Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality.
Log in
- Convenors:
-
Sylvia Martin
(The University of Hong Kong)
Lisa Messeri (Yale University)
Send message to Convenors
- Format:
- Panel
- Sessions:
- Tuesday 7 June, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
This panel focuses on the intersection of immersive technologies and storytelling practices. Papers and stories will serve as a reminder that technological development is not cordoned off from humanistic impulses. What kinds of futures are promised, and what solutions are being offered?
Long Abstract:
This panel focuses anthropological attention on the intersection of immersive technologies (AI/VR/AR) and storytelling practices. From anthropological scholarship of the importance of storytelling for social cohesion among hunter-gatherers, to research into the power of "extremist fiction" that mobilizes readers into political action, to fan studies that reveal how fans enact and embody story elements for self-expression and social justice, the academic record amply demonstrates that storytelling is a powerful activity. AI/VR/AR are touted as new arenas and new facilitators of storytelling, yet these immersive technologies are ambiguous entities: they are interdisciplinary, they traverse institutions, and they are in the making. The futures being created come from this intersection - but what kinds of futures are promised, and what solutions are being offered? What does this intersection mean for narrativity? What kinds and quality of interactions emerge through storytelling practices and immersive technologies? The papers in this panel will serve as a reminder that technological development is not cordoned off from humanistic impulses: innovators are engaged in storytelling, and storytellers are engaged in innovation. In the spirit of embracing humanistic impulses, this panel welcomes stories about AI/VR/AR as well as ethnographies and analyses of the intersection of storytelling and AI/VR/AR.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Tuesday 7 June, 2022, -Paper short abstract:
AR in K-pop is used in Music videos (MVs), concerts, etc., by giving the audience a sense of ‘closeness’ through an almost real-time experience. This paper will focus on how K-pop has utilized AR during the COVID-19 pandemic when physical interactions between fans and artists were put on hold.
Paper long abstract:
K-pop is a cultural product of the Korean Wave or Hallyu. It is a transnational cultural phenomenon that began in the 1990s in East and Southeast Asian countries such as China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. Hallyu has been divided into Hallyu 1.0, Hallyu 2.0, Hallyu 3.0 based on the advancement of technology, social media, diffusion, and spread of Hallyu worldwide. Today under Hallyu 3.0, K-pop has gained a huge fanbase worldwide from the biggest boyband in the world ‘BTS’ to the new generation idols such as Aespa. K-pop is distinguished from western pop through its uncommon storylines, concepts, and unique messages. The new generation idols utilize Augmented reality (AR) while developing group or solo concepts. AR is defined by Encyclopedia of Multimedia (2006) as “A system that enhances the real world by superimposing computer-generated information on top of it.”. K-pop is known for always being at the top of its game while launching K-pop idols to the world. Entertainment companies invest in high-end technology and focus on enriching the audiences’ experience whether online or offline. AR is also used in Music videos (MVs), concerts, etc., by giving the audience a sense of ‘closeness’ through an almost real-time experience. Therefore, this paper will focus on how K-pop has utilized AR during the COVID-19 pandemic when physical interactions between fans and artists were put on hold. Additionally, K-pop’s growing interest in VR (virtual reality) and AR will also be discussed to understand the future route of this music industry.
Paper short abstract:
This paper draws on ongoing fieldwork with video game developers and players, and autoethnographic experiences of science fiction single player video games which feature AI to highlight how ideas about human/non-humanness are co-created, expressed and experienced within and beyond fictional worlds
Paper long abstract:
Single player video games (SPVGs) provide a unique avenue for storytelling practices which allow players and developers to co-produce narratives; immerse players in fictional bodies, stories, times, and worlds; and explore ideas and identities in creative, engaging, and safe ways. Within my PhD research, I use science fiction SPVGs which prominently feature narratives about artificial intelligence as a nexus to explore how ideas about AI and what it means to be human (or non-human) are co-created between players, developers and games.
This paper draws on my ongoing ethnographic fieldwork to illuminate how this process happens between players and developers, as well as at multiple levels within the games including via science fictional narratives, character design, player agency and choices, worldbuilding, graphics, audio, and haptic technologies. In sharing examples from fieldwork with players and developers, and autoethnographic experiences of games like Detroit: Become Human (2018), I aim to expose how these games draw upon, reinforce and/or (re)imagine particular ideas about personhood and futures which are deeply rooted in race, gender, sexuality, disability, and citizenship.
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines convergences between industry and institutional sectors that develop interactive storytelling systems. Exploring the role of the US state in spinning out survivor narratives across immersive technologies challenges the attendant discourse of solutions.
Paper long abstract:
Storytelling serves a myriad of purposes, including the sharing of memory and the potential for immortality. This paper examines the convergence between industry and institutional sectors that develop and deploy innovative story systems, and some of its implications. It is based on research conducted within what I refer to as the military-industrial-imagineering complex centered in southern California that brings together the Department of Defense, Hollywood entertainment, and educational sectors. The paper explores how interactive stories are produced and applied, focusing on the role of the state in order to comprehend the iterative processes that I contend propel US empire. I trace how stories of genocide survivorship are spun out across immersive technologies, akin to what media scholar Henry Jenkins refers to as transmedia storytelling, with a focus on the virtualization of genocide survivors into hologram-like projections powered by natural language processing for interactive educational purposes. With stories of survivorship becoming what producers call “future-proofed” and deployed across civilian and military sectors, this paper analyzes the accompanying – and speculative – discourse of solutions. In considering storytelling as a mechanism of social control, preserving some narratives over others, this paper attempts to sketch a relationship between storycraft and statecraft.