Greg Rapp's Religious blog

Virtual Rape (Article Summary)

grapp08 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:42:42 +0000

The article by Julian Dribbell explains in detail a “rape” that occuredover a MUD. Because of the unique set up of a mud, it made it very interesting. Can there be a rape in cyberspace? The idea sounds silly, but in my opinion like much of what we debate in class; the validity of interaction rests on the user. If someone perceives an action as real, than it certainly has the capability of being real in some sense. But can the interactions leave the magic circle? Would the perpetrator of the rape be considered a rapist once he or she logs off of the game? Perspective is the most important aspect in understanding. An important point that Dribbell makes is this “perhaps it’s better to release…violent tendencies in a virtual environment rather than in real life.” When looked at as a form of release, video games appear healthy. But there is no real evidence that someone who plays a violent video game is less prone to go on a shooting spree. But this does open the door to a new form of study, a field that must be examined closely as more and more people identify themselves as “gamers.”

Why Video Games are so Controversial

grapp08 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:04:21 +0000

In the documentary made by Danny Ledonne, there were many view points as to how to handle video games. There were some, such as the programmers who believed that there were no restrictions necessary, if one was offended by a game than they simply should just not play it. There were also some, who thought that there are some games that should be banned and taken off the shelves. Both sides are somewhat radical and its probable that in time, the debate will land somewhere in the middle. I thought a key point in the film is that video games are a new and breakthrough field, and this may scare some people. Much like the folklore tale of people running from the train in the movie theater when motion pictures were first shown. It also reminded me of how many parents hated the Beatles, anything that is groundbreaking is likely the startle people. Both of my parents are relatively inept when it comes to using cell phones, and it never ceases to amaze them when i pick it up and fix whatever problem they are having in seconds. This is because i grew up with the technology in my hands, the same way in which i grew up with a video game controller in my hand. It is the tool of my generation, and to reach a mastery that i have, it would take an adult the age of my parents (mid 50s) far longer to understand the controls to a game. Perhaps those in charge of policy making (who do not play video games) simply do not comprehend anything about video games. That what happens in the magic circle of playing a video game is really quite similar to that of reading a book.

Social Drama

grapp08 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:33:52 +0000

Turners notion of the social drama is this

1.Breach

2. Crisis

3. Adjustment/redress

4. Reintegration

It is believed that the social drama resonates most with people who have privilege to begin with. This notion makes perfect sense because in the “crisis” stage, many aspects of a persons life are called into question. We can imagine a rich man giving away all of his wealth and moving into the wilderness, this would be reintegration. When we use the frame of social drama as a story line, we can see how it unfolds archetypally. An example would be batman; the hero is Bruce Wayne, son of one of the wealthiest families in the world. His parents are killed and this sends him into a state of crisis; he struggles to find what his true destiny is. He finds an avatar of a bat to be the best mask to help protect all classes of citizens from forgoing a crisis that he endured as a a child. and through this means, he is reintegrated into society, now knowing what his true role is.

MUDs and identity( Article Summary)

grapp08 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:10:19 +0000

In the article titled “Liber Mud: The MUD as a Basis for Western Mysticism,” author Tyagi Nagasiva slowly unpacks philosophical notions of Multi User Dimension (MUD) games. By defining terms such as reality, virtual reality, and real life, Nasgasiva slowly paints a picture as to whether Virtually reality is really so different from reality. She uses the argument that a MUD is a realm, but upon examining the defintion of a realm, it seems our own “real world” is also a realm. So there is really no way to determine which realm is REAL. Of course our instinct would be to say the non comupter realm is realer, but Nasgasiva urges us to notice our own personal bias on the matter. Someone deeply entrenched in a MUD would likely feel the same way about their own realm. An identity crafted in Virtual Reality should not be seen as any less real; in fact, there is a chance that it could be more real, because it is a direct expression of some ones personality in a virtual realm. It is from the creation of these realms, that art appears, claims Nasgasiva. She uses a Japaneese tea ceremony as well as martial arts as examples. It is a real life MUD, because there are “multi-users,” are participating in a similar ritual that was forged over a period of time.

