4) Explore gender roles in Gamer and/or The Surrogates.
For my essay, I decided to write on number four and expand. I wanted to expand on how women are treated and compare and contrast on the surrogates and the gamer. Also, I want to write about how men are viewed in both films.

Is this where we are heading?

The movie "Gamer" looks at society and how maybe it would be in the future. At first, I wasn't interested in it, but because we were reading the surrogates, I found it more interesting because both, movie and novel surprisingly went hand in hand. In the graphic novel, people control robot type people called surrogates, from pretty much the comfort of their own home. They can control how their surrogates look like, what they do, without actually being there. To me, it's pretty much saying, "Hey chromosomes, I don't like how you combined and my genetic makeup sucks and I'm not happy with myself, so I will make myself my ideal self".  In the movie Gamer we see something similar, people can control an avatar and make them interact, like a real life sim. Also, in the movie we find the main character, Kable a convict  by force (I say by force because the main guy who is control of the society made him kill someone), being controlled by a teenage in a game called slayer. The game would put convicted fellons into battles and if they win 30 battles, they are forgiven.

In the film there is this group called Humanz. Humanz hijack the television show and games and explains to people that soon they will be controlled by the guy who invented society and slayers pretty soon. I believe that their whole purpose was to bring out the truth of what was actually going on, which unfortunately, not many people knew what was happening because they were brain washed. As I was watching the rest of this film, I always went back to the surrogates and the novel Fahrenheit 451. These three have a resemblance in the sense that if we don't change, soon enough we will be controlled by government or someone and we won't be happy with ourselves. Also, in both the surrogates and Fahrenheit 451, they have someone who tries to bring people back to reality.

Although it was just a film, it kinda scares me that soon we may or may not be in the same or similar situation as in the movie gamer or even the novels. So many are using their free time or their entire day devoted to television, internet or video games. What people do with their lives, it's up to them. But it just seems scary that even in reality we do is spend our times on the interent rather than going out. I know this isn't for everyone, but it seems the majority do these, then again, I could be wrong. But as I was analyzing this, I kept thinking to myself: "is this the way that we are heading too?" because if it is, soon identity, freedom, authenticity would be soon gone... which is a scary thought

Le video games.

2) Write a blog arguing for or against the proposition that the heavy use of RPGs can blur one's ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality.


"can heavy use of RPGs blur one's ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality?" I have to say that my answer to this question is, yes. just by reading the first few paragraphs of "videogames, avatar, and identity" proved my answer to be true. The writer claims that he was supposed to be in bed, but in reality he kept thinking about his game and that is what deprived him from sleep. That he kept thinking about his avatar. In my honest opinion, I believe that if you let one thing have the most of your time, then eventually it will disorient you from reality. In this case, if you play RPGs games constantly, chances are that you will feel a little out of place in the real world because your mind is so consumed with playing a video game. To a point that even when you're not playing and actually doing your every day thing, your mind would be so consumed by it. 


I can sort of relate, in a way. My summer before going to ninth grade I got my hands on the SIMS 2. It seems silly, but the amount of hours I spent playing that silly game is ridiculous. Because at that time, I couldn't go out as much, until I had the house cleaned and I guess playing the sims was an escape? I created my avatar, and honestly I just picked random stuff to create my avatar. I didn't really put much thought into it. But even though I didn't let it get to me as much, at one point it got that all I wanted to do was play that game. I guess it was nice dreaming about a life where it was easy. if you got bored quick, you could fast forward your day. and if you didn't have to go to school to be a doctor.  there was something interesting about it, i just can't put my finger. But before anything, I realized I spent way to much time on it, and killed my avatar. 


But, to make my point yes it can. From personal experience, playing RPGs games can distort you form reality if played way too much.