place where you can die of famine or disease in an instant, that’s really the only similarity it has to the real world.
In essence, the matrix is the perfect life. You live with everyone that you love, you have friends. On top of that, the real world is a real mind ****. Everything you ever believed, in terms of religion and fate are thrown out the window. None of it exists; it was always a figment of your imagination, along with everything else in the matrix. I’m not saying that I’d seriously enjoy living in the matrix if I was aware of it, but the real world has no future. It’s dark, grimy and just depressing. I seriously would go crazy knowing that I am a computer, with a plug outlet on the back of my neck. Knowing that I would have to re-evaluate EVERYTHING about life in a short amount of time would kill me. What would be my purpose in the real world? I’m just a battery waiting to happen. I can learn anything I want by having something plugged into me and sent to my brain. It would be pointless.
When you take a step back and look at it, it’s really one of the toughest decisions you would ever have to make. Think about it, the matrix is hell. Everything is fake, a lie, your friends, family aren’t real. On the other hand, the real world is just a depressing future, with no other future but destruction and strife. Nothing to really look forward to except being chased by other computers and being turned into a living battery. The real world is also, in a sense hell. So if Morphus presented you the chance to follow him into the real world, I would probably say you would have to be careful, and pick your poison. On the bright side, if you choose to return to the matrix, you forget about any discussion about the real world that ever happened and you can go back and enjoy your steak with your family and friends.
Personally I would choose to live in the real world. I’m the kind of guy that doesn’t like to be lied to, I actually really hate to be lied to, thus I would rather live in a strange new world where at least I am told the truth. It would suck for a long time, knowing that I’d have to try and forget about the people I love back at my old home, but you have to move on and fight the power. You have to move on to bigger things when the opportunity presents itself or else you’ll be living within your own lie. Your own matrix.
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