B+ Life 2.0
I came into Life 2.0 knowing nothing about Second Life, the online virtual world that’s the subject of Jason Spingarn-Koff’s documentary. I came out knowing a little bit about how it works, and a good deal about h
ow it effects its more fanatical (one’s tempted to say “more addicted”) citizens. The film shows us a couple who fall in love virtually, then leave their actual marriages to be together, a man who lives virtually as an 11-year-old girl, much to the bewilderment of his real fiancé, and a designer who actually—for a while, at least—makes a good, real-world living creating and selling virtual clothing, houses, and skin. All seem divorced from reality, and confused about it, and they all spend way too much time in their virtual worlds. But Spingarn-Koff treats them with sympathy and dignity.
Unfortunately, my schedule didn’t allow me to stay for the Q&A with the director, or for the follow-up discussion on virtual world and computer game addiction.
Life 2.0 will get one more screening at the festival, Wednesday, at 9:15, at the Kabuki. It’s also expected to receive a theatrical release at some point in the future.
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