As has been stated ad nauseum, the success of the film ‘Avatar’ has firmly cemented (at least the concept) of what an avatar is within the minds of a global populace. And of course the penetration of 3D worlds is ongoing, seeping more and more into spaces and subcultures (stamps, anyone?) than ever before.
Avatar was more of a presentation of the avatar concept rather than a comment/critique on virtual worlds, but there’s a new show on the SyFy channel that is aiming to take a more thought-provoking look at what it means to be an avatar and what effect virtual worlds have on the real world. The show is called Caprica, and is a prequel to the recent Battlestar Galactica TV series.
The show’s jump-off is sensational: the lead character’s daughter is killed in a terrorist bombing, after which he (Dr. Greystone, played by Eric Stoltz) learns that his daughter was heavily invested in some nefarious virtual world pursuits, including violent fantasies and sexual desires. Stoltz uses the “Holoband” technology (essentially, 3D goggles) that he created to enter this world.
In a video piece on the SyFy site, people involved with the show delve further into what this virtual world means. Mark Stern, Executive Vice-President of Original Programming at SyFy, notes that the Holoband is “really just a half-step forward from this idea of being able to jack yourself into a virtual environment,” indicating that the fictional world is not far removed from the real world. The show has created deeply realized worlds of gaming, porn, clubs and hedonistic places, but educational spaces are notably absent. “We don’t really delve too deeply in them, but I’m sure there’s other places where you can go to school and learn things,” he said.
Of course, in the wild frontier of the programmed future, kids wreak havoc. “Naturally, the kids have hacked it,” says Eric Stolz, “and its full of rooms with every possible stimulation, not all of them healthy… Dr. Greystone is shocked to see it corrupted into violent use and pornographic use, and was not at all his intention, like so many things that have been invented that start out as one thing and become something else.”
The show also touches on themes of content management, as from this scene when Dr. Greystone says, “We thought we could control the content in the v world, especially for kids, but we have failed, clearly.”
Here’s the full video:
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just a thought.. notice that no one really commented on this post… no comments of any VALUE of ideas.
Only “comments” of retwitted” notification of distribution of a notification…
cylons love this type of “content”
thus the machine already is talking -but not to us.:)
just like zoey and her dad.
red eye cube3
Where would we be without you Cube making sure there was an actual human contributing and finishing each stream?
I mean, you’re a comment machine yourself, no? How do I know you’re real?
“No matter where you go, there you are” Buckaroo Banzai
i never said i was real.;)
Since I have been intrigued by the show and its many layers, I will focus on some interesting themes I have seen:
1. Evolution of interconnectedness – the idea that a fairly inexpensive equipment that is “lightweight” could make virtual space accessible to everyone is quite intriguing
2. Choice to participate exclusively in virtual world – although it seems as though the virtual world depicted could be addictive, they don’t depict anyone who is living “in world” 24×7 while it appears somewhat socially acceptable to be in world while sitting in public
3. The half step to BSG – the idea that the blend of the future is retro, multiple “worlds” and it is allowing processor to be somewhat analog that provides the ability to impart personality into machines is a little bit radical from an electrical engineering perspective
4. Free and thoughtful agents – as virtual agents become more intelligent, autonomous, and capable, the idea of “competing” in the virtual world gets turned up a notch
5. Radical twist – the idea that the humans are polytheistic and the robots are monotheistic is probably one of the more delicious elements
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Waiting for the show to go to DVD to watch it uninterrupted but it does seem to raise an issue about what do we do with adults who have grown up with hours and hours of virtual experience killing without any consequences? Kinda scary!
watch the show first paypabak..:)
WE dont get to do anthing with the generations born and grown up killing in vr without any consequences:) The Machines they created get to do IT to them;)
Actually I had mentioned elswhere that i find the show interesting so far since it has almost all its “adult” characters shown as kinda “adolescent” in their actions and motivations. Some are damaged adults, but others are prone to adolescent actions, especially as parents.
Which of course is why they end up with, spoiled, and eventually mechanical and genocidal children. Oedipus on fusion.
12 year old Adam– Adama- will be the new father…of us.– after the coming death and fall of caprica… or rome;)— enjoy the dark ages… available on DVD today.
BSG Seasons 1-5;)- which im guessing you saw already…
Moore’s doing great stuff.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10470998-247.html?tag=newsLatestHeadlinesArea.0
this has happened before…..
I’m not sure why, but I’m not exactly intrigued with the “avatar concept” being used in plots for movies and tv…. maybe it’s just that I’m used to the avatar concept…
… but, I’m a movie and tv buff. I also loved the movie “Avatar”, but I just seem to not be so into the plot concept of “human controls a remote body to do stuff”
Basically, I loved the first Tron. I can’t wait for the new Tron. And that’s enough for me.
Personally, I enjoy avatar and Second Life references (such as Dwight in “The Office”) more than avatar plot lines. Am I the only one bored with the concept already?