What do We Take From Video Games

grapp08 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:14:38 +0000

Movies and literature can be life altering. Almost everyone has read a book that has changed their opinion on a subject, so surely there is some persuasive power to the rhetoric of literature. Do video games possess the same persuasive powers? There are some key differences in the types of rhetoric being presented. Literature is fixed, like the track of a roller coaster; anyone who reads the text will all read the same text (people can however derive different meaning from the reading). Video games, are much like the gamer is the designer of the roller coaster, and they build it as they go. However, there are limitations to what they can build, and these limitations are implemented by the programmers of the game. The difference between the two styles of rhetorics is that in one you are learning from a rigid, and definite structure; and in the other you are learning in an open space that has definite boundaries. To me, this would make the rhetoric of video games slightly less powerful than that of literature, because the message is less visible. Because the space the gamer is operating in is so wide, i feel it is unlikely that they will take home any messages learned. Even with the occurrence of “flow,” a complete loss of self in the game, at the end of immersion i feel the ACTUAL person remains unchanged. Only left with a sense of accomplishment of putting together the programmers puzzle of challenges and obstacles. This is why i do not have a problem with violent video games, because the acts in the game are just that, in the game. Its not as if violence and obscene things do not take place in literature, yet we hesitate to ban books, even if the rhetoric may be stronger than that of a game.

The Empowerment of Masks

grapp08 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:41:56 +0000

We have spoken about how much of your real world identity is carried over into virtual reality with the creation of avatars. The answer can lie on either extreme; some people strive to make their avatars as much like the actual self as possible, while others seek to create the polar opposite. On either side of the spectrum, it is undoubtably empowering to be able to control your physical features with the click of the mouse. But perhaps what is even more empowering, the the fact that fellow gamers have no knowledge of your real life identity. This separation from the real world allows people to “try on” different personalities or physical attributes that they would never imagine doing amongst their real world peers. For instance, in a forum there are many times in which people “flame,” which is writing hateful messages. I would find it hard to believe that most of the users “flaming” would use the same florid language in real life conversation. Virtual reality, and the avatar mask that accompanies it, allows people to step outside of their societal constraints. These constraints are deeply rooted within human nature, and the curiosity and desire to have them removed is extremely Freudian. For instance, we talked about people doing bizarre sexual things in Second Life, such as experimenting with bestiality. These are acts that we are conditioned from a young age to see as vulgar and ethically wrong. William Golding, the author of The Lord of the Flies, is no stranger to the power of masks. In the novel, once the children mark their faces with warpaint, they enter into a state of savagery. There is one passage of the novel in which Golding references the invisible arm of society, stopping the children from savage behavior. But once their previous identities were covered by their warpaint, they were able to act in horrible ways that they would have never conceived possible before being on the island. When looking at it in this light, the empowerment that masks or avatars grant appears somewhat dangerous. However, since the actions that take place in virtual reality are purely “virtual,” the toying around with personal identity is somewhat playful. It is not surprising that many elect to change their skin color or gender; because these are things that we simply cannot do in the real world. Whether or not one can actually learn something from this is yet to be seen. But i do believe someone who experiments with many different avatars is searching more for themselves in the real world than they are in virtual reality.

The Transference of Sacred Space(Article Summary)

grapp08 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:41:52 +0000

The author of the article explores the ways in which an Evangelical Church and a Hindu Temple made the transition to an online setting. Many people would see this experience as not authentic, or genuine. However, in my opinion, the legitimacy of the experience relies heavily on the consumer. What makes the user comfortable is the familiar design of the virtual space. It is obviously modeled in the same way that the brick and mortar church is model, this makes the meaning encoded. The idea of it being encoded can be paralleled to a ritual, in which the meaning is encoded by someone other than the performer (according to Rappaport). This would qualify virtual church as a religion, because the participants are absorbing rhetoric that is not their own. The Temples and Churches alike, are designed to represent themes of ritual that make the user for comfortable. Because the structure of these virtual buildings are designed by fellow believers, it instills a true sense of sacred ritual; even if not in an actual geological location. However, there is a certain “limit” to the amount of sacred activity that can take place in a virtual realm. Because of the lack of synchronous ritual, that one would participate in at a church or temple, is not always in place online. People can participate at any time they choose, which can be a negative and a positive at the same time. Some would argue that the asynchonicity of the ritual takes away from its sacred qualities.

