Yet again the Olympic games have surfaced many questions. For me they are typified in the statue of Christ standing over the city of Rio de Janeiro watching our triumphs and tragedies unfold as much in the city streets as in the stadium. He stands in silence but his arms are outstretched.
The character of Miss Havisham warns us that we all have the potential to create tombs. As individuals we can create them in our homes. Collectively we can create them in other places. Death is more than a physical experience and we use the word to express more than the ending of physical life.
A church congregation were once asked by their minister to encapsulate their faith in 300 words? Not quoting one of the historic creeds, but their ‘creed’? If you can’t say what you believe in 300 words, what can you say?
We are creatures that cannot help ourselves but play and that can take many forms that can be encouraged. Fortunately some are engaging with these questions and those with eyes to see and ears to hear are beginning to reassess and appreciate the mass effect of games.
‘Bladerunner’ presents a dystopian nightmare of a not too distant future whose complex themes question our human identity. But is there light at the end of the tunnel?
