Yep, I crashed my parent’s date night.
My techy Dad wanted to see ‘Ready Player One.’ My Mom consented because marriage requires compromises and it had 76% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Published by Random House in 2011, Ernest Cline’s sci-fi novel, ‘Ready Player One’ was adapted by Hollywood and released in theaters this March.
Steven Spielberg directed the film which follows Wade Watts search for James Halliday’s Easter egg in the virtual realm of the OASIS.
Much like ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ Halliday’s posthumous contest would bequeath the winner control of the OASIS, his corporation and his fortune.
For those living in 2045, the OASIS is a digital escape from dismal reality.
Watts said, “This is the OASIS. A whole virtual universe. You can do anything. Be anyone. Without going anywhere at all.”
The film’s protagonist, Wade Watts, lives in the vertical trailer parker known as the “Stacks” in Columbus, Ohio. From the inside of an old van, Watts avatar, Parzival, is able to befriend other gamers who aid in his quest for Halliday’s three keys.
For those who assumed I am a gamer myself (none of you), let me go on record. I play 'Wii Sports,' 'Just Dance' and occasionally 'Mario Party 8' circa 2008. So suffice it to say that video games and virtual reality are not typically of great interest to me.
Yet, ‘Ready Player One’ had my full attention for all two hours and nineteen minutes.
At the movie’s end, (spoiler alert), Watts and his unconventional clan procure all three keys. Although his avatar officially won the game, Watts decided to split the corporation and ownership of the OASIS with his clan, the ‘High 5.’
He chose to share the wealth- quite literally- because he understood that Halliday intended the OASIS to be for everyone. Watts wants to keep the OASIS “a free public utility.”
Even the final battle scene involves an army of gamers fighting to keep the OASIS free from the clutches of the money-hungry IOI, or Innovative Online Industries.
As Watt’s fellow ‘gunter’ and female love interest, Art3mis says, “the contest has got to be about connecting with someone, connecting with the world.”
Her belief proves true since the second key is earned by “taking the leap not taken” with Halliday’s past crush.
There are numerous facets of ‘Ready Player One’ to discuss, but I walked out of the movie theater (yes, behind my parents) contemplating the relevance of the movie’s message.
Escaping into a virtual realm is done by each of us living in the technologically advanced twenty-first century.
We might not wear headsets, visors, or haptic suits, but we retreat into our screens.
How many hours of our days are spent cultivating virtual relationships? Engaging in online games? Creating and grooming our digital persona?
Maybe we do not call our phones or laptops an OASIS, but if we are honest, aren’t they?
