West Virginia Wilderness: Harbin residents who read science fiction, Harbin's films, Virtual Harbin, Harbin's theater

Harbin ethnography:


... And the play at actual Harbin can develop in multiple ways in virtual Harbin and between the two, giving new expressions to cybernetic theory.

Harbin's films which are shown 2-4 times a day, for decades now, probably contribute to Harbin residents and visitors' experience of actual Harbin's virtuality in unique ways, as another prehistory of virtual Harbin. In quieter, rainy, winter months, and during slow times for Harbin, for example, possibly at times in winter in the mid-1970, 80s and 90s (?), films in Harbin's great, pillow-strewn, stepped, 'hippy' theater probably offered an antidote to boredom. Fantastic narratives from science fiction and film, and science fiction in film, create far-reaching kinds of virtuality. And in the past few years, on the weekends, films that are spiritually oriented are shown; films, for example, focusing on the Dalai Lama or Pema Chodron and similar spiritual teachers, in the context of northern California, post 1960s. And all of these films are streamable into virtual Harbin, as well, so that as virtual Harbin develops, anyone around the world, may be able to go into the virtual Harbin theater in Second Life and watch a film being shown at actual Harbin, or watch a film of their own choosing. Films that are significant, for example, to the founder, Ishvara, and that may have influenced the Harbin vision include Frank Capra's film “Lost Horizon” (1937) and George Bailey's “It's a Wonderful Life” (1946). There are also a number of Harbin residents and visitors who read science fiction abundantly. And all of these expressions of Harbin virtuality as narratives – in science fiction and film, for example – take place in the context of a very relaxed way of life, where people seeing these films, are in and out of the Harbin pools a few times a day, hanging out here and there - on the sun deck, in the Fern community kitchen, in the health food store - then heading to the theater in the evening, after visiting the restaurant, all of which has gone on for decades, as well. These prehistories of virtual Harbin, in the form of narratives and imagination, are many and diverse.

Science fiction, fantasy and film have been important to the emergence of virtual worlds and the virtual, - at actual Harbin and virtual Harbin, particularly. ...













(http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2010/08/west-virginia-wilderness-harbin.html - August 25, 2010)