“Look, I can’t tell you why this is so important, but it is.”
RECKONING 3 is an experimental film combining aspects of live-action and machinima storytelling. In the description of its YouTube link, it states:
RECKONING 3 is the first in a series of investigations into
1. Terror and wonder in big-budget virtual worlds
2. The mutability, fragility and loneliness of technologically mediated social identities and friendships
3. The queerness and malevolence of archetypal masculinity
4. The diminishing distance between “real” and “artificial” humanity
5. The poetics of blockbuster aesthetics
The film is a bit difficult to describe to someone who has not watched it, as it is indeed quite experimental. However, I would highly recommend it to anyone who has spent a majority of their life playing online shooter games, or anyone who has used online gaming as a way of finding or bonding with friends. As someone who falls into both of these categories, it’s this aspect of RECKONING 3 which spoke to me the most, and it’s this aspect which I wish to write about.
To me, the most interesting parts of RECKONING 3 are the casual voice chat conversations between friends which are interspersed throughout the film. There are three total, and each sounds as if you are listening in on someone’s Xbox Live Party chat. In the first one, it’s a conversation about someone’s drug dealer, and whether or not they are actually friends. In the second one, a person complains about his “terrible friend” who never returns his messages, and yet will randomly call him and ask if he wants to do something. In the last one, someone is talking about the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting; he reads the news article about it, then argues with his friend about whether the shooting was potentially faked.
These clips are purposely framed in a manner that causes the viewer to question the authenticity of these conversations. Each one contains a conflict between friends, whether it’s arguing about conspiracy theories or complaining about being ghosted. In doing so, it addresses its question of “The mutability, fragility and loneliness of technologically mediated social identities and friendships.” We never get to see the faces of the people talking. We don’t even know if they are “friends,” just that this is a conversation happening while playing an online video game. Even though RECKONING 3 came out in 2013, I feel it has only become more relevant in our post-COVID world, where Discord communities are seen as acceptable substitutes for IRL community.
But although RECKONING 3 is clearly critiquing how fake and fragile online relationships are, I feel that it still does recognize video games as a great, unique way of developing bonds and memories. In addition to the online conversations, RECKONING 3 features clips from various shows/movies of people teaching others how to play video games.
These clips show people bonding over the act of playing, and even though they may not be in the same room, they are still able to develop a bond. They remind me of my own childhood, where video games were the primary method I developed friendships with people in school. Getting home from classes, hopping on Xbox Live, and whisking the days away playing COD or Destiny; games have provided me with so many fond memories, and it was possible because I was able to play with my friends. In an odd way, RECKONING 3 made me nostalgic of those times. Outsiders might be confused why these silly kids games mean so much, but I think the film’s last line puts it best: “Look, I can’t tell you why this is so important, but it is.”
