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Gabriel Moore

Ms. Moosman

IB Language Arts SL

1 March 2021

Future technology And The Search For Utopia

For hundreds if not thousands of years, humans have been searching for a perfect society,

a utopia. Many people have tried to reach this level of perfection, but it has never been

successfully achieved. Ready Player One shows how this perfect utopia might not be a physical

world, but instead a world of future technology that links people digitally into this perfect society

that has a darker secret and could lead to the downfall of human society.

The settings and the construction of scenes in Ready Player One is very rigid, sharp and

boxy. This very hard textured construction and scenery is heavily referring to what people in the

1980’s thought about when they thought about the future. This futuristic boxy appeal was all

over mainstream media. One of the most futuristic car manufacturers at the time was DeLorean

Motor Company, a small sports car manufacturer that became famous with the release of the

DMC-12, a very futuristic car that featured a unique sounding engine, sharp body lines as well as

aluminium being exposed only covered with a clear coat rather than a traditional paint job. The

DMC-12 was featured in the 1985 film, Back To The Future. Wade chooses to use this famous

DMC-12 in one of the challenges, this wasn’t just a nod to the very successful film, but also an

acknowledgment to the fall of the “perfect” futuristic car company. In late January of 1981,

DeLorean Motor Company released the DMC-12, many saw this as the “perfect” car and a

glimpse into what the future holds, but just one year later, Delorean Motor Company filed for

bankruptcy and closed its doors. This “perfect” almost “utopian” car manufacturer wasn’t
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destroyed by others or the outside world, but instead by little things internally, like it’s 2.85 litre

V6 or it’s poor production quality and even the choice of having exposed aluminium. This is

much like in Ready Player One where this utopia and futuristic way of living is seen as “perfect”

on the outside, is just slowly being broken down by the issues within.

Along with the construction of scenes in Ready Player One, the music has a deeper

meaning than what is shown on the outside. The songs that are played in Ready Player One are

from the 1980’s from very popular bands and artists such as Van Halen and Prince. These songs

are very electronic and futuristic because of the new rise and popularity in the use of synths in

songs. Ready Player One is a very futuristic movie and aims to portray what the future will be

like and these songs embody the idea of new technology and utopia, but the artists and groups do

not show this same embodiment of this utopia. Nearly all the artists or groups that are featured in

Ready Player One experienced heartache, trials and tribulations. Eddie Van Halen was diagnosed

with cancer in 2000 and later died in 2020, Daryl Hall from Daryl Hall and John Oats

experienced a heartbreaking divorce, but the biggest of these was Prince’s death in April of

2016. All of these artists or groups were idolized, they were seen as perfect as if it was, but the

dark reality is that it wasn’t perfect for these stars and idols. The most subtle and overseen

problems that any of these idols experienced was Prince’s addiction to painkillers. It wasn’t

something that was seen or even known, but deeply affected him and is what eventually led to

his death when he overdosed on fentanyl. The music and specifically the artists and groups

featured in Ready Player One show the importance of looking deeper into what is seen as perfect

because what seems perfect is often no where close to perfect and this is often used to alter our

reality. This happens in Ready Player One when Wade is approached by Nolan Serrento and is

offered absurd amounts of money because he knows how dangerous Wade is to him and his
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company. Nolan Serrento covers up and tries blinding Wade from the dark reality that he will

join if he takes his offer.

Ready Player One ultimately shows the darkside of what seems perfect, even from the

cars that are featured and the music that is played. A true utopia and perfection will never be

achieved because of the destruction from within. The importance isn’t what is on the tip of the

iceberg, it’s what lies beneath the surface.

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Works Cited

Spielberg, Steven, et al. Ready Player One. Warner Bros., 2018.