Virtual reality and the related technologies of enhancement such as AI, robotics, augmented reality, have long been a target of TV and film, whether to explore the possibilities, or simply to make contrived plots function.
Regardless of the intent, some fascinating possibilities have been explored this way, and many ? such as the infamous holodeck or the Matrix, stemmed directly from these sources.
Sections
Synthetic or virtual reality has a lot of detractors. However, there is no fundamental limit preventing it from being a full-fledged valid reality for those desiring a life alternate to the physical one.
Lawnmower Man
 Created in 1992 during the height of the first great public VR hype, Lawnmower Man is a little on the hammy side, but is that rarest of rare things: A sci-fi film that has done its homework. Every VR sequence, all the VR hardware is directly based on actual capabilities of the time, and nothing is done that could not be done from a VR and interfacing standpoint.
Lawnmower Man 2
 One of the worst pieces of drivel ever to try and be a VR film, Lawnmower Man 2 takes a slightly hammy but good premise and completely flushes it down the toilet. There are no words for how truly bad this film is, or how much of a mockery it makes of VR.
Micro worlds, (or worldlets as they are otherwise known) abound in TV and film VR. The idea of little pocket worlds, a fraction the size of the original, but complete within themselves, is a popular and enduring one. Somewhere personal to retreat to, out of the larger world. Somewhere totally within your control.
Animatrix: Index of Stills
 This resource is not intended as a stand-alone article. Instead, this exists to help you explore the various facets of the nine short films that make up Animatrix,.and what various aspects of each of these powerful films are trying to say. Every still from the films that this site utilises, is indexed here, sorted roughly by category.
Jurassic Park may at first seem to be an odd item for a site dedicated to VR to carry or promote. There have been countless dinosaur films apart from this, as well as two sequels to this film that we are also by and large not mentioning. So what makes this one special?
The Truman Show
 The Truman Show. A classic, cult film, about reality TV, and also a deep heartfelt production about virtual reality, good, bad, beautiful, ugly, and much thought for the future both of the field and of its implications.
The Truman Show is part a send-up of Reality TV, part a serious look at life in a VR for humans or other sentient creatures, and some of the deep problems that may be faced.
Back To Top
Simulated Stimulation is a recurring theme of cyberpunk films, and to a lesser yet growing extent actual research. It is the very concept of recording the full sensory input of one brain, for playback to another.
Brainstorm is essentially a film along the lines of SimStim, or Simulated Stimulation.
It came along in 1983, long before virtual reality was a mainstream concept for the first time. It is nowhere near the level of colourful fluff that covers blockbuster VR films like ?the Matrix?, but, at the same time it more than holds its own. Brainstorm doesn?t deal with virtual reality par se, but rather with a similar technology, that of SimStim. It doesn?t refer to it as SimStim, which was coined in the earlier William Gibson novel ?Neuromancer?, but that is exactly what it is. Using a sensory jack to record one person?s senses and emotions, then playing them back to another person, as a wholesale experience.
Los Angeles, 1999. Lenny Nero used to be a vice cop, now he?s a street hustler, dealing in virtual reality datacordings acquired and sold illegally. These datacordings are virtual reality clips that allow a user to experience the recorded sensations of others. The only problem is they are addictive as hell, and habit-forming.
Back To Top
Avatar interaction refers to using an avatar as the primary method of interacting with others, usually in the physical world. Whether a holographic avatar, or an android is irrelevant. Sometimes it ic controlled by a human mind. Sometimes it is the body for an uploaded human mind, or an AI interacting and integrating with the outside world this way.
Pixel Perfect is a 2004 Disney Channel Original Movie. It was first shown in January 2004, to 1.58 million viewers. As might be expected from a Disney branded production, Pixel Perfect can be somewhat teenager-orientated, however it is essentially S1m0ne, given a new twist.
Simone, a story ahead of its time of a film producer trying to save his career by employing a virtual actress to star in his films. Unfortunately, the actress is an avatar ? he has to animate her himself, which leads to a whole host of potent issues...
Back To Top
Bicentennial Man: Index of Stills
 This resource is not intended as a stand-alone article. Instead, this exists to help you explore the various facets of the film Bicentennial Man, and what it is trying to say. Every still from the film that this site utilises, is indexed here, sorted roughly by category.
Skyline (2010)
 Skyline is an above-average monster horror film which unlike most of it's kin, is actually based on solid science - if you ignore the alien invasion bits, that is. The method by which the aliens take control, is the interesting part of the film, for it is something that our science could indeed one day replicate.
The Stepford Wives (2004): A Plot Overview
 A n almost blow by blow overview of the plot of the 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives. A remake which cuts close to the bone on both neuroprosthetics and robotics, along with a great many ethical issues surrounding augmentation technologies.
This resource is not intended as a stand-alone article. Instead, this exists to help you explore the various facets of the film The Stepford Wives, the 2004 remake, and what it is indirectly trying to say. Every still from the film that this site utilises, is indexed here, sorted roughly by category.
|
