How does Existenz, the film, fit into Plato’s hierarchical scheme of reality? How does the game, Trancendenz fit?
Insight to the movie:
Existenz is a sci-fi film that in my opinion was thrilling but definitely weird. It begins with the introduction of a new virtual reality video game, called Existenz, that was created by a person named Allegra Geller. Allegra offers a test run of the new video game. During this interaction, a person attempts to kill Allegra because she is wanted dead for a bounty. Allegra survives with the help of a man named Ted Pikul who is ordered to protect her since she is so vulnerable as the game designer carrying the only copy of the game Existenz. Throughout the movie both Allegra and Ted evade dangerous situations while experiencing mysterious events that leave the characters in the movie, and the audience watching the movie, to question what is the real reality.
Prompt:
After watching the movie Existenz, I witnessed many references upon the topics of reality and finding truth, many of which were addressed in Plato’s work as well. Existenz fits into Plato’s discussion about his hierarchical scheme of reality by showcasing video games as the modern art form, just as were the art form of painting or poetry during Plato’s time. Plato’s example of painters is perfect because it has a parallel with the game makers and players in the movie. Painters paint based on imagination of what they see or make up, and their viewers think they hold knowledge. This point of view is similar to the deception created by the many levels of virtual reality games being played in the film. The virtual reality games are so realistic that the characters throughout the movie struggle to realize what is real and what is not. The whole movie was honestly a bit gruesome and so pure it leaves the viewers curious to see what happens next. This reaction to the movie is exactly what Plato describes as the danger of art because art can be so far from moral truth that people are oddly intrigued by what moral contradictions it has to present, which eventually risks leading us to embody those negative qualities.
I believe the game Transcendenz would fit in the same level as Existenz does in Plato’s hierarchical scheme of reality because the game Transcendenz is yet another art form that distracts from finding the truths of reality. At first glance, the movies opening scene seemed to be the “real” reality we all claim to be familiar with, but toward the end of the movie we found out that Existenz was just a game with in a game (Transcendenz). The fact that the audience was so easily tricked into thinking Transcendenz was the real reality, was a huge turning point and left the audience skeptical in determining what is the true reality.
Word Count: 350
Understanding Life As We Know it 
I agree with you that the movie was very weird and different but at the same time left you wanting to know what was next. I like how you explained that the movie is a good comparison to Plato’s theory of art in that it is a distraction to reality. In my blog I kind of talked about the same ideas and how the different layers of the movie remind me of the different layers of the cave and how the further out you get within the movie and/or the game, the further away you get from reality. I also really liked how you explained the dangers that Plato warns against and how the movie also shows the way that we are intrigued in real life, which exactly proves his point in some way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought the movie was weird too. But I also agree with what you said “art form that distracts from finding the truths of reality”, at the beginning of the game he kept saying how weird he felt because he thought he was losing the feeling of reality. The movie itself was weird and different than other movies. Like you said it kept the watchers curious to know what happened next.
LikeLike