Immersive media and social change: The ‘empathy machine’ is dead, long live ‘emotional geography’!

António Baía Reis

doi:10.5565/rev/analisi.3539

Mitjans immersius i canvi social: la «màquina d’empatia» ha mort, llarga vida a la «geografia emocional»!

Autors/ores

António Baía Reis Universidad Carlos III de Madrid https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7451-1725

Resum

Des de 2014, la narració d’històries a través de mitjans immersius ha guanyat una atenció significativa amb tecnologies com el vídeo 360°, que proporciona experiències úniques en primera persona, la qual cosa ha portat a l’aparició de periodisme i documentals immersius. Alguns veuen els mitjans immersius com una «màquina d’empatia» per fomentar el canvi social en crear fortes connexions entre l’audiència i les qüestions retratades. Aquest article examina críticament aquesta afirmació a través d’un enfocament de recerca basat en la pràctica, explorant cinc projectes de mitjans immersius amb orientació social de 2018 a 2020 en diversos països, i entrevistant 21 experts, tant acadèmics com professionals. Els coneixements derivats d’aquesta recerca proporcionen un marc conceptual innovador que abasta produccions de mitjans immersius amb enfocament social i que passen de l’empatia inicial a un concepte i fenomen més complet del mitjà anomenat «geografia emocional». Aquest marc pretén fer llum sobre les dinàmiques afectives dels mitjans immersius en relació amb el canvi social i ofereix valuosos coneixements per a futures recerques, produccions i discussions crítiques sobre el creixent i emocionalment carregat ecosistema de mitjans digitals impulsat per tecnologies avançades.

Paraules clau

mitjans immersius, realitat virtual, empatia, canvi social, emoció, vídeo 360

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Biografia de l'autor/a

António Baía Reis, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

António Baía Reis is a researcher, educator, and artist born in the charming city of Porto, Portugal. With an interdisciplinary education, ranging from International Relations, Media and Communication to the Arts, he has a BA in International Relations (University of Minho) with a focus on cultural diplomacy, an MA in Communication Sciences with a focus on arts and cultural communication (University of Porto), and a Ph.D. in Digital Media with a focus on immersive media, social change, and creativity (University of Porto and Stanford University). His research, teaching, and creative activities are largely interdisciplinary, combining areas such as digital and emergent media, communication and performing arts, and with a strong focus on immersive media (VR, AR, MR), film, participatory and collaborative practices, practice and arts-based research, creativity studies, innovation in education, and social impact. He is currently a researcher and assistant professor at the University of Passau (Germany), developing work at the crossroads of media and communication, arts, new technologies, and innovation in education. At the same university, he has founded the Future Media CoLab, a collaboratory focused on immersive media and related technologies. He is also an invited researcher and digital media artist at the Experimental Laboratory of Intermedia Art of the University of Madeira (Portugal) and Agency_VR - Medialab en Matadero (Spain). Moreover, he is the co-founder of the XR theatre collective La Cuarta Pared VR [The Fourth Wall VR], as well as the director and editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Cinema & Territory and a member of the editorial board of the journal Media Practice and Education. Outside academia, he has relevant professional experience in the field of corporate and cultural communication in diverse areas within the creative and cultural industries, and regularly acts as a senior consultant, instructor, and keynote speaker in areas such as immersive media and all things "metaversical", digital and performing arts, and innovation in science communication. Within the arts, he is an experienced actor and pianist, with professional experience in theatre plays, film, voice acting, and live music performances, but also a digital media and performance artist, with a strong focus on theatre and performance in virtual reality, 360-degree filmmaking, experimental media and performance installations, participatory art projects, and artivism.