86,839 research outputs found
Oltre la vergogna : Lo sguardo sul corpo tra dispositivi indossabili e realtà virtuale
No full textChe cos’è quella sensazione bruciante che avvertiamo sul
viso quando ci accorgiamo di essere guardati? Come mai
qualche volta, quando ci sentiamo osservati, la nostra pancia
o le nostre gambe sembrano gonfiarsi? Lo sguardo che si appunta
su un corpo può produrre, in determinate circostanze,
conseguenze assai concrete. Una delle più dirompenti può
essere ricondotta a un costrutto psicologico identificato: la
vergogna. In questo saggio, mi propongo di discutere questa
emozione nei termini di un “effetto collaterale” dello sguardo
altrui; di approfondire il suo legame con il corpo; e di
reinquadrare le dinamiche che la sottendono nel contesto di
alcune tecnologie mediali contemporanee
Una dinamica degli sguardi dall’immaginario creepypasta all’horror videoludico
No full textOver the last
decades, immersivity has gained increasing importance in the audiovisual imaginary. In this
paper, we propose to take a different route and to explore to what extent the dynamics of gazes –
and particularly the direct address – can promote “emersive” strategies that challenge the
dominant imaginary, with specific reference to creepypastas and horror video games. First, we
trace back the origins of the emersive route to Bertolt Brecht, showing that his theory can be
adapted to videogames. Second, we provide a survey of some of the types of gaze that actively
involve the player in horror videogames. Then, we focus on creepypastas to demonstrate that the
gaze is key to their aim of circumventing the players’ character, in order to get in touch with the
players themselves. Finally, we analyze a specific creepypasta-based game: Doki Doki Literature
Club!. Based on this analysis, we draw the main lines of what, in our view, represents a key
modification of contemporary horror imaginar
Virtual Reality as A Time-Dissolving Machine in Distressing Medical Treatments. Current Perspectives and Future Directions
No full textTime is key in medical treatments requiring the patients to undergo unpleasant sensations. This paper examines how virtual reality (VR) could be used to manipulate treatment time, with specific regard to chemotherapy. After reviewing the relevant literature, the paper focusses on «flow» as the optimal temporal condition to be created in distressing medical treatments. Based on the Dynamic Occupation in Time model, it argues that VR applications may induce flow when expressing appropriately high levels of novelty; complexity; skill demand; user engagement; and focus on activity. Lastly, the paper discusses VR applications meeting these requirements and suitable for implementation in chemotherapy
Disclosing the (Temporal) World of Depression, by Means of Audiovisual Media: An Exploration between Cinema and Virtual Reality
No full textIndividuals suffering from depression often experience a condition of isolation, which relegates them in a separate and neglected world of their own. In light of this issue, could audiovisual media contribute to drawing attention to the world of depression, and make it more familiar to the general population? The first part of this paper provides an extensive and in-depth description of depression. More specifically, by combining the psychiatric account of Thomas Fuchs with Jakob von Uexküll’s notion of Umwelt, it frames it in terms of a ‘psychopathology of time’, and introduces the notion of a self-enclosed ‘temporal world’ that is usually home (or rather cage) to depressed people. In turn, the second part of this paper discusses some media strategies that may actually disclose the temporal world of depression. After taking into account a cinematographic option and showing how it succeeds in making this world visible, it further examines a VR-based alternative in order to assess whether it can make the same world not simply visible, but fully accessible: that is, affording an up-close, first-person grasp of depression to ordinary, non-affected spectators
A Transmedia Overturning: Direct Address from Theatre to Cinema
No full textA direct address – in visual and audiovisual forms of communication – occurs any time one or more characters inside the fictional world look straight at the spectators, blurring the threshold that separates the images from flesh-and-blood reality. However, different forms of direct address can take place in several media contexts, based on the specificity of each given medium.This is particularly urgent with respect to two types of direct address: the theatrical and cine-matic ones. While the former has studied thoroughly, mainly based on Bertolt Brecht’s dramaturgy, the latter – also known as “look at the camera” – is arguably less understood. In the absence of a dedicated conceptualization, the cinematic direct address has commonly been treated merely as a transmedia counterpart of the theatrical one, thus overlooking the peculiarities of the two.This article restores the autonomy of the cinematic direct address and elaborates on its specific non-theatrical effects. First, it outlines the nature and functioning of the theatrical direct address as theorized by Bertolt Brecht. Then, by adopting a semiotic approach, it demonstrates that this type of direct address must not be confused with the cinematic one. Lastly, it introduces three non-Brechtian types of cinematic direct address: namely, the diegetic, the meta-filmic, and the documentary look at the camera
Longing for tomorrow: phenomenology, cognitive psychology, and the methodological bases of exploring time experience in depression
No full textThe subjective experience of time in depression has been described to be altered in complex ways, with sensations of particular slowness, delay or stillness being the most often named articulations. However, the attempts to provide empirical evidence to the phenomenon of “time slowing down in depression” have resulted in inconsistent findings. In consequence, the overall claim that depressive time somehow differs from ordinary time has often been discarded as unfounded. The article argues against such conclusion, contending that the described ambiguity might be caused by the methods employed to assess the phenomenon under observation. In the first part of the article, a reconceptualization of the experience of time in depression is proposed on the grounds of classic and contemporary phenomenological psychiatry. This leads to identify the essential features of depressive time as described both in clinical and philosophical contexts. In the second part, a critique of the existing methods of time perception assessment is conducted, with a specific focus on duration estimation and time passage perception tasks. The above-mentioned core features serve as guidelines in discussing to what degree such methods fit the phenomenon at stake. Finally, an alternative and innovative method is put forward, that might not only help to explore the scope of existing methods but might itself present an alternative to such: the micro-phenomenological interview
Towards an Experience-Based Aesthetics of