(which I’m 99% sure was shoved in by Stephen Spielberg) was just to stop playing video games.
Read the book. Can confirm.
It doesn't even make sense in the context of the film, let alone the book. A huge chunk of the world building in both is spent spelling out that for all intents and purposes: the economy of the oasis has become the defacto world economy. People use it to go to school, work remotely, engage with other people for trade, etc. Shutting it down two days out of the week is less analogous to turning off a videogame, or even the internet, and more akin to shutting down ALL commerce in general for two days out of the week.
Read the book. Can confirm.
It doesn't even make sense in the context of the film, let alone the book. A huge chunk of the world building in both is spent spelling out that for all intents and purposes: the economy of the oasis has become the defacto world economy. People use it to go to school, work remotely, engage with other people for trade, etc. Shutting it down two days out of the week is less analogous to turning off a videogame, or even the internet, and more akin to shutting down ALL commerce in general for two days out of the week.