Ready player one theme essay

Essay #2: Interpretive Analysis of Ready Player One --

Assignment:

In a clearly written, thesis-driven essay, analyze how an element or a particular scene in the film Ready Player One (2018) directed by Steven Spielberg, or an element or a particular chapter in the novel by Ernest Cline (2011) brings out an important theme or take-away message. Offer an interpretation of how specific moments in 1-3 scenes (or chapters) encourage us to consider a major issue or concern in a new way. Your task is to analyze (take apart and examine) how a particular character, setting, conversation, plot twist, the tone and style, or a significant symbol functions to emphasize and clarify an important issue. Analyze just the novel or just the film.

Alternatively, you may do a formal analysis of the film. (You’ll need some background in Film Studies to do this well – it has its own language.) Analyze the way its formal components – scene-setting, camera angles, close-ups, special effects, music, sound, etc.—combine to underline an important theme and impact us as a work of art.

You need to review the following 2 essays drafts

Essay1draft:

Introduction of Author and Story

Brief Synopsis

Thesis - This novel produces this balance between the future and the past. It is set in a world that is unfamiliar to us, but simultaneously presents a comforting sense of the familiar. We can recognize the cultural references in the novel.

Body 1

Cline constantly yanks us back and forth, from the unknown to the known, the past to the future.

In text examples

Explain Examples

Body 2

This presents an atmosphere beyond nostalgia, as a society that is almost stale. They are this far advanced in the future, yet they are still obsessed with an era long gone.

Examples

Details

Conclusion

Restate Thesis

Review main points

Essay 2 Draft:

Reality Versus Illusion in Ready Player One

The film Ready Player One directed by Steven Spielberg was based on a book, with the same title, writing by Ernest Cline focuses on the main character Wade Watts journey in this VR game called OASIS. The film is set in this alternated Planet Earth in 2045 in Columbus, Ohio where people are shown to have no sense of reality as everyone is consumed in this virtual reality game called the OASIS. By all means, people of all ages, like our main character, Wade Watts is an orphan currently living with his Aunt Alice. His reality, like a lot of people, is from the poorer side of society, without much motivation to do anything in life as he has no career and is not attending school. However, most of his time is spent in this virtual reality, the OASIS, where he has an only friend, Aech. The reason people are so involved in this game is because the creator of OASIS hid an Easter egg somewhere in the game and whoever finds it gain total control over OASIS as well as his shares in the company Gregarious Games. This sparks the interest of many people as they think it is an easy way to get rich. In doing so, the conflict between what is reality versus illusion becomes unclear so people are wanting to make this illusion their reality as it is just so much better.

Ready Player One is roughly based on two major settings. One of them is the reality that is shown to us through the eyes of Wade Watts as to what the reality on Planet Earth is in 2045. The opening of the movie starts off with Wade walking around the neighbor in which he lives in called the Stacks. Very much literal to the name of the neighborhood, the houses are literally stacked on top on one another looking futuristic but lacking. This reality of Planet Earth is suffering from energy shortage as well as overpopulated with many of the population being unemployed. The viewer follows Wade to his hideout which happens to be a junkyard. Such scenes come to show the viewer how rough it is for the under privileged as compared to the more well off people in this society. This sets off the notion for our main character that he must work hard in this other virtual reality called the OASIS in order to change the type of person that he is in the real world. This comes to show that Wade’s virtual reality is just so much better than his real reality, resulting him in spending more of his time in OASIS than in the real world. He shows this to us by being very consumed in the game OASIS, as even if he is not playing the game, he is thinking about how to solve the Easter egg hunt in real life. Just by this, the viewer could predict that he would be the one to solve the hunt and obtain the egg; however, he is opposed by the antagonist Nolan Sorrento, who is made known to us by sending a hitman after Wade after he scores first on the scoreboard. Compared to Wade Watts, Nolan Sorrento has a much better reality than Wade as he has a job being the head of one IOI’s department, yet with such privilege he still wants to go after the Easter egg in order to gain control over OASIS.

