Discuss avatars in terms of their social and psychological functions and semiotic meanings

In a world that is heavily involved in technology and the use of the internet, the need for having an avatar has never been higher. The avatar’s function is to represent the user within the online environment, for example on websites like ‘Facebook’ and ‘MySpace’. The user instils the avatar with qualities they want to project into that environment. But what does the use of avatars say about the society that we live in today?

An avatar acts as a calling card / telephone number / identification card etc., allowing others to find the user / avatar. At the same time, it provides a distancing device that turns persons (user) into character (avatar). It is a fictionalising tool that creates a new reality. In this new reality people can portray a view of themselves which they either want to be like or how they want people to see them. An example of this is the use of avatars on Facebook or any other social networking website, with people being friends with their peers at the same school or workplace as themselves and wanting to ‘impress’ and ‘fit in’ with them. Avatars that take the forms of profile pictures are like wearing your best clothes to school; users want to present certain aspects of their personality (real, imagined or aspirational) to the society they interact with. The avatar of the user’s choice is a visual representation of the user that enables participation within the online environment. As such, it is a social tool; and in this idea they use this ‘social tool’ to make friends with people they see as in the same social group to themselves. This shows that the use of avatars is more to do with the psychological state of the youth of today, the want to be the most popular and liked person at work or in class. This also links to the human mental state of not wanting to be alone, and the need to have others close and nearby. For example the average person 9 out of 10 times will feel more confident and comfortable in an environment where they are with friends, and not in a room with a number of people who are unknown to them. The sense of belonging and not having to be in a situation like this has been more forced on us in recent years, with the ‘popular’ children for example they are liked by most; unlike the child that has few friends and seen as different to others, this mainly resulting in bullying and public humiliation. So even though the social functions of using an avatar are important, these are developed from the psychological state of the user.

Avatars are a form of language; they operate as a sign system that can be read in semiotic terms. The symbol of the avatar (signifier) points to the signified (the user), creating a sign. This sign is a profile of what a person wants to show them as. Avatars often revel in the gap between the signifier and the signified: users enjoy creating avatars that are not like themselves, so that there is a big difference between signifier (avatar) and signified (user). An avatar could not represent how the user looks, acts or thinks, just being a sign of what they may enjoy or find funny. The signifier art of the use of an avatar has become more popular in recent years with the introduction of improved technology, for example video games with the ability to create an avatar from many different looks on the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360.

How does Alfonso Cuaron represent Britain in Children of Men?

Alfonso Cuaron is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, known for his films Children of Men and his part in the world famous Harry Potter series, directing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaba. His portrayal of life of the human race when faced with their impending doom was praised by many film critics; but how did he do this, and mainly how did he represent Britain in the year 2027?

Cuaron uses another film of the same genre to influence and develop the location of Children Of Men, A Clockwork Orange. A Clockwork Orange helped contribute to the futuristic, yet battered look of London in 2027. The director decided to portray the city as a character in itself, showing the importance of the location to the film to help tell the story, help the audience to realise that they city is London (with the use of red buses helping this theory), and to help the audience to work out what has happened to Britain, not just London, from 2006 when the film was released to 2027 when the film is based. The technique that Cuaron has used is shooting single, wide shots of the city, presenting different aspects of London. Cuaron chose to shoot some of the scenes in east London, a location which he considered to be "a place without glamour". The set locations were dressed to make them appear even more run-down, with Cuaron reporting saying that he wanted to have a ‘Mexican’ look to them, symbolizing the poverty that is in Mexico. The use of special effects was needed to complete the look of London, with footage of London streets needing to be changed. London special effects companies Double Negative and Framestore helped and worked with Cuaron from script to post production, developing effects and creating environments and shots that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

Single-shot sequences are used quite frequently in Children of Men, mainly quite lengthy and during extremely complex actions take place. The longest of these is the shot when Kee gives birth to the miracle baby lasting 199 seconds (3 minutes 19 seconds); an ambush on a country road lasting 247 seconds (4 minutes 7 seconds); and a scene in which Theo is captured by the Fishes, escapes, and runs down a street and through a building in the middle of a raging battle lasting a lengthy 454 seconds (7 minutes 34 seconds). These sequences were extremely difficult to film taking days to get ready for the shoot and taking 5 hours if they need to re-shoot; although the effect of continuity is sometimes an illusion, aided by CGI effects. The scenes are then seen as rather ‘random’, this symbolizes with the events of Britain in 2027, where people are panicking at the threat of the extinction of the human race. These events include the sudden crack down on immigration in Britain.