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As a parent, I’m well aware of all of the studies about the dangers of too much screen time for kids—and the importance of keeping them off devices as much as possible. But the Netflix documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin shows how screen time made a huge difference in one young man’s life.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin introduces Mats Steen, a young man from Norway who was born with a rare muscular disease that caused his muscles to degenerate as he got older. Before his death at just 25 years old, his parents were saddened by the fact that their son would never experience real friendship or fall in love—that he’d never be able to make a difference in the world. He just spent his days playing video games. But after his death, they discovered that Mats had lived a full life within his online world.
Through World of Warcraft animation, archived conversations from his role play community’s forum, blog posts, and interviews with his closest gaming friends, the film explores 10 years—and around 20,000 hours—of his experiences as his avatar, Ibelin, a handsome and muscular but often shy and sensitive private detective. What his parents thought was just a necessary distraction was the whole world to Mats. In the game, he could escape the realities of his life in a wheelchair. He could run and jump and drink at the pub and make friends and fall in love. And he was also able to make a difference in the lives of the others in his community, too—from the teen who battled depression and mended her relationship with her parents with help from her gaming friend to the mother who followed his advice and connected with her autistic son through gaming.
Most people probably wouldn’t expect a documentary about a video game to be an emotional experience—but everything about Mats and his story is incredibly moving. Though he lived with so many challenges, he was able to live a full life that his family knew nothing about—helping so many people who, for years, were entirely unaware of their friend’s own personal struggles. And his legacy is the kind that few are able to leave behind.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin tells an inspiring story about someone who made a huge difference in spite of challenges and disability. It’s a moving film that will make you see online gaming in a whole different light.
You can explore Ibelin’s world when The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is released on Netflix on October 25, 2024.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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