Fatima Zaidi

IB English

Ms. Mckay

1 March 2021

Power and Corruption in Ready Player One

The movie Ready Player One which was based off of a book, gives viewers an

immersive experience of virtual reality. Most of the movie takes place in the Oasis,

which is a virtual world in which people have no limits as to what they can be. They can

be any avatar, play any game, and do anything they can imagine. Almost all of their time

is spent in the Oasis other than eating and drinking. Most see it as a way to escape the

harsh reality of the world they live in. The movie is set in 2045 in society where many

houses are run down, overcrowded cities, and lots of pollution. It’s not an ideal place to

live, which is why many spend almost all their time in the oasis. James Halliday who

created the Oasis hid an egg in the game and those who find the egg, get all control of

the game. People who try to hunt for eggs are called gunters, and Wade Watts who

goes by the character Parzival in one of them. In the movie Ready Player One, Steven

Speilberg uses many visual components including the idea of having a golden egg, the

keys, and the Orb of Osuvox to show corruption and power in society.

In order to be able to find the egg, Halliday hid keys throughout the game. In the

beginning of the movie, no one had come even close getting the first key. Until, Parzival

was able to find the right way to finish the race which led to the first key. Once he

finished the race, he received the gold key and a clue along with it. When Parzival

received the first key from Anorak, which is Halliday’s avatar in the Oasis, he was put on
the leaderboard, giving him more power in the game since he was ahead of every

gunter in the game. So many people were desperate to get some sort of hint or clue to

finding the egg, so Parzival finding the key not only gives him more power but also

makes him a threat to others in the Oasis who also want to get the key. Looking at the

visual components, the key is copper and when receiving the key, you also get a clue

and the one who gives you the key is Anorak. Receiving the key is highly important and

making it so Anorak himself is giving the key shows how crucial the key can be in being

closer to getting the egg.

The egg also plays a crucial role in the game. When the creator of the game

Halliday died, he left a message behind stating that he has hidden an egg and ever

since then many people have tried to get close to finding the egg. Parzival changed that

and made the competition harder since he was finding the keys so fast. In the movie

Parzival’s main competition was IOI. This is a company that was run by Nolan Sorrento

who used to be an intern for Halliday. He would do anything in order to get the egg

because he wants all power and control over the game. Speilberg made the key highly

desirable by showing what the players were willing to do. He even tried to kill Wade and

in the end killed his guardians in the process. In IOI there are workers who are called

sixers who are actively working to try and solve the riddles in the game. Nolan is

cunning and tries to persuade Wade into joining his team which Wade denies. After

Wade denies, Sorrento does anything he can to prevent Wade from getting the egg. In

the end when Wade passes all the challenges, he sees Halliday and is given a big,

bright, golden egg. With this Wade is given the opportunity\ to have control over the

whole game and basically ultimate power over the society and the game since the
Oasis greatly influences people's lives. This reflects the theme of power in the movie,

almost all the characters are trying to gain power and control and if put into the wrong

hands can corrupt society.

Another component of the movie that reflected power in the movie, was the Orb

of Osuvox. This was an orb that held great power and was given to IOI from an

accomplice. Since IOI was given this power, he used it in the wrong way by creating a

force field to prevent others from entering and disrupting the sixers from completing the

last challenge. This led to Parzival collecting together all the players in the game to try

and fight IOI and prevent them from getting the overall control of the game. This was

one of the last defences that IOI had against Wade and his team because he was

getting very close to the easter egg. Nolan Sorrento wanted ultimate power and in order

to do that he was willing to use the Orb of Osuvox, an orb that was extremely powerful

and could be dangerous if used the wrong way. Even visually, the orb looked like it held

great power since it was a large, glowing orb that could only be received if someone

passed level 99 in the OASIS. So not only was it hard to receive, Sorrento easily used

the orb so gunters wouldn’t disturb his efforts in receiving the easter egg. The Orb of

Osuvox shows the desire for power and corruption within the OASIS because IOI had

so many resources they could easily acquire any weapon or tool they needed. While

other players in the game risked all their coins, money, and time, to even get close

passing the first challenge. The Orb was simply just another way that gave IOI an unfair

advantage and showed how desperate they were for power.

Ready Player One reflected many issues including power, the effects of

technology, and sense of community. Although this movie was set in the future, issues
that exist in society today were still shown throughout the movie. One way the movie

showed this was by displaying power and corruption. One of Wade Watt’s biggest

struggles in the movie was trying to beat IOI to the easter egg. This was difficult

because of how much power IOI had in the OASIS, but with the help of others Wade

Watts was able to get the egg, and dodge any obstacles that IOI had given. Of course

with power the movie also showed corruption. Nolan Sorrento was willing to do

anything, just to gain ultimate power over the OASIS. In the end, Speilerg used many

visual rhetorical choices to display power and corruption within society and in the

OASIS and how it affected the lives of many.