Alternate Reality, Why do we seek it? Where? and to what end?

 

When one hears the term, “alternate reality”, one might think of a different world, or a subconscious level of living like a dream state. Others may think of a completely different state of existence from their current one, while those that are more technically inclined, may think of alternate or fractured timeline changes due to a different choice or interference (directly or indirectly) in the space time continuum (some of you trekkers out there love that last one I’m sure). What’s interesting is that of late in Hollywood, many movies have taken on the form of storytelling by adding on to various degrees of an alternate reality (A.R for short) in its content.

This is especially true with a lot of films within the past decade, even when the genre or demographic of the film differs to the typical A.R. within the movie. One good example of this would be “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, a romantic themed film with an interesting AR twist, which came out in mid 2009. In a nutshell, the storyline is about a man, due to an unusual accident, travels back (and later on forward) in time to certain key events in his life as well as certain people though be it out of his direct control of when he jumps in time. One particular person, the love interest, he is drawn to the most and visits her the most during his travels, but the relationship becomes strained due to his uncontrollable movements in time. Personally I haven’t seen this film in full, (for obvious reasons, lol) but a friend of mine (female of course) mentioned it to me when I was telling her I was planning to write a bit about this topic. In any case this would be one example of an A.R. theme found (to some degree) in a film genre you would normally never see it in.

There are more apparent films that do take on the AR theme in a more direct manner while in some degree keep the potential of the AR existing within the sub plot reality of the movie’s storyline. Some obvious films would include, The Matrix trilogy, ExistenZ, Avalon, Tron, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Chronicles of Narnia (at least the first 2 films), Avatar, and most recently the film Inception. Although each of these films does differ significantly from each other in plots, the A.R. themes are consistent. In each of these films, there’s the proposal of a potential new form of existence, within the current existence of the film’s initial storyline. Interestingly enough, many of the characters of many of these films, are more than willing to give up their current existences for the new A.R.s, now why is that? Why it that characters like Cypher in Matrix 1 is was so willing to being “replugged” back into the matrix (and sell out his fellow crew) rather than face the reality of what the world was at that time? Why is it that the Peneves children from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, decided to extended their stay in Narnia when they could have gone back through the wardrobe right after the battle with the white witch was over? (Yes technically they did eventually go back, but they all did have a strong desire to return to Narnia later on, which they did). Why was Mal (of the movie “Inception”) so convinced that she was still dreaming that she was willing to stay in the limbo level of subconscious with her husband? Is the ideal of the A.R. more fulfilling than the reality of today?

This preference to A.R. over R.L. (real life) is not just limited to movies and Hollywood entertainment, the video game industry is a multi-million one, consisting of various games of all types for all ages. This is especially true with the introduction of online gaming, which came into being near the end of the 90’s, and has become the largest and most popular form of video game play today. With that, in mind, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is considered to have the largest of participants with avid, casual, and even novice, players. Why do I bring this up? Well, as of late, many of these MMORPG type games make up an unusually large percentage of those who play, create or are directly involved in video games. The past decade to now in particular, has seen the population of gamers increase substantially. Many believe this is the result of older gamers playing more complex games (such as MMORPG’s), the availability of better technology for these games, plus the easier accessibility for online game play (like the various game consoles and current computers) make it easier and vividly more feasible to immerse ourselves in these new online realities. Some of the more popular games of this caliber include “Second Life”, “The Sims”, “Guild Wars”, “Everquest” and (er) “World of Warcraft”. As you can imagine, some of these games mentioned can become quite addictive...I should know.

In regards to this addictiveness of these games and the attractiveness of the various themes of A.R we see in films, is there ever a time when what we find so fascinating about these A.R. could divulge into an obsession? Technically speaking, anything we put into ourselves as an over-indulgence is never good, in any form or fashion. But alas we are flawed creatures of flawed habits in world far from perfect. Remember that article about the after affect many had after seeing the movie Avatar? (See Avatar review Prt.1 & Prt 3) Well it seems from a visual scale, many felt depressed after experiencing the vibrant flora and fauna of Pandora (in 3-D no doubt) while coming back to reality in comparison to the less then vibrant-ness of world today.



Here's a clip of this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcL5Wghm7-s

But why do we have this need to be caught up in an A.R.? Why it is many of us love to immerse themselves in our own creative imagination based on outlets ranging from online gameplay, HD movies, or even a really well written novel? Perhaps for us as a people, there is a deep desire to seek out more than what we see in our own world of 9 to 5 day to day routine of living. Perhaps those of us need a break from reality that many cannot always deal with at times. Or just perhaps, deep within our own subconscious thoughts, we feel there is more our current existence, that we try to seek out in our own ways.
One of my favorite books of the Bible is Revelations, particularly Chapter 21. This chapter was on my mind when writing this. Verse 1: “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” Verse 2: “Then I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as bride adorned for her husband.” Now, how’s that for an Alternate Reality?

Now I’m not planning to turn this into a moment to preach. That being said, I do think we as a people, (regardless of religion or beliefs) do have a hidden desire to seek out something greater than our current existence. This might be the reason why many of us get so enamored with the latest form of technology, entertainment media, or with our own creative imaginations. Perhaps we have an inherent desire to seek out these A.R.’s because we on a subconscious level know that there is more to our existence than where we are today. Think about it, considering the amount of time, preparation, and money we spend on focusing on various types of A.R.s in day to day life, it’s clear we want more than what we currently have in this plane of reality, one where “every tear from every eye is wiped away, there is no more death, nor sorrow for crying nor any more pain, for the former things have passed away”. And perhaps one day, we as a people will have the opportunity to achieve that level of existence. Here’s to hoping!