The immersive turn: Hype and hope in the emergence of virtual reality as a nonfiction platform

Rose, Mandy

Abstract

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This article responds to the recent wave of experimentation with Virtual Reality (VR) as a nonfiction platform. Amidst daily announcements of new VR documentary initiatives, and at times giddy claims about the potential of this new medium, I consider how a media technology expected to enter the mainstream as a games platform became a magnet for nonfiction producers. VR is not a new medium, and has been the subject of a substantial body of research across arts and science. This research is also the site of claims for the pro-social potential of VR, which provide a significant context for its adoption for nonfiction. Less attention has been given to ethical risks posed by VR, which I highlight, and which I suggest require attention within documentary practice. The article concludes with a discussion of the symbiotic relationship between technology and content development in this arena. All these factors have come together at the intersection of VR and nonfiction to produce a heady mix of commercial excitement (hype) and techno-utopianism (hope) which this article highlights and analyses.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 26, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jul 10, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 10, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 27, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 11, 2020
• Journal: Studies in Documentary Film
• Print ISSN: 1750-3280
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 132-149
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17503280.2018.1496055
• Keywords: communication, visual arts and performing arts
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/864623
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17503280.2018.1496055
• Contract Date: Jul 27, 2018