We've teased you with Second Skin before, but now you can watch the whole thing online for free. Word of warning: If you're a World of Warcraft player, or belong to any other obsessive MMO, the film doesn't paint a very flattering picture. But having said that, it does treat the subject matter with some respect by showing all facets: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza and Victor Piñeiro have put together a surprisingly good documentary that pulls back the cover on the other side of the screen. Until now, you couldn't see this work outside the film festival circuit, but thanks to Hulu, you can watch the entire movie after the break. Grab your popcorn and head on in!
Additionally, Second Skin will be released on DVD on August 25.
Well, I watched it up until the first commercial break. It looks like a really interesting, well-made documentary. I'll have to catch the rest of it some time tomorrow.
The problem with this documentary is that all the participants are too homogenous -- stereotypical, introverted, socially awkward "basement" gamers.
I would have preferred a more diverse case study group. Also, I understand that WoW is the 100 lbs. gorilla, but it would've been nice to see more games.
Still, it's interesting to watch. Just isn't very socially relevant, or particularly illuminating.
That was pretty interesting, but I agree with Phylicus in that all the participants felt like the same person. They had those very small interviews with other people who had met in an online game and formed a relationship from it, but they didn't really serve a purpose other than showing that there were other people out there just like them. Also, is it just me or does Hulu cut things out when it goes to the little breaks? Either the breaks were really well placed, the editing was bad, or Hulu would cut out a tiny bit of the movie. I noticed it the most when the pregnant woman was talking about giving birth and then it cut to another story after the break.
By the way, the Mega Man song in the credits was awesome.
The woman that ran the Gaming Addicts program thing was annoying. I know she means well and I'm sad that her son killed herself... but the game didn't kill him. He didn't kill himself because of the game. She pulled her schizophrenic son out of therapy for Christ's sake just because he said her kid didn't need to quit gaming.
The film could have used a more casual player just to balance out the really crazy types... I don't consider myself a casual player but compared to most of the people in the movie I would be. I raid with my guild two days a week and don't play too much anymore other than that. I have a decent job. I get out in the world regularly...
It is possible to balance WOW with other things and Second Skin touches on that but only very lightly. Probably because "normal" isn't all that interesting.
Yeah the documentary has a very freak show quality to it. The irony is that within the doc itself, there's a guy talking about how the media too often paints people as untrustworthy, mentally unstable people, because it's more profitable to do that than to show the positive side of things.
Yeah, the whole thing with the guy who destroyed his life through WoW addiction and the rehab center... I'm hardly qualified to psychoanalyze the guy, but I'd put money on him suffering from depression *before* he ever logged in. If it hadn't been gaming, it probably would've been drinking, drugs, gambling... point is, people *happy* with their lives don't usually get addicted to trying to run away from it.
That being said, the portrayal of online gaming enthusiasts was somewhat skewed. When I was playing WoW my guild had a few face-to-face meetings, and there'd be guys who looked like frat boys, or bankers, or hipsters... gals who looked like models (well, car show models), milfs, punk rockers... Point is, as many of them were that were pale, doughy, out of shape folk, there were perfectly "normal" people you'd never expect to be your primary healer in a Black Temple raid.
Disclaimer being that I didn't keep in contact with them once I quit the game, so they might've all become pale, doughy, out of shape folk over the course of time, heh. The game is certainly conducive to that sort of lifestyle, no argument.
Yeah, I had a strong dislike for that Woolley chick before this documentary.
Being an old EQ player I was familiar with her. She pushed for warning labels to make it on MMOs against may cause addiction (like cigarettes). The film fails to mention that he shot himself when he was forced to be alone on Thanksgiving because she had kicked him out of the house a second time. Or even before that, he suffered from epilepsy and she let him keep playing through like the first 7 seizures before she kicked him out the first time. I'm sure she suffers from a lot of guilt, and it's easier to blame the game than yourself.
I saw this move about a year ago, a bunch of people from my guild (The Syndicate) are in it, so they played it for us at our conference last year. I did really enjoy it, nd share much of the criticisms that most people here have, that most of the people heavily featured in the movie aren't really your typical MMO player, and it would have been nice to see a couple of them in the movie. But overall I think it's very worthwhile to watch and is very well made.
And what, to you, constitutes a typical MMO player?
I played WoW for about half a year and dabbled in LOTRO, but I almost always ended up eventually getting bored and quitting.
Plus, when you play an MMO, that is really the only game you can play. I didn't like that MMOs detracted from time I could have spent playing other video games.
Obviously what I think an average MMO player is is based on the people I know who play games, but it seems to be people who manage normal jobs and lives but spend their free time at night playing an MMO. Maybe 2 to 4 hours a night, it's what they do instead of watching TV. it's not people who take vacation when a new expansion comes out so they can play for 2 days straight.
And you certainly can play other games with MMOs, I've done it ever since WoW came out. Sure, it detracts from time that you could be playing other games, but that's also true for CoD and Halo multiplayer, or pretty much any game. I've hopped between MMOs for the past 6 years or so, with WoW taking up the most time, but I've still completed the majority of the blockbuster releases in the past 3 years.
Alright, I'm twelve minutes into this flick. The men that they are showing who met their future wives through MMORPGs appear to be gay to me. This is not a diss, just a mere observation.
Yeah, I didn't recognize that was him until you said something. It looks like things worked out pretty well for him. He still has his job at EA Mythic.
He was such an asshole in the film though. I feel bad for his wife.
A really well done doc but they didn't show much of the other side.
I had a 3year WoW run where I was the MT of the top guild on our server (Reason of KT). I was tricked out in every epic available, there literally wasn't a single upgrade left for me (prot war) in the game pre-TBC Naxx. It was this way for most everyone in my guild.
70% of our guild were college grads in management or higher positions. We even had a couple CEOs. Myself, I spent 7 years in Army SOF before getting out to take care of my wife who was left in a coma from a car accident. I now work as a security consultant from home. We had a Navy SPECWAR guy, med school student, defense contractors, etc.
We were a hardcore raiding guild, with 95% of the server firsts. We raided 5 nights a week but somehow all of us not only maintained our RL jobs but also advanced in them. Instead of hitting bars and watching TV at night, we raided.
I realize our guild makeup isn't typical but neither is what was displayed in the movie. I'd say it falls somewhere inbetween. Addictive personalities will find something to get addicted to. In this case it just happened to be a MMORPG.
Second Skin is also coming to the big screen in select cities. New York - August 7th-9th - The Tank Theater *(Tonight is the last night!)
Los Angeles - August 14th-20th - The Downtown Independent Boston - August 14th-20th - The Somerville Theater Austin - August 16th-17th - The Alamo Draft House (they will continue the run through the week if we pack the screenings.)
The film makers will be at many of the screenings. Check out website to see which ones.
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