When Does Rhetoric Actually Have an Effect?

grapp08 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:34:12 +0000

One of Rappaport’s notes on ritual is this

“I take ritual to be a form or structure, defining it as the performance of more or less invariant sequences of formal acts and utterances not encoded by the performers.” (Grimes, 428)

The key in my opinion, is the performers not being the authors of the acts. This makes plays rituals, as well as many other occurrences; church ceremonies, songs, pledge of allegiance, etc. Basically anything that is being reconstructed or reenacted is a ritual. But when do these rituals actually have a profound effect on the subject? I contest what is most important, is the subjects preconceived ideas. If the procedural rhetoric of a video game, or the visual rhetoric of a painting coincides with the media consumers ideas, than the rhetoric will be reinforced. However, i feel it is rare that someone can be “converted” through game or rhetoric, it is hard to tear downs people conceptions of right and wrong. Using Grand Theft Auto as an example for procedural rhetoric; our society does not condone the murdering of police or the many other crude things that occur in the game. Accordingly, people do not typically go on shooting sprees after playing the game, despite its rhetoric. By the same token, when one participates in a civil war reenactment, they do not necessarily channel the feelings of the original fighters of the war.

But there are times at which rhetoric can reenforce. Someone at a mass, reciting the words of the bible can perceive a deep connection with something of divinity. This is because the feelings that allow the connectedness already existed in the believer. I believe that it is rare that someone who does not believe in God will simply be swayed by the rhetoric, with the same thought process occurring for the player of Grand Theft Auto.

What isn’t a ritual?

grapp08 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:02:54 +0000

In class we were asked to define ritual; i jotted down a few ideas of my own and it looked something like this.

Ritual is a particular way of doing something, the act being done ALWAYS has a purpose.

whether or not the ritual will actually have real world implications is irrelevant. A definite feeling of communitas can be shared by those who share a ritual.

By my own definition, many things would fall under the category of ritual. Of some things i listed, A tribal rain dance, or even the act of starting a car. A rain dance seems easier to comprehend, because that is what we think of when the word ritual is spoken. But what about starting a car? for almost everyone, the motion is one particular way; and if you are starting a car it puts you in the community of a driver. The liminal stage for driving would be drivers ed; uncertainty of how to handle a vehicle.

But how does this measure up to the definitions of someone like Tambiah, an expert on rituals. His explanation of rituals were that they contain patterned and ordered sequence expressed in multiple media. the content and arrangement are characterized in varying degree by formality. For whatever reason; when i read this definition, i picture dialing a phone number as a ritual. Everyone has their own unique sequence of digits. Dialing differing numbers will vary the result you get; who you are connected to on the line. Furthermore, there are different types of keypads, spanning from older style like a rotary phone, to modern touch screen dialing pads. But they remain uniform in the sense that they all have 10 digits, and usually contain a pound and asterisk key. Perhaps i am just attempting to fit a square peg into a circle on this topic, but i do believe that more things can be categorized as rituals than people think.

Is Halo Biblical?

grapp08 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:42:48 +0000

It is clear that eschatology plays a role in many archetypes. We discussed the classic Jewish and early Christian myth of apocalypse in which an angel is sent down by god to help a messiah figure see the truth. this is a clear archetype that intersects with other archetypes as well; such as the heroes journey. What remains constant is that of an outer-worldly guide, often in the form on an angel, who gives vital information to the chosen one living in the world among us. Using the qua-ran as an example to evidence this: Allah—->Angel Gabrielle—-> Prophet Mohammed. There is always a sender, a means of delivery, and a chosen recipient. We see this in star wars as well, Luke is the chosen one, its: The force—->Obi wan Kinobi—->Luke Skywalker. With video games, the “god” figure, it could be argued, are the game programmers themselves. So for Halo is would work like this: Video game programmers—>Cortana( who carries the information vital to understanding the game, and also is a hologram; much like how our society views angels)—-> Master Chief. Master Chief is the protagonist of the game and the fate of the human race depends upon his (the gamers) actions. It seems rather obvious now that we look at it with the rule of threes; its not even as if the symbolism is so deeply rooted in the game, its named HALO after all. It is teeming with religious symbolism. As i do in most of my blog entries I will use an example from the Matrix; this is probably the best example of the rule of threes. referencing the scene in the film in which Neo is in the training construct (much like Assassins Creed), it goes: Operator (who is controlling the construct from the “real” world)—-> the computer program of the matrix—–>Neo (who is called in the movie “the one”). And who is the love interest of the chosen one? None other than TRINITY; i rest my case.