Cao Fei‘s documentary — i.mirror by China Tracy (2007) was created for the on-line game “Second Life” — a virtual world where users can socialize and establish a virtual identity, playing roles they choose for themselves. This is a world constructed entirely of 3D animation, where the actors are also the directors. The animation is basic and functional; it serves as an accessible platform for users/actors on the web. Cao Fei lives in “Second Life” and has filmed a documentary following the exploits of her character, China Tracy. She aspires to craft a poetic metaphor of personal quest in the burning ruins of a city seen after the war. She deconstructs the alienation and loneliness of this setting with music and by familiarizing the viewer with other characters in this virtual world, but at the same time also portrays this world as a place driven by money, celebrity, mass culture, kitsch and artifice. The movie ends with the breakdown of interpersonal relationships, along with condemnation of capitalism, of the illusionary nature of virtual reality and the meaningless mass-production of animation systems that is “Second Life”. Fei examines the list of possible male and female characters that users can choose from for their avatars — all of which are stereotypical, fascist, and fetishist icons of beauty and success. But inherent in this act of defiance against the failure of “Second Life” there is also, at the end of the movie, a great compassion for the person swept into this vortex of virtual reality as a substitute for their own, real existence.
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
