From Media Effects to the Empathy Machine

Uricchio, William

doi:10.1002/9781119116172.ch20

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Of all these media products that uniquely tell the story of the Green Book , the VR format is among the most moving according to my experience of it at the 2018 XR Games for Change Summit in New York City. The question of VR and empathy is not without precedent (Uricchio, 2021; Evans, 2018) and bears serious risks of exploitation of users that impinge on its function as journalism. Yet, unlike many of the dubious parasocial relationships nurtured by the mainstream Hollywood fiction film industry, the emotional contagion of i-docs generate dialogue, which can lead to political action.…”

Section: Shaping User Understandingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive documentary and the reinvention of digital journalism, 2015–2020

Dowling

2021

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

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Interactive documentary (i-docs), an innovative hybrid form at the intersection of film, journalism, and digital games, has matured beyond its first wave of experimentation, gaining distinction among the most highly evolved immersive media of the twenty-first century. The latest generation of i-docs is currently winning accolades at both major film festivals and game design summits. This study charts the evolutionary trajectory of North America’s most recent and influential wave of i-docs in works mostly appearing since 2015. It culturally situates i-docs as immersive media that extend experimentation with narrative journalism into the realm of fine art and social activism. Building on the foundation of activist, highly empathic news experiences established in the early 2010s, the most recent advances in i-docs range from live action VR to animated digital games. Such works include the Canadian National Film Board’s 2018 AR (augmented reality) experience East of the Rockies, Occupied’s 2019 Cannes entry The Holy City VR, Roger Ross Williams’ 2019 Tribeca debut Traveling While Black, and iNK Stories Verité VR Series’ 2017 Blindfold and Hero, winner of the prestigious Storyscapes Award at Tribeca in 2018. The vanguard of i-docs has expanded collaboration between film, news, and digital game industries to provide new forms of citizen engagement through advocacy journalism aimed at social and political change. Through the use of John Pavlik’s (2019) critical framework for understanding immersive journalism, this article examines the texts, producers, and industrial contexts of the most recent and influential North American i-docs, as one branch of the form defined by Gaudenzi, Aston, and Rose. Principles of transparency, social responsibility, and a commitment to veracity in i-docs epitomize the esthetic and political potential of digital journalism as an empathic alternative to traditional news coverage.

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Section: Shaping User Understandingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive documentary and the reinvention of digital journalism, 2015–2020

Dowling

2021

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

From Media Effects to the Empathy Machine

Cited by 1 publication

References 5 publications

Interactive documentary and the reinvention of digital journalism, 2015–2020

Interactive documentary and the reinvention of digital journalism, 2015–2020

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