As virtual reality movies come under fire, it's time to think about something other than the technology

The new Sundance Film Festival was held in Park City, Utah, from January 21 to 31, 2016. It is reported that this film festival introduced nearly 30 virtual reality games or film and television works.

As the place where virtual reality films debuted, Sundance has been one of the most cutting-edge preaching grounds for virtual reality since 2012. Where pioneers gather is often where controversy first occurs. Recently, an author named Adi Robertson on the foreign media The Verge published an experience review of the virtual reality films participating in this exhibition, and the signal released was not so positive.

"de la Peña's reporting uses some special methods to emphasize the emotions it wants to create in order to achieve the sense of digital empathy she pursues. It unconsciously leaves people with the impression that they should have a certain emotion. A lot of virtual reality reporting will have similar situations. Sometimes people will have a rebellious mentality, insisting that they are not the kind of stupid people who let virtual emotions control them; but when the emotions that should appear are not felt, there will be a sense of frustration that makes people feel out of place and even doubt whether they are antisocial."

Virtual reality technology is known for its immersiveness and is believed to be able to restore the scene to the audience to the greatest extent. Adi's feelings remind us that in many cases, reality does not mean objectivity. The realistic presentation of the scene is actually a strong expression of the producer's personal attitude, and the discomfort, conflict or incitement caused will also be multiplied.

"De la Peña brought two works to the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Across the Line and Kiya. The former shows a woman walking through a group of angry anti-abortion protesters through a series of continuous shots; the latter describes the story of two sisters trying to prevent an unrelated third party from being killed by their ex-boyfriend, but ultimately failing." Adi believes that these two films reflect a kind of collective memory. For people with similar experiences, it is not a connection to a new experience, but just touches the most sensitive nerve in the heart.

Often, technological progress is neither good nor bad, and may not solve the root of any problem. When we have more powerful weapons, it also means taking on greater responsibilities.

“Immersive VR tends to pull you into one camp, with the other side naturally becoming an abominable monster. This attempt to change the world by provoking emotions makes me question whether human nature is necessarily good or beneficial, such as disgust, which is the most natural emotion. I think de la Peña and his team’s use of VR technology goes far beyond the scope of empathetic entertainment. For example, the value of Kiya, a VR film about domestic violence, will be measured based on whether it reduces specific social pathologies.”

As Adi said, spreading stories we have never heard or telling lives we have never experienced is meaningful in itself, which is also the value of most art forms. This is lost when we give VR technology too many functional roles.

The birth of revolutionary technology is bound to be full of advocacy, opposition, suspicion and persistence, such as cloning technology, genetic modification technology, weapons of mass destruction, artificial intelligence, etc. For virtual reality technology, the disguise of art puts the lethality of technology in a position that is easily overlooked. In the end, time will tell us whether such concerns are redundant for virtual reality technology.

Note: Nonny de la Pena from the USC Annenberg School for Communication showed the film Hunger in Los Angeles at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. For the first time, people experienced "immersive journalism" in person through virtual reality equipment. The manufacturer of the virtual reality equipment at that time was Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus Rift, which was later acquired by Facebook for $2 billion.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.