Blog post 9: VR

 I liked Chris Milk’s description of VR being an “empathy machine.” VR can allow people to emotionally understand other’s stories in ways that just reading about something could never. It makes storytelling seem even more lifelike and engages audiences much more. It really puts things into perspective and makes sad stories seem sadder, scary stories seem scarier, happy stories seem happier, and so on. Like in the two videos we watched, each person's story was told with various visuals in the background. This kept me captivated and more emotionally attuned when hearing about their personal experiences. VR is especially helpful for visual learners, which I know because I myself am one. Seeing visuals along with hearing other’s stories helps me put myself into other people's shoes more easily and makes me feel as though I was there with them. Storytelling along with a visually interactive environment makes other people’s experiences feel more real to audiences and makes people wonder what they themselves would have done if they were the ones faced with the situations of others. People feel the most amount of empathy for others when they feel as though an event involved them too. This is why I believe that VR is the future of all storytelling and has changed storytelling for the better.