Playing with mirrors: Rxploring relationships between the imaginary, the imagined real and the virtual in Second Life

Abstract

Virtual worlds offer intriguing spaces for reconsidering relationships between what we commonly think of as dichotomous manifestations: the imaginary and the real. Through the interactions of presence, co-presence and suspension of disbelief, such virtual worlds render the virtual as real in its consequences (Gottschalk, 2010). Cunningham argues that “reality” is forever changed after virtual reality because it has been “altered by the bleeding of both ‘worlds’ into each other, by their mutual inseparability,” creating a dialogic interaction (Cunningham 2006 p. 16). As, arguably, the most social of virtual worlds, Second Life (SL) is a particularly rich environment in which to explore such relationships. I shall examine the relationships between the imaginary and the real in SL as they play out in one in-world subculture. I shall begin by discussing the nature of the SL Gothic and its relationship to offline Gothic. SL Gothic environments appear to be relatively “faithful” representations of the classic, even clichéd, Gothic ambience found in both classical Gothic literature (such as The Castle of Otranto) and more contemporary Gothic subculture (such as Vampire cults, musical tastes, and individual appearance). Despite, or perhaps because of, this re-presentation in pixel form, however, Gothic SL represents a dimension beyond, and yet linked to, the “through a glass darkly” nature of the offline Gothic. In considering this additional dimension, I shall explore the ways in which SL Gothic acts to amplify the representational nature of Gothic itself. In its representation of a representation of a representation, SL Gothic questions the nature of the imaginary itself and the extent to which “real” and “imaginary” relate in virtual worlds. Finally, I shall consider the ways in which SL Gothic’s amplification of its offline counterpart may cause us to question the very nature of the relationship between imagined real and the imagined as that relationship may play out in multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs). Cunningham, K. (2006). Virtually Transformed: Second Life’s Implications for the Status of the Body. In Meetings of the American Sociological Association. Gottschalk, S. (2010). The Presentation of Avatars in Second Life: Self and Interaction in Social Virtual Spaces. Symbolic Interaction 33(4), 501-525.