Avatar As We Are

Warning, what you’re about to read is not for everybody. And no, this is not a topic about James Cameron’s movie, Avatar. Though somewhat mentioned, it certainly is not that crappy Aang’s live action.

I have a question that I ask you to answer honestly.

Which one do you choose between your current soul and body which is something you can not choose*, or you live in an avatar that you can choose yourself negates all kinds of physical (and economy) limitations you have?

*yes, we can set our life according to our effort, but you get it, right?

I think, if you are sane and have limitations like other average human beings, you will choose to be (in) an avatar.

What I See In The Movies

Just look how in James Cameron’s Avatar movie, the disabled main role can walk and even jump from tree to tree. Or maybe I need to mention Neo in Matrix? Please see for yourself the difference between the physical and his embodiment of the avatar.

Vanilla Sky (spoiler alert) is also an example of how something relative tends to be nicer. But this one is different since he didn’t know that he lived in an avatar at first because he chose not to know (maybe this is us now).

One of Bruce Willis’s movie also shows it, where the physical form that roams the streets is the “representative” of its aging original body. I assume this is also an avatar.

Sword Art Online, a very popular Japanese anime that my daughter likes, draws something comparable. In SAO, they are caught in a sophisticated neural machine, so their family takes care of how they can be “fed” automatically (although it does not explain how the bladder went).

Or because the movie itself is a man-made, the hardest to please being?

In The Reality

This can be seen when people are faced with the opportunity to choose something freely. Simple example, create a social media account, an app to chat, or play Role Playing Game, what do we do?

First of all is to use a name that is not given by your parents from birth. Then choose a profile picture that is a photo of yourself after deducting 20kg by the photo editor, adding a customization here and there and everything that is not even close to the real you.

Is this normal? In my opinion, yes!

For the preceding reasons, humans cannot be satisfied. If you are a monk who has been detached from earthly things, maybe you do not recognize this. But, hey … you’re not born into the world for the heavenly business since the beginning, right? A monk, for me, is an avatar made in himself.

What Ifs

What If… we really are avatars? What if we’re actually a perfect someone looking for more challenge in this world? What if there is an avatar that does every activity we do on the internet without us knowing it? What if we’re just an angel’s avatar? And heaven is one hell of an MMORPG server?

Playing God, Being Human

Truman Show is not about avatars, but the movie is a perfect simplification of our lives. Truman is “tied up” in a routine, responsibility, and relationship with someone who “acts” to love him. Even his father was played by an actor. The loss of Truman’s dad is one of the reasons Truman intends to break into his confinement from his “world” by searching for his father.

Also, read something about Truman Show.

Truman’s intentions have temporarily disappeared when his father is “freely given” by the director. Like when God gives us something that we are never grateful for free of charge.

Last Words

The source I have forgotten where his references say that humans will do most of their activities online. What is clear is that he is talking about Ready Player One.

Later, we will only be offline when we need to eat, and bathroom affairs.

So, do you choose to be an avatar, or hold full control over “the real” you? Where do you choose to live, a palace purchased with crypto currency in cyberspace, or live in a narrow cabin?

But you have to wonder first, which shoes should you lick to get a fun life in cyberspace? It will not be as good as the shoes that you lick now. As you know … how human behavior on the internet, especially if they have a power. Cyber-bullying is the most common among others.

Aktor Dalam Tempurung

Mau tau gimana caranya supaya orang ga nyoba cari tau ada apa di ujung bumi?

Beri tanggung jawab, pekerjaan, cinta, karir, rutinitas dan hal lainnya yang mengikat orang itu agar selalu kembali ke titik yang sama. Sangat natural.

Masih kurang cukup? Batasi gerakannya dengan surat-surat, ikat dalam satu kewarganegaraan, jegal di tiap perbatasan, jejali dengan dogma tentang apa yang bisa dan tidak bisa, beserta konsekuensinya.

Ngebayanginnya aja udah capek ya? Boro-boro kepikiran mau nyoba.

Gak heran kalo ada yg punya niat buat ngerjainnya, dianggap “kurang kerjaan”.

Waktu itu gw nonton film Truman Show. Film tentang orang yg sejak lahir selalu dilarang keluar dari areanya. Dia “dipaksa” betah dengan persahabatan, cinta dan karir yang ternyata semuanya palsu.

Ini film bagus. Coba deh tonton sendiri, sambil mikir… Apakah kita betul-betul bebas? Atau semua yg kita kerjakan memang sudah diatur agar selaras dengan skenario yg jauh lebih besar.

Mungkin kita bukan aktor utama, tapi setidaknya kita dicegah menjadi virus.

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