I was really turned off by the notion espoused in class that hyper-real representations, such as Avatar, are 'better' than nature. "[V]irtual realities are fanciful imaginings that, in their difference from real reality, evoke play and discovery, instituting a new level of imagination"(Poster 446). How can people be so amiss to actually prefer a figment of someone's imagination as opposed to standing out in Yellowstone: smelling the fresh air, feeling the cool breeze on your skin, feeling the Sun's warmth, and hearing the natural surroundings?
As I stated in class, I feel that people have lost touch with reality and nature and have lost the value and experiences of them. People seem to rather watch nature survival shows rather than go camping on their own. It seems that Capitalism found a way to profit from alienating man from nature and then selling back virtual representations to satisfy the gaping hole that we have developed being separated from nature.
Perhaps the belief that virtual representations are as valuable or more valuable than nature has worked to desensitize human connection to nature and has left people with little to no interest in protecting what we have left, because we believe that we will somehow replace with an equal or better virtual nature.
People's worshipping of the imaginations of others I feel may distract people from their own imaginative potential. With people defining parameters of imagination and beauty with others work, then they are effectively boxing themselves into another persons limitations.
For me I'll take a camping trip, looking up at the stars, and experiencing raw Mother Nature over Avatar any day.
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