Using World of Warcraft-style animation, this documentary tells the story of Mats Steen, a boy with muscular dystrophy whose online popularity was only revealed after his death
Photograph: Kristoffer Kumar/Bjorg Engdahl Medieop/Netflix © 2024Photograph: Kristoffer Kumar/Bjorg Engdahl Medieop/Netflix © 2024t’s probably just an accident of scheduling, but this deeply affecting documentary is arriving just when there’s a debate raging at the school gates about children’s use of smartphones and social media.
Born in 1989, Mats Steen started out like many other Norwegian children of his generation: energetic, sweet-natured, unusually pale. However, his parents Robert and Trude soon discovered that he had, a genetic condition that eroded his ability to move and breathe and which would eventually kill him at the age of 25.
Then they signed on to the blog to announce his death, thinking hardly anyone would read it – and a flood of emails came back, for it turned out that Mats, who had been logging into Warcraft by the name Ibelin and using an able-bodied red-haired avatar, had built up an extensive network of friends over the years. Ibelin had courted women in this digital world, and was even a bit of player at one point, but more importantly he was deeply liked for his kindness and empathy.
Using the archive which recorded thousands of words of interactions between Mats/Ibelin and his friends, the film recreates Ibelin’s digital life, using animation in the style of WoW. This means the whole gamut of fantasy-character physiognomies, in all colours, shapes and sizes – except that they all have chunky thighs, disproportionally engorged forearms and, if female, enormous bosoms.
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