“THE NEW LIFE BEFORE DEATH”

Media theoretician Peter Weibel on Internet Games as Redeemed Salvation Expectations

[This interview is translated from the German in: Der Spiegel 8/2007. Weibel, 67, is an artist, media theoretician, communication researcher and director of a renowned museum for art and media technology (ZKM) in Karlsruhe.]



Spiegel: Mr. Weibel, everyone can build an artificial existence and put on a desired identity in the Internet “Second Life.” What do you think of this Internet game?

Weibel: The word revolution is worn out but is really appropriate in this case. A new stage of interactivity is possible. In the past, people pressed buttons and moved something on the screen or people communicated verbally in the chatroom. That was a merely formal interactivity. Now social actions can be imitated and performed by proxy. New communities arise beyond the belligerent ego-shooter format and the fields of action are open and democratic. These did not exist in the past. Art and life become one.

Spiegel: Entrepreneurs initiated this game, not artists. Do you nevertheless understand it as a kind of art project?

Weibel: Yes, very definitely. What is involved is a complete world invented by people. Whoever participates helps design this world.

Spiegel: Sweden will set up a virtual message at the end of April. Have we, real persons, finally arrived in the time criticized by Jean Baudrillard when nothing is genuine any more and everything is merely simulated?

Weibel: We have gone further. Baudrillard always referred his simulation fantasies to pictures and objects… The media, particularly media artists, always wanted the simulation of biological and social life. “Second Life” is a new platform. The first platform of humanity’s history was the biblical ark of Noah. “Second Life” is something similar.

Spiegel: What is the comparison?

Weibel: After the Flood, Noah’s ark offered the chance for a “second life.” The strictest selection was made. Only two of every kind of animal were admitted. A place of refuge is offered again but the platform is extended. Everyone may join in the game and escape here. The term “second life” is quasi-religious.

Spiegel: What do you mean?

Weibel: The second life awaits us after death, according to Christian conceptions. We now can enter a parallel universe during life. The hope for a second new life is the most important salvation expectation of Christians. To speak in an exaggerated way, this expectation is technologically redeemed. That technology always allows religious associations is captivating. In a countermove, biblical scenarios always call to mind technological and scientific visions. There people walk on the water, rise from the dead and journey to heaven.

Spiegel: Can technology as a substitute religion be seen as a camouflaged comeback of the religious?

Weibel: Certainly, the religious occupies us more than ever. God was declared dead but disappeared in the subconscious of people. There God exercises more power than ever. In the age of globalization, the hesitations, fears and longings return and are worked out differently. Everyone tries to save himself in his or her Noah’s ark.

Spiegel: Money is earned and profits realized with “Second Life” as with real estate ventures. The play money can be exchanged for real money. This game can be seen as a modern radical version of monopoly.

Weibel: Yes. Many elements from other games are found here. But something is different in the net. The less the availability, the higher the price. That is true for the real economy. In the net, the more something is controllable, the more quickly it can be spread and the greater its value.

Spiegel: Is a war possible in this second universe?

Weibel: Certainly. However such a war turns out, it will be about money that can be earned.

Spiegel: That doesn’t sound like a Paradise.

Weibel: This is a parallel world, not an alternative world. Symbolically waged conflicts prevent genuine conflicts. We always hear about persons who allegedly become violent criminals through computer games, not about persons whose aggression is reduced. That readiness for violence increases has nothing to do with games. Many would become violent criminals without a computer.

Spiegel: Life on the net is not better than true life. What is so attractive for adult players?

Weibel: I exchange my real foreign-determined life for another that I design myself. That is a great leap. The understanding and appreciation of art is changed through the new Internet worlds.

Spiegel: How is that?

Weibel: We all want to go beyond what is possible. This is also true for museums. New paths beckon. Here is one example. A visitor can check into a museum with a card with an electronic chip. He puts the card in a scanner next to the works of art. As soon as he returns home, he has the works on his computer as a kind of video installation.

Spiegel: Is our world including enjoyment of art becoming more virtual?

Weibel: Theater and literature are also virtual worlds in their way. This is simply continued and developed with different digital means.

Spiegel: Art is hardly present in the “Second Life.”

Weibel: A normal museum would be too boring. Therefore we send a satellite through this world loaded with media art.