On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 3:34 PM, Eric Scoles <[email protected]> wrote: > > There are some circumstances under which there's a middle part, but they're > uncommon. > Consider Christian Bale's roles in the two Chris Nolan Batman movies. I've > heard it argued, and have decided I agree, that he really plays three > separate roles in those films: > > Bruce Wayne as himself; > The Batman, as a character played by Bruce Wayne, which Bruce intends to > have a specific effect on wrong-doers; > Bruce Wayne the billionaire playboy (Bruce', maybe), as a character played > by Bruce Wayne, which Bruce intends to have a specific effect on the public > at large. >
The batman thing analogized in real life is much simpler than the 15-yr-old-pretending-to-be-30-pretending-to-be-15 example, IMO. The three roles listed for Bale's portrayal, and indeed as written in the comics, are simply exaggerated, condensed versions of what we all do every day. We have at least one work role, at least one home role, at least one social role, etc. Sure, there are degrees and nuances, but we constantly shift our presentations of ourselves depending on our circumstances. So, now do we have to decide whether each of those roles constitutes an avatar that deserves separate recognition? In a way, we already do this, since we may receive accolades/criticism of one role (job performance) while receiving different or even opposite accolades/criticism in others (family performance). Maybe, as I suggested with respect to age/gender uncertainty, we have been using subtle avatars in real life for far longer than virtual worlds and the internet have been around and just now are coming to recognize what they are since so many of us have been exposed to VR avs. Another exaggerated example is people with dissociative disorder/multiple personality disorder. David -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en.
