Just a thought: The line 'tween a Game and Reality

In class (as well as that of the other module :), we have learnt about the distinction between what is "part of a game" and that of reality (i.e. the returning back to our daily lives) as people engage themselves in games. When we participate in games, it could be said that we "enter" temporarily into a "magic circle" but I sometimes wonder if such "magic circle" may expand such that it could consciously or unconsciously expand affect the way we live our so-called daily lives?

With this, I would take the example from my favourite French movie, Jeux D'enfants (official French website), perhaps better known as with the English working-title, Love Me If You Dare. *Warning: Major Spoiler* The plot revolves around a pair of childhood friends, Julien and Sophie who take great pleasure in continuously challenging each other in the game of Dare and how they eventually fall victims to the game they invented. There is an internal system that they have created which works something like this: the person in possession of the intricately-designed Merry-Go-Round tin can would impose a "dare" challenge to the other person and after the latter accomplishes that challenge, he or she would then gain possession of the can whereby the whole process would be repeated again (somewhat like a social game). However as they grow into young adults, their obsession with the game eventually reach a dangerous point whereby it not only ruin their friendship but also affect how they leave their lives for the next few years. The outcome of their game? There was no winner nor loser for if I may put it simply, they subsequently went to bury themselves in concrete cement... *Grasp!* I was kind of traumatised when I first watched the movie but then I remember that my friend commented how this could be the best ending/outcome for their game, especially when neither of them wants to lose.

I know there is no way that real life would ever be as romanticised as the movie (or least I hope not :p) but nonetheless the point is how sure are we when we think that we are playing a game and whether or not, it is not the other way around? Coming to think of it in that sense, life itself could very much be a game...