Blog Post 9: Bashir and Sidra

I think Chris Milk was extremely accurate in saying that standing in the narrator's place provides more empathy than hearing their story from an outside perspective. When you are literally put in their shoes, their vision becomes yours and your brain experiences the story in the most exact way possible, without the story actually being your own experience. 

For example, in Bashir's Dream when he was playing basketball in his wheelchair, I was extremely moved. Seeing the scene in VR, gave me the perception that I had actually known Bashir and saw the accident transgression first hand. His struggle to dribble the basketball felt more emphasized in VR, possibly because I could see the whole court and him taking shots from various angles. On top of the emotional shot, his concluding words take shape of a wish and the viewer understands the title of the story. This innocent wish/dream is something that should be a child's right, no child should have to worry about being shot and never being able to walk again. 

Overall, I think the stories of Bashir and Sidra were extremely powerful in showing a location that many Americans or people from other countries might not have even heard of, let alone imagined what occurred there. There is a huge potential for storytelling in a narrative form because the 360 view describes the landscape like no novel or image could. Furthermore, the creative aspect of Bashir's accident shows the opportunity of graphic design and storytelling through drawing.