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Essay On Second Life By Nik Hale

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The documentary, Life 2.0, is about the online platform, Second Life. The name of the world is pretty self-explanatory; it allows users to create an avatar and do any of the things that are possible in the real world; only this is virtual. Mike Hale from the New York Times reviewed this documentary, writing both good and bad things about it. Rik Panganiban, also known as rikomatic on his blog and other online forums, saw Life 2.0 and was not a fan.
Both reviewers talk about the main focus of the documentary, as well as how the characters are depicted, and why. Both reviewers point out that the film focuses on the negative aspects of Second Life and how the users are affected, generalizing all of the forum’s users. While Hale would have liked the documentary to focus less on the drama in these peoples’ lives and more on the way that Second Life functions, Panganiban is disappointed that it failed to show how the platform allows users to express and explore themselves. …show more content…

For example, he ends his review with, “It’s enough to make you want to escape the real world.” My speculation as to what he means is that even though the documentary was judgmental, it compelled the viewer to judge the main characters, which means it was successful. Panganiban on the other hand, was very subjective and informal in his review (he even uses swear words a couple times), because it is a post on his blog. Hale uses longer, more complex sentences than Panganiban, which are more cryptic. This may be because of their

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