In comparison, the film also takes place in virtual reality called the OASIS that is eye pleasing as “limits of reality are your own imagination”. The reality of planet Earth is very chaotic and majority of the people are poor , causing a lot of people to want to escape to this virtual world where they can “go anywhere without going anywhere at all”. In doing so, people are able to create a different version of the best self, like Wade’s avatar, Parzival is totally opposite of his real self. We witness this in the opening scene when Wade logs onto OASIS and turns into Parziaval, a lean muscular avatar, without any acne, walking and talking with total confidence. The opening scene of OASIS is very symbolic as it comes to show this transition between a deserted Earth where no one wants to be into something magical where everyone wants to spend their time in. The setting of OASIS is very persuasive pulling many people in as you can do a lot of things there. People find themselves being able to focus on their hobbies or in Wade’s cases, he is able to focus on the task of finding the Easter egg in order to make a name for himself. Other people like his love-interest Art3mis seeks the treasure as an opportunity to save the real world from the destruction of IOI, Nolan Sorrento himself, from obtaining it and causing real damage to the rest of the people.

OASIS itself is symbolic in being a place of escape from the harsh reality that people are face with. In doing so, this illusion is in place for people who want to run away from the fear of being in the outside world just like the creator himself. People are absorbed in this reality because they do not want to face their real reality of being worthless. In the end, Wade is able to figure out himself that maybe his real reality is not so bad after all after he finds love in the real life. He concludes that maybe one should take a step back from this virtual reality in order to see what the real world has to offer.

Ultimately, the film is use as a way in order to warn people of the danger of technology. With the futuristic adaptation, people are able to witness that with us evolution, people forget who they really are in the real world and only focus on trying to better their virtual reality self. The line between reality versus illusion is made very clear in this film as it comes to show us people trying to losing themselves in this illusion world as it is a much better escape for them compared to their reality. Because of the social class present in the reality, it makes it harder for people to want to accept their real self because they find themselves not worthy, thus everyone wants to create a worthy self in this other universe. Similarly to our society today, many people want escape in a game because it has become their way to release stress and in other case be themselves.

Essay #2: Interpretive Analysis of

Ready Pla

yer One

--

Assignment:

In a clearly written, thesis

-

driven essay, analyze how an element or a particular scene in

the film

Ready Player One

(2018) directed by Steven Spielberg, or an element or a

particular chapter in the novel by Ernest Cline

(2011) brings out an important theme or

take

-

away message. Offer an interpretation of how specific moments in 1

-

3 scenes (or

chapters) encourage us to consider a major issue or concern in a new way. Your task is to

analyze (take apart and examine) how a p

articular character, setting, conversation, plot

twist, the tone and style, or a significant symbol functions to emphasize and clarify an

important issue. Analyze just the novel or just the film.

Alternatively, you may do a formal analysis of the film. (Yo

u’ll need some background in

Film Studies to do this well

–

it has its own language.) Analyze the way its formal

components

–

scene

-

setting, camera angles, close

-

ups, special effects, music, sound, etc.

—

combine to underline an important theme and impact us

as a work of art.

You need to review the following 2 essay

s

drafts

Essay1

draft

:

Introduction of Author and Story

Brief Synopsis

Thesis

-

This novel produces this balance between the future and the past. It is set in a world that

is unfamiliar to us, but simultaneously presents a comforting sense of the familiar.

We can

recognize the cultural references in the novel.

Body 1

Cline constantly yanks us back and forth, from the unknown to the known, the past to the future.

In text examples

Explain Examples

Essay #2: Interpretive Analysis of Ready Player One --

Assignment:

In a clearly written, thesis-driven essay, analyze how an element or a particular scene in

the film Ready Player One (2018) directed by Steven Spielberg, or an element or a

particular chapter in the novel by Ernest Cline (2011) brings out an important theme or

take-away message. Offer an interpretation of how specific moments in 1-3 scenes (or

chapters) encourage us to consider a major issue or concern in a new way. Your task is to

analyze (take apart and examine) how a particular character, setting, conversation, plot

twist, the tone and style, or a significant symbol functions to emphasize and clarify an

important issue. Analyze just the novel or just the film.

Alternatively, you may do a formal analysis of the film. (You’ll need some background in

Film Studies to do this well – it has its own language.) Analyze the way its formal

components – scene-setting, camera angles, close-ups, special effects, music, sound, etc.—

combine to underline an important theme and impact us as a work of art.

You need to review the following 2 essays drafts

Essay1draft:

Introduction of Author and Story

Brief Synopsis

Thesis - This novel produces this balance between the future and the past. It is set in a world that

is unfamiliar to us, but simultaneously presents a comforting sense of the familiar. We can

recognize the cultural references in the novel.

Body 1

Cline constantly yanks us back and forth, from the unknown to the known, the past to the future.

In text examples

Explain Examples