8/12/2019 Avatars now and then
1/2
AVATARS NOW AND THEN.
IDENTITY THROUGH SIZE, SHAPE AND SIGNIFICANCE
There is no surprise that today, when we speak about identity,
there is more to it than a
social security number, passport photo or a set of fingerprints.
What we also add to our identity
baggage is the virtual costume that we like to wear to different
public reunions; what were
they called? vatars, thats right! "ow considered to be a kind of
virtual#self, part of one persons
virtual identity, there is no longer a secret that companies,
nowadays, can and will access ones
$acebook page and use it as a point of reference for interviews
or when it comes to hiring
someone. %ut then, a &uestion arises when talking about
avatars' are they defined by what people
see or by the inner#self? (n my opinion, people)s digital
representations in the virtual environment
are an echo of their true selves. (n a virtual world, online
identity is potentially much morefle*ible than the real identity,
allowing easily changes in race, class, gender, age and so on,
allowing people, in fact, to be )less ordinary) than their real
selves. (n the virtual world, they either
had more powers or better looks. (t does seem like in almost
every case, the avatar is bigger,
better, faster, it can fly, it has abilities the person doesn)t
have in the real world.
nd ( think that this preoccupation with si+e, shape and
significance goes back to ncient
times. (t is true that back then there wasnt internet, or any
kind of related technology, but my
opinion is that ncient gyptian pharaohs did actually create
their own avatars together with an
entire network of pictures representing his daily activities,
his preferences, his family members,
favourite sport-activity, because that was the way in which they
wanted to be seen by their
subects, remembered by their heirs. These avatars could be
either two dimensional pictures
representing the pharaohs as being very tall, wearing make#up,
reaching or holding the sun, but,
in my opinion, the most impressive avatar of all times is The
/reat 0phin* of /i+a.
%y coincidence ( saw the other days a documentary in which,
after many years of
anonymity and controversy, the true identity of the 0phin* was
revealed' 1hufu or 2heops, the
second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty in ncient gypt.
3nfortunately, not many details are kwon
about this ancient pharaohs life, but some records are kept, and
of course his avatar, which we
shall see that reflects 1hufus personality. Taking into
consideration the si+e of his avatar 456
meters long and 78 meters high9, not to mention the fact that
his pyramid is, in fact, one of the
0even Wonders of the World 4The Great Pyramid of Giza, standing
:6 meters high9, we could
assume the fact that he was a spender, longing to spend all that
he had on his image, a very
common trend nowadays. This affirmation is confirmed by ancient
te*ts, including
8/12/2019 Avatars now and then
2/2
0o, we saw what the si+e of the avatar means, but now let us see
what its shape and
significance have to say about the real pharaoh himself. $irst
of all, the position of the 0phin*, as
guardian of his and his son 1hafras pyramid, reflects, in fact,
the significance of the pharaohs
name' 1hufu meaning =the god 1hnum protects me>. 0o he chose
an avatar which would reflect
his name properly. nd now comes the &uestion' why the body
of an animal, not ust any animal,
but a lion. What does this tell about 1hufu? $irst of all,
social status; his avatar tells us his social
status, as the lion is associated to royalty, power and wealth.
Then, we all know that kings,
especially pharaohs considered themselves gods send on arth. %ut
almost all gyptian gods are
represented as having a human body and the head of an animal;
with 1hufu it is different' he
wanted to be remembered as having the strength of a god, but
people never to forget his face.
What else does the avatar signify? $rom what ( have read, it
seems that the avatar reflects the
pharaohs preferences, as he was fascinated by magic 4Westcar
Papyrus9, especially a certain type
of magic, that of resurrecting a beheaded animal. %ecause the
method worked only on animals,
1hufu chose to be resurrected into the body of a lion, thus
striving to attain immortality.
ll in all, we can see that king 1hufus 0phin* is more than
e*pressive and does, in fact,
act as a modern#day avatar, offering information about the kings
identity, social status, economic
background, preoccupations, and so on.
What seems to me a sad conclusion is the fact that with all our
modern techni&ues and
gadgets, the avatars we create today have lost their
originality, in general the virtual identity lacks
creativity, culture and good taste. lthough we have all the
freedom that we could want, what)s
strange is how much we insist on being in bodies that we)re used
to, and spend time doing average
activities like shopping. Whats sadder still, in the virtual
world, we even e*aggerate the
superficiality of the real world, like stereotypical body
perfection. ( dont know about you, but (
have never seen an overweight avatar!
