The Box Man

“This is the record of a box man.
I am beginning this account in a box. A cardboard box that reaches just to my hips when I put it over my head.
That is to say, at this juncture the box man is me. A box man, in his box, is recording the chronicle of a box man.”

[Kobo Abé, The Box Man]

This is a tale of identity and anonymity. The unnamed protagonist, in taking up residence in a cardboard box, preserves his anonymity yet unveils his identity.  The box itself is reprogrammed – a shelter, a home, a mask, an identity.  The box man is a strange and threatening sight, not because of the box but because of the opportunity it offers to the box man. A sliced peep-hole is made, screened by a small piece of vinyl.  Upon tilting the box, screen opens up and the box man is able to see yet remain unseen.  He observes the world from a new perspective.  He has created for a new reality for himself, a virtual existence where he is bound by the box’s restrict dimensions, yet relishes the opportunity of voyeurism and suspect anonymity.

Yet the world has not changed.  It is our perception of the box and of the box man that has changed, but more importantly it is his perception of the box and himself that have changed.  [Tragically the story ends with box man being shot dead.]

Does this tale ring true for contemporary society? Do people disappear from the real world to spend time on Second Life in order to discover their identity?  ?  As the amenities and services of everyday life dissolve into the black hole of the metaverse, there is something of a reality crisis – we are beginning to see the world from a very different perspective.  Computers are increasingly becoming a pivotal part of our lives.  A child’s upbringing is, nowadays, less associated with the nursery rhymes and fairy tales that the older generations are so fond of. Interactive computer games and online virtual worlds have replaced tradition, inherently influencing orthodox child’s play and acculturating Generation X 2.0, growing up in a half physical, half representational reality.  Is this generation more out of touch with reality as a result, or has actual reality actually changed?

The more research carried out on artificial intelligence and new forms of communication, the more science approximates the structure of the brain; in a way recreating the thing we’ve lived for millennia. The way we react with the physical environment is, in a sense, entirely virtual.  Our sensory perception or physical reality is microcosm of electro-chemical stimulations, and one that is administered by the cognition of our memories.