Future Forward
Firefly Geisha and Virtual World Buddhists: Fandom-Inspired New Religious Movements View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jean-Paul Lafayette DuQuette
Just as pop culture draws on religious and mythological themes, so now can pop culture influence (or subvert or replace) mainstream communities of belief. On virtual world platforms like Linden Lab's Second Life, the ability to create immersive environments that transport participants out of their daily realities has allowed new religious movements (NRMs) to flourish. But what specific characteristics of 3D avatar-based chat communities make them a fertile ground for religious discussion and education? In this virtual ethnographic study, the author looks at several Second Life based NRMs, with a focus on a role-playing school based in Joss Whedon's Firefly universe which integrates Tibetan Buddhism and Japanese geisha culture. Research was conducted through participant observation and extensive interviews with participants from 2015-2021. The resulting account implies that the suspension of disbelief required for role-play in virtual worlds may lead to a heightened openness to alternative belief systems, with the ease of creating virtual props and environments also contributing. It also suggests that virtual sandboxes like Second Life provide a gateway from fandom-based role-play to fandom-based spirituality.
Unspoken Challenges for Humanity View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Vladimir Riabov
At the dawn of civilization, people were powerless facing natural disasters. Nevertheless, some of them created unforgettable pictorial images on cave walls, sending us a strong message of preserving the world’s beauty. Later, civilizations explored the world discovering powerful laws of nature and observing phenomena of different scales (e.g., the atomic structure of the matter, dualistic quantum effects, and systematic studies of the Universe). Unfortunately, many discoveries were exclusively used for military advances and geopolitical ambitions. These cataclysms were documented in literature and expressed in powerful art images (e.g., “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso). In 1945, atomic bombs entirely evaporated two Japanese cities revealing the monster power of nuclear weapon. For the first time, the mankind stood at the crossroad trying to make a moral choice between a bloody military confrontation of nations and their technological cooperation in preventing catastrophic disasters. Some astrophysical phenomena that might drastically affect the Earth “prosperous” future have not been widely discussed: the vulnerable dynamic that might transform the Sun to a giant star (with a radius comparable with the Jupiter’s orbit); and a possible collision of the Solar System with a neighboring galaxy. Like in ancient times, humanity is currently powerless in meeting these challenges, although the first mutual steps in space exploration have been made. Will this spirit of collaboration prevail, or shall we continue glorifying warfare and dominance of some “technologically-advanced” nations in this fragile world? – Hopefully, the answer to this moral question will be found by humanities.
Poverty Where History Meets Growth: A Case Study of Ma Lang Community in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Le Thao Chi Vu
This is a study about Ma Lang, a poverty-stricken community located in District 1, the economic center of Ho Chi Minh City, that reveals layers of historical and social problems underlying poverty multiplied by the onslaught of the current pandemic. Ma Lang is a community that the new government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam created to temporarily shelter the returnees to the City from the rural and mountainous areas following the end of the Vietnam War. Many of them were homeless and vagabonds. The community has been also the destination for migrant workers who move to the city with the belief that they would find jobs in this fastest-growing city in the country. The community, still called a temporary shelter, has come to house thousands of households. The common characteristics of the residents are: 1)the majority work in informal sectors, giving them only limited access to welfare policies such as health and other social insurances; 2)many elderly work as the main caregivers for their extended families; 3)having a persistent debt is their way of living; 4)the existence of an informal economy of its own persists within the community catering to each other's need; and 5) most are ill-prepared for contingencies, especially those of the Covid-19 scale. This study of Ma Lang sheds light on the profound impacts of the legacies of the War and the collateral damage of the current and rapid economic growth as exhibited by its residents.
