Blog 9 - Ashlyn

 I think what Chris Milk said about how VR can create an "empathy machine" holds true. Especially after viewing "Bashir's Dream" and "Clouds Over Sidra," experiencing firsthand what these places look like does make one empathetic to other's situations. This isn't to say that without VR people have no empathy at all, but when you are put into this 'world' where all you see for 360 degrees is these refugee camps in Jordan does alter ones emotional thoughts about the situations. Sidra and Bashir also narrate the VR worlds, giving more life to this world that I personally have never experiences or had to be a part of. Milk said "when you're sitting there in her room, watching her, you're not watching it through a television screen, you're not watching it through a window, you're sitting there with her. When you look down, you're sitting on the same ground she's sitting on. And because of that, you feel her humanity in a deeper way. You empathize with her in a deeper way." This really stood out to me because what he is saying is obviously true, but also the fact that this is the closest thing we can get to experiencing firsthand what people like Sidra's situation is in places like the refugee camp in Jordan. Watching a documentary about the refugee camps in Jordan would be emotional, yes, but it is not the same experience as having Sidra walk and talk you through the camp and what life is like there. So this idea of VR acting as an "empathy machine" is true due to the nature in which it brings viewers into this hyper-realistic world through the eyes of another person whilst also knowing it is their true day-to-day experience they are living in and dealing with everyday.