Tonight, I watched Avalon... for those of you who have not seen the movie, more or less, it is about a society where people participate in these incredibly realistic video games, and that in the end the video game becomes more real to them than actual reality. In the final level, you are put on "Level Real", where you are now apparently in an even more vividly "real" and appealing life that you live outside of the game, and your end goal is murder. Understandably, this movie can be taken many ways, but I will only speak of the way that I took the movie.
First, the opening lines of the Movie:
The near future. Some people deal with their disillusionment by seeking out illusions of their own - in an illegal virtual reality war game. Its simulated thrills and deaths are compulsive and addictive. Some players, working in teams called 'parties' even earn their living from the game. The game has its dangers. Sometimes it can leave a player brain-dead, needing constant medical care. Such victims are called 'unreturned'. The game is named after the legendary island where the souls of departed heroes come to rest: Avalon.
In this projected dystopia, there were various players of the game... warriors, thiefs, mages, and apparently, bishops. The main character of the film, Ash (interesting name, think about it) was a warrior and she was in search of the level Special A. The way the game worked is you started on Level D (I think), and made your way up the alphabet to Level A. In the world of battle, many chose to fight as teams, but she chose to go solo, which gave her greater flexibility, but less reliability. Eventually, she became one of the best fighters of Level A, but still wanted more. She was after the rumored, "Special A" Level.
Through speculation and investigation, she game to the understanding that the only way to Special A was through "the ghost", and the only way to locate "the ghost" was by either becoming a bishop herself, or to team up with a bishop that was even greater than herself. Eventually, for the sake of time, she chooses the later, and connects with a Bishop that makes her look like a novice (beating her last mission in less time and with more precision, almost to prove he was better than her, and perhaps to draw her into him). Once she decides to seek the Bishop, she is taken through a crazy chain of events. On this path, she discovers a few important things. First, that this Bishop is "in the game, but not of the game". He is a player, with allies that are not other characters. He posses skill beyond hers, and claims to be a protector of the integrity of the game. When they engage in combat together (as a team), he does not go after the big robot that is their ultimate target, but rather supports her and her movements, killing only to protect her in her journey, eventually allowing her to defeat the robot. (Even once she makes it to Special A level, he says that he did not bring her there, but rather, she brought herself. )
Eventually, "the ghost" appears (after her victory in a Level A game with Bishop), and she must engage the ghost to be granted passage to "Level Real" (essentially Special A level). Once there, she is told that this would be a much harder test of her talent, and that there was no time limit, only one choice to make. If she succeeds, she would win the game and be given a chance to be a "High Bishop", just like the one that helped her on her journey to that crossroad. If she does not succeed, than she dies and vanishes into nothingness, or rather "brain-deadness".
The crazy part of this film starts here. See, the entire film, up until this point, was filmed in sepia/ yellow screen. There were strange distortions on the color, and the society was projected to be unbelievably dismal. The weird part is that in "Level Real", the color of the entire movie normalizes, and things finally look "real to the audience". (Sorry for the Spoilers here), but the truth is that such a level was more appealing, better than her current life, and where Murphy (her friend) chose to live, instead of the virtual world of the lower levels, or the real world as he knew it. At the end of the movie, however, she makes her choice, and it is unveiled that this apparent "real world" was not real at all, but in fact just a much better temptation for an alternate reality. (re-read the opening quote now please)
So, my analysis starts here. I think this movie can be a loose analogy for reality. Specifically, I think "the game" is one's quest here on earth for a relationship with God, and "Avalon", or "beating the game", is acceptance of a relationship with God, and thus a promised eternity with Him.
Think about this...On track to Avalon, a warrior must be aided by a "Higher Bishop" so they can find "the ghost" (who is a gate to the Level Real, the level of a single choice to determine your fate). This ghost, I would liken to the Holy Spirit, as He is the one that allows us to make a pseudo-prefallen mindset choice to accept or reject God. The "Higher Bishops", I do believe then, can be compared to be current believers. Not face-name Christians, but True believers. Even the movie makes this distinction when Ash asks if she can just find any Bishop to lead her to the ghost. To that, her friend replies: "No....there were apparently parties trying to make a name for themselves who quickly converted someone to bishop and then went running around on foolish "ghost hunting" expeditions, but it was an utter failure." In the end, what was necessary was a Higher Bishop, someone of a skill level even higher than her own (which was nearly un-heard of, because she was suppose to be one of the best of the best) to fight with her so that the ghost would appear. To clarify now, the "path to Avalon (which was the victory goal of the game)" was that one must encounter a Bishop, (or become one their self) so that they could, through "the ghost" reach a final level where a simple decision was to be made. That decision, would then determine their eternal fate. Come on! This is totally the gospel!
Outside of being introduced to the ghost with the aid of a Higher Bishop, one can even encounter the ghost their self, through becoming a bishop their self... which, according to the Higher Bishop, requires one to sort through an enormous amount of life experiences and data on their own... until they finally reach a point where the ghost finds them and they get to make their decision.
(Now, the one qualm I do have with this theologically is all the work needed to find the ghost... and the whole reality being a game, lol... but other than that, this seems like a close analogy to salvation, or rather, the decision to live a live with Christ, or to choose to not live a life with Christ... to live in the apparent "Level Real", or to make the hard choice and choose that actual Real world, and also "Avalon".)
One of the opening quotes of the movie is the main character, introducing herself by saying:
"Some people think it has no end; you could play for ever and never see the last level. It seems pointless - a game without a goal - but there is a goal; to go beyond the game - to something more"
At the end of the day/ game, we as warriors of Ash (like dust, only burnt, or fallen... think about it) are given a choice... and both sides seem tempting. One one hand, we have a reality that seems far better than even the reality that we know. Parties and success unimaginable. Murphy chose this path, and defined it as his reality. Murphy chose "Level Real" to be his home, and it eventually cost him his existence.
Ash on the other hand chose a different path. Through her own distinguishment, with the aid of the Higher Bishop and the gateway of the ghost, she choose Avalon and actual reality. She chose a noble victory, and chose to go against all apparent logic, and rejected the Level Real as reality. (I can not stress to you enough, those who have not seen the film, that at the moment of her decision, Level Real really seemed like the only true reality) For her own reasons, she made her choice, and was granted a life in Avalon, and the opportunity to become a Higher Bishop that would bring balance to the game, and help others find their way to Avalon.
This is totally life in the Kingdom of God here on Earth! We are fallen people, soaked in the sins of the world... but by the blood of Christ, we are set free from the bondage of our sin! By the aid of the Holy Spirit, we are allowed to make the choice to accept or reject Christ, by our own decision, and not simply by manipulation from God or from the sinful world. Once we have made our decision, we are not swept up to heaven, but rather, allowed to come back into the game, to help others on their quest for Avalon! Seriously, this was an amazing movie.
When the movie first started, and the Higher Bishop was seen as an observant warrior to Ash's game, and at that moment, I said that I was him. After seeing the movie, I still think I am like a Higher Bishop. Right now, I feel it is my place in life to help others make the good choice in Level Real so that they can find Avalon.
And that is it. :-)
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