Dr. Louis N. Sandowsky (See Abstract )
Philosophy, Fantasy and Film
American McGee’s Alice © 2000 Electronic Arts. All Rights Reserved.
Ten Real Years of Virtual Worlds: 1993 2003 …and the shape of things to come
This lecture is the first segment of a two-part discussion on how contemporary trends in the advancement of computer technology, hardware and software, are aiming toward deeper immersion into cyberspace – an evolution that is beginning seriously to question the traditional boundaries between the real and the virtual. This first half takes a close look at computer games development over the last ten years as a prelude to a seminar (in the second part) on the possible future direction of this technology and the way in which it appears to be inseparably entangled with the evolution of humankind itself, which now seems to be on the brink of a radically new phase of existence. In the seminar, we shall discuss two films that explore the possibilities of virtual worlds and the ways in which the common-sense distinctions between fantasy and reality are gradually being eroded and how current technological progress is increasingly smudging their boundaries: The Matrix (Wachowski Brothers – 1998) and eXistenZ (David Cronenberg – 1999).