S/R 3: eXistenZ

David Cronenberg’s science fiction film, eXistenZ, tells the story of a near-future dystopian society where video games have become the cultural norm as a recreational pastime. In this world, there is constant tension between gamers and realists who believe that the games are evil. These video games, instead of being played through hand-held controllers and viewed on a screen, connects directly to a person’s nervous system through a “bioport” installed at the base of his or her spine, and players use umbilical-like cords to jack into to the game. The game pods are grown than machined, as they mimic masses of amphibious flesh and organs, rather than artificial electrical components. Allegra Geller, a renowned game designer, conducts a focus group to test her new video game, eXistenZ, using these game pods. However, an assassination attempt by a realist quickly disperses the group and Geller flees to safety with marketing trainee Ted Pikul. Geller fears that the attempt on her life has damaged the only copy of eXistenZ in her game pod. She convinces Pikul to install an illegal bioport so that he may play the game with her. They visit Kiri Vinokur, Allegra's mentor, who installs Pikuls bioport. Pikul and Allegra enter eXistenZ together, and inside the game, they obtain new micropods, which descend their consciousness into a subsequent game layer. They find themselves in a game pod factory, harvesting mutated amphibians to create more game pods. Reality is distorted when Pikul creates an organic gun similar to the one used in the original assassination attempt, and continues to struggle with which setting is the real world versus the game world. Allegra finds a diseased game pod and hooks into it in the hopes that they can destroy Cortical Systematic's game pods. However, Allegra herself becomes infected and Pikul theorizes that they have lost the game. The two wake up and find themselves back at the ski lodge. Reality is further blurred as it seems that the disease from the game has infected Allegra’s game pod in this world. They exit the lodge to find war has broken out as the realists attempt to purge the world of game pods. Pikul reveals to Allegra that he is actually a realist and her assassin, which is the reason why he originally did not have a bioport. Allegra discloses that she had known he was her assassin, and preemptively kills Pikul. The two wake up in a focus group paralleling the first scene. In a twist, it turns out they are part of a focus group to beta test game designer's Yevgeny Nourish’s new game, tranCendenZ. Pikul and Allegra uncover the fact that they are realists, and kill Nourish for distorting reality.

What I found fascinating in eXistenZ was the recurring theme of self-determination and autonomy. As human beings, we assume we have complete free will in our actions and that we have the power to think and act without outside influence or compulsion. In reality, our thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears and shortcomings are all shaped by external influences. I am reminded of Plato's Allegory of a Cave, where individuals chained in a cave are only exposed to shadows projected on the wall. This is their reality, and know little of the outside world. In fact, they assume what they know is reality. Since our experiences all come from the outside, such as from our parents, our friends, our environment, and everything we are exposed to, no decision is made without bias or predisposition. Our world and culture consists of the 6 billion plus human beings that inhabit this world, each one acting as their own autonomous agent. They affect the lives of everyone around them, and we in turn affect the lives of everyone around us. This push-pull system is on constant flux as each individual acts as both sculptures and sculptors in our real-world narrative. eXistenZ/tranCendenZ exemplifies this metaphysical condition through the notion that each player’s existence and presence in the game changes the game world completely. Each person brings with them their own personality and ever-changing sets of variables that collide and intermingle with the other players personalities and variables as well. What results are entirely new and unpredictable experiences. It is up to the players to decide how to handle the various situations. It seems then, what we have is not free will but free choice, a circumstance that not only exists in the game world, but also in reality. We cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose what happens in us. What do we do now with the knowledge of this metaphysical condition and the idea that everyone’s lives are interconnected? Do we let our actions take control over us? Or, do we sculpt our critical consciousness to exercise our own morality and rationality and strive to be the best of humanity?