Making room for empathy in contemporary virtual reality cinema

This article seeks to redeem the idea that virtual reality (VR) might serve to foster empathy by rethinking both the notion of empathy and the ways contemporary VR films have attempted to generate it. Specifically, this paper considers two forms of embodiment-being and being with-in order to highlight some of the shortcomings of the 'empathy machine' discourse. In doing so, I also offer an alternative analogy: a tool for empathy, rather than a machine. Finally, an analysis of two key VR productions that invite users to be with characters-rather than putting users 'in the shoes' of a character-allows me to demonstrate how a more productive path towards empathy in VR might instead lay in experiences that create space-or 'make room'-for the work of empathy to be undertaken by individuals who know and want to use VR as a tool, rather than as an end in itself.

Automated summary

This article discusses the potential of virtual reality in fostering empathy and rethinks the concept of empathy and the current approaches in VR films to create empathy. By analyzing two key VR productions, the article points out the shortcomings of the "empathy machine" discourse and proposes an alternative perspective of viewing VR as a tool for empathy rather than a machine.