Ready Player One Essay

Fatima Zaidi
IB English
Ms. Mckay
1 March 2021
Power and Corruption in Ready Player One
The movie Ready Player One which was based off of a book, gives viewers an
immersive experience of virtual reality. Most of the movie takes place in the Oasis,
which is a virtual world in which people have no limits as to what they can be. They can
be any avatar, play any game, and do anything they can imagine. Almost all of their time
is spent in the Oasis other than eating and drinking. Most see it as a way to escape the
harsh reality of the world they live in. The movie is set in 2045 in society where many
houses are run down, overcrowded cities, and lots of pollution. It’s not an ideal place to
live, which is why many spend almost all their time in the oasis. James Halliday who
created the Oasis hid an egg in the game and those who find the egg, get all control of
the game. People who try to hunt for eggs are called gunters, and Wade Watts who
goes by the character Parzival in one of them. In the movie Ready Player One, Steven
Speilberg uses many visual components including the idea of having a golden egg, the
keys, and the Orb of Osuvox to show corruption and power in society.
In order to be able to find the egg, Halliday hid keys throughout the game. In the
beginning of the movie, no one had come even close getting the first key. Until, Parzival
was able to find the right way to finish the race which led to the first key. Once he
finished the race, he received the gold key and a clue along with it. When Parzival
received the first key from Anorak, which is Halliday’s avatar in the Oasis, he was put on
the leaderboard, giving him more power in the game since he was ahead of every
gunter in the game. So many people were desperate to get some sort of hint or clue to
finding the egg, so Parzival finding the key not only gives him more power but also
makes him a threat to others in the Oasis who also want to get the key. Looking at the
visual components, the key is copper and when receiving the key, you also get a clue
and the one who gives you the key is Anorak. Receiving the key is highly important and
making it so Anorak himself is giving the key shows how crucial the key can be in being
closer to getting the egg.
The egg also plays a crucial role in the game. When the creator of the game
Halliday died, he left a message behind stating that he has hidden an egg and ever
since then many people have tried to get close to finding the egg. Parzival changed that
and made the competition harder since he was finding the keys so fast. In the movie
Parzival’s main competition was IOI. This is a company that was run by Nolan Sorrento
who used to be an intern for Halliday. He would do anything in order to get the egg
because he wants all power and control over the game. Speilberg made the key highly
desirable by showing what the players were willing to do. He even tried to kill Wade and
in the end killed his guardians in the process. In IOI there are workers who are called
sixers who are actively working to try and solve the riddles in the game. Nolan is
cunning and tries to persuade Wade into joining his team which Wade denies. After
Wade denies, Sorrento does anything he can to prevent Wade from getting the egg. In
the end when Wade passes all the challenges, he sees Halliday and is given a big,
bright, golden egg. With this Wade is given the opportunity\ to have control over the
whole game and basically ultimate power over the society and the game since the
Oasis greatly influences people's lives. This reflects the theme of power in the movie,
almost all the characters are trying to gain power and control and if put into the wrong
hands can corrupt society.
Another component of the movie that reflected power in the movie, was the Orb
of Osuvox. This was an orb that held great power and was given to IOI from an
accomplice. Since IOI was given this power, he used it in the wrong way by creating a
force field to prevent others from entering and disrupting the sixers from completing the
last challenge. This led to Parzival collecting together all the players in the game to try
and fight IOI and prevent them from getting the overall control of the game. This was
one of the last defences that IOI had against Wade and his team because he was
getting very close to the easter egg. Nolan Sorrento wanted ultimate power and in order
to do that he was willing to use the Orb of Osuvox, an orb that was extremely powerful
and could be dangerous if used the wrong way. Even visually, the orb looked like it held
great power since it was a large, glowing orb that could only be received if someone
passed level 99 in the OASIS. So not only was it hard to receive, Sorrento easily used
the orb so gunters wouldn’t disturb his efforts in receiving the easter egg. The Orb of
Osuvox shows the desire for power and corruption within the OASIS because IOI had
so many resources they could easily acquire any weapon or tool they needed. While
other players in the game risked all their coins, money, and time, to even get close
passing the first challenge. The Orb was simply just another way that gave IOI an unfair
advantage and showed how desperate they were for power.
Ready Player One reflected many issues including power, the effects of
technology, and sense of community. Although this movie was set in the future, issues
that exist in society today were still shown throughout the movie. One way the movie
showed this was by displaying power and corruption. One of Wade Watt’s biggest
struggles in the movie was trying to beat IOI to the easter egg. This was difficult
because of how much power IOI had in the OASIS, but with the help of others Wade
Watts was able to get the egg, and dodge any obstacles that IOI had given. Of course
with power the movie also showed corruption. Nolan Sorrento was willing to do
anything, just to gain ultimate power over the OASIS. In the end, Speilerg used many
visual rhetorical choices to display power and corruption within society and in the
OASIS and how it affected the lives of many.

Ready Player One Essay

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ready Player One Essay

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ready Player One Essay

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fatima Zaidi

Power and Corruption in Ready Player One

closer to getting the egg.

hands can corrupt society.

advantage and showed how desperate they were for power.

OASIS and how it affected the lives of many.

You might also like