I'll be honest, I only come to the escapist to watch Zero Punctuation but sometimes I can't help myself from throwing my opinion in on the discussions I see next to the video player. Most of the catchy ones include controversial topics such as life goals, prejudice, religion, sexuality etc. So I've decided to throw in something of my own, this question has been troubling me lately; Is life becoming too artificial?
Well I think it is. I play a lot of games. You probably do too. Funnily enough, when I say life is becoming too artificial its not really because of that. Its because when I look at games like, lets say Age of Empires or Stranded (not that I'm a big fan of either) I sometimes think it would have been more exciting to live in an age where everything isn't mapped, where you aren't forced into school then into work. Its such a great thought that you could go out, catch a fish and sell it to the guy next door and become wealthy for a day or two. Most people go out to work all day and they don't even see what they are contributing to, they are just glad to have the pay. They sit typing away on keyboards all day before going home to play some games, watch some TV, go to bed, rinse and repeat. People buy their food from supermarkets, not even knowing for sure where it came from or whats really in it, do you even care what those numbers mean on the back of the pack? Why do they need to put that into our food? I heard they even inject water into chicken breasts to make them seem bigger, "chicken breast implants"? The chicken breasts, so cleverly packaged with bright green sunlit fields inhabited by lively chickens is nothing but an illusion to the sad truth that they probably sit in a factory with broken legs, a drip of water and a few bread crumbs. Its such a depressing thought to spend your life following the same routine. There was once a day where everybody kept chickens in their back garden, you fed them well and in return they fed you. Those days are over.
Can you imagine how exciting it would be to think that the world was flat and that it ended at a point? Its just a bore to know what we know these days, and lets face it; not many people want to strap on a space suit and go adventuring out there and end up with an asteroid up the ass. So the thought of further explanation doesn't cut it for me. When I think of our everyday lives a term I heard Yahtzee use in one of his videos keeps echoing in my mind; "toying with the gravel alongside the big road of life."
I accept that there are areas of the world that aren't completely mapped, where people still grow their own crops, catch their own fish and build their own houses but the sad truth is that now that I've had a taste of my "luxuries" It would be damn hard to get used to life without them, and whenever you needed to know something the thought of a 5 second google search would still be in the back of your mind as you walked to nearest smart persons hut.
My mum took me to see this (male) poet named Maggie the other day, she said it would be something "I would remember for the rest of my life" and, being 16 poetry really isn't my thing as you can imagine, so I was doubtful. I snorted at it but she eventually convinced me to tag along so I did, mainly so I could bring it up in my defence next time she accused me of "not doing enough". We went down this muddy little path with a small stream flowing next to it. Further down the path, to my astonishment there were dishes, cups and pans sitting on rocks in the stream getting washed! When my mum had said poet I was expecting some posh house on a farm, but to my utter amazement Maggie lives in a small pile of stones no bigger than a bedsit with camouflage tarpaulin over the top to keep out rain, he grows his own food and lives naturally (that doesn't mean naked, clever guy). Sadly, I never got to meet him, but his home alone left a lasting impression. Maybe we should all be living like Maggie, who knows? Its certainly a nice thought.
Well I think it is. I play a lot of games. You probably do too. Funnily enough, when I say life is becoming too artificial its not really because of that. Its because when I look at games like, lets say Age of Empires or Stranded (not that I'm a big fan of either) I sometimes think it would have been more exciting to live in an age where everything isn't mapped, where you aren't forced into school then into work. Its such a great thought that you could go out, catch a fish and sell it to the guy next door and become wealthy for a day or two. Most people go out to work all day and they don't even see what they are contributing to, they are just glad to have the pay. They sit typing away on keyboards all day before going home to play some games, watch some TV, go to bed, rinse and repeat. People buy their food from supermarkets, not even knowing for sure where it came from or whats really in it, do you even care what those numbers mean on the back of the pack? Why do they need to put that into our food? I heard they even inject water into chicken breasts to make them seem bigger, "chicken breast implants"? The chicken breasts, so cleverly packaged with bright green sunlit fields inhabited by lively chickens is nothing but an illusion to the sad truth that they probably sit in a factory with broken legs, a drip of water and a few bread crumbs. Its such a depressing thought to spend your life following the same routine. There was once a day where everybody kept chickens in their back garden, you fed them well and in return they fed you. Those days are over.
Can you imagine how exciting it would be to think that the world was flat and that it ended at a point? Its just a bore to know what we know these days, and lets face it; not many people want to strap on a space suit and go adventuring out there and end up with an asteroid up the ass. So the thought of further explanation doesn't cut it for me. When I think of our everyday lives a term I heard Yahtzee use in one of his videos keeps echoing in my mind; "toying with the gravel alongside the big road of life."
I accept that there are areas of the world that aren't completely mapped, where people still grow their own crops, catch their own fish and build their own houses but the sad truth is that now that I've had a taste of my "luxuries" It would be damn hard to get used to life without them, and whenever you needed to know something the thought of a 5 second google search would still be in the back of your mind as you walked to nearest smart persons hut.
My mum took me to see this (male) poet named Maggie the other day, she said it would be something "I would remember for the rest of my life" and, being 16 poetry really isn't my thing as you can imagine, so I was doubtful. I snorted at it but she eventually convinced me to tag along so I did, mainly so I could bring it up in my defence next time she accused me of "not doing enough". We went down this muddy little path with a small stream flowing next to it. Further down the path, to my astonishment there were dishes, cups and pans sitting on rocks in the stream getting washed! When my mum had said poet I was expecting some posh house on a farm, but to my utter amazement Maggie lives in a small pile of stones no bigger than a bedsit with camouflage tarpaulin over the top to keep out rain, he grows his own food and lives naturally (that doesn't mean naked, clever guy). Sadly, I never got to meet him, but his home alone left a lasting impression. Maybe we should all be living like Maggie, who knows? Its certainly a nice thought.
