blog 9 -Bridget

 Today's pieces were really cool. I liked hearing Chris Milk's ideas on how VR can create a sense of empathy before viewing "Clouds Over Sidra" and "Bashir's Dream". Both were definitely really powerful and created a lot of empathy. Both used the voices of children/ teens to tell a story from a specific perspective. I think even just the use of a young person's voice adds to the empathy aspect of the work because you would have to be pretty heartless to not care for a kid's wellbeing. I also think that this type of perspective, coming from a young person makes us compare their experience of going to school and hanging out with our friends when we were younger. I think this also creates a sense of empathy because, at least for me, I was very privileged in my childhood and was very lucky to not face any adversity that could compare to these stories. The 360 degree vision of these works made you feel like you are right there with Bashir and Sidra, standing with them as they tell you their story. As Milk stated, it's like you are through that window, standing in their world as opposed to your own. I think something really interesting about Bashir's story was the transition from real shots of him to the cartoon version of the more difficult and moments that couldn't be captured. This gives a softer touch to these moments, and almost makes them more related to the childlike view. It reminds me of Persepolis, where the book is made up of comic strips, mixing heavy content with a lighter medium. I think this can create a sort of empathy, as you can still understand the seriousness of a situation, which in many cases could be hard to ignore, but in a more "swallowable" medium. While this could be seen as a watered down version of the harsh reality, I think it can also work as a way to allow people to look closer without having to shy away when something is intensely emotional or difficult. I definitely think the VR medium works well to enclose a person in an experience they might not ever face, giving them a real sense of how it might feel and why they should care for those living those experiences.