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Strange Days VR demo
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- from Strange Days (1995)
- Created by Kathryn Bigelow
- Distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Posted byCritical Commons Manager
A "virgin brain" experiences the ultimate in VR: being an "18 year-old girl taking a shower"
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Commentary prompt for CTCS 505
by Critical Commons ManagerPrompt for commentaries in CTCS 505: Survey of Interactive Media Fall 2010
Assignment: Select one of the clips linked to this commentary and write a commentary analyzing it in terms of one or more course themes or discussion topics. If possible, you should also make reference to at least one reading from the course syllabus or an external source. Your analysis should be thoughtful and substantial, significantly transforming the clip from its original context and/or adding significant "value" to the experience of watching it; you are also welcome to respond to previous comments or make comparisons between clips (in this case, please link the commentary to both clips that are referenced). Remember to tag your commentary with "CTCS505"!
Strange Days male fantasy VR
by Critical Commons ManagerA typical scene depicting Hollywood's (male) fantasy of virtual reality
Along with several other films released in 1995, Strange Days offers one of the richest and most problematic visions of Hollywood's imaginary relationship to virtual reality. Referred to be some as "virtual, virtual reality," scenes such as this one are typical of the male fantasies that are often projected onto the technology of VR. This scene offers a narratively inconsequential vision of what the "wire" technology at the center of Strange Days makes possible, by initiating a "virgin brain" into the wonders of VR by allowing the client to experience a few minutes of what it is like to be an "18-year-old girl taking a shower." The gender politics of the film grow increasingly problematic as the film plays out a narrative involving horrifically brutal scenes of rape, torture and murder, using the VR technology to enhance the killer's sexual excitement. This aspect of the film's narrative is entirely gratuitous and it has been argued that such scenes in Hollywood movies served (consciously or unconsciously) to increase the moral panic around the emerging technologies of VR and video games more generally.