MovieChat Forums > Ready Player One (2018) Discussion > What I found depressing about the story

What I found depressing about the story

posted 7 years ago by MrFilmJunkie (859)
2 replies | jump to latest

apart from the obvious dystopic aspect (poverty and escapism), there's one thing between the lines which i found quite bitter: in the future 2044 of "ready player one", any cultural efforts seem to have stopped. in the book it's all about retro culture, no mentioning of current (= 2040s or even 2030s) movies, music and so on. instead, people like the protagonist wade watts are completely obsessed (and restricted therein) with a culture from a past era, mainly the 80s. they have no ambitions to create new culture at all. even worse, they don't even have own interests like an own taste in music, no individuality. instead they treat "anorak's almanac" like a bible, watch halliday's favorite movies and tv shows a 100 times, listen to halliday's favorite bands etc.

reading the book, i found it hard to identify with a "hero" like that, who's basically just a mindless follower or an autist so to speak. so i wonder if the movie is going to give the protagonist a bit more personality...

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 7 years ago

It makes sense that the characters are obsessed with the 80s because (A) the treasure hunt in the novel is all about the 80s, specifically one geek/tycoon's obsessions having grown up in that era and (B) the author himself is a self-professed geek whose obsessions stem from having grown up in that era

Should be no more depressing than a science-enthusiast being a science fiction author

Also, there's the (I'm sure intentional) social commentary pushed by the story, the (I think well-proven) notion that culture stagnates when it's purely commercialized. Corporate executives tend not to push the limits of art and culture.

Heck this movie's a self-referential example of that very thing - it's likely being financed because producers figure its nostalgic (and therefore unoriginal) elements make it a surefire hit.

[–] FredBurroughs (19926) 7 years ago

Mindless autist, you say? Have a look at the novel author's spoken word performances.