In a world filled with war, poverty and economic hardships, it seems natural to create symbolic universes to escape reality. In the past, symbolic universes were confined to ideas prototyped in a hope to unify people by displaying what the world could become, for example the World Fair of 1933. However, today's technology allows people to create their own worlds to escape troubles in everyday life and live in their own symbolic universe online. Design and media play a large role in the construction of social universes. Without designers of game sites, the user couldn't get lost in that world and believe it was real and the media influences people to believe it's a way to escape the troubles of their own lives.
One of the main focuses of the 1933 Chicago World Fair was electricity and how it could be utilized, showing the great need nations felt to control natural forces. The world was experiencing The Great Depression with shortages in food, jobs and other essentials, so having control of something was powerful and important- especially nature. Having control of nature displayed the power of the United States, demonstrating to Americans a symbolic universe could be achieved despite current hardships. "Take your seat at your kingdom’s table, and become the ruler you were born to be!" This phrase is encountered when a user opens one of the many online gaming sites now available, which are quintessentially symbolic universes. This phrase alone shows the control the gamer believes they posess, drawing a strong connection to the 1933 World Fair. Even the names of the sites- “Perfect World” , "Utopia"- where the above phrase is shown- show how they wish to create symbolic universes of hope.
In the past, the ability to play online games and feel you were controlling them wouldn’t have been possible. Not just because of technology, but also the design and media involved. The designs used within the online games are realistic and have aspects of the real world, like the atrium shown. This gives the user the idea they are controlling a real world, making it more believable and giving the chance to escape reality while playing. Fast food, faster cars, using planes to travel distances which are drivable. Everywhere you look people are trying to take short cuts. Here the designers have taken short cuts by creating an online version of the prototypes used in 1933- which were often unimaginable for some people. This is why sites have so much control over users- because they give them their perfect world now, with just one mouse click. Media also plays a part in online gaming, because it advertises opportunities people have to "control" their own world. When the media displays things like wars and struggles happening around the world and then flips to encouraging online gaming as an escape, the two link and because the troubles are real issues users can see the sites as real escapes.
I believe we have moved from symbolic universes being displayed by prototypes, which give us a glimpse of the future, to more sophisticated and technological symbolic universes. In a world where people dislike waiting for anything, designers create symbolic universes available right now. So, despite symbolic universes being presented differently they are still based around the same concept- control. Media and design play a large part in encouraging people to take the opportunity to escape. They may not be to blame, but they are a large factor. I don't think symbolic universes are a bad thing, because they offer hope in times where we have none and can unite people over a common cause. However I think creating fake symbolic universes online can give people an amount of control unhealthy for one person.
Utopia: online game site. Quote
16/09/11 retrieved from http://utopia-game.com/shared/
Figure 1. artist unknown(July 2011). [Screenshot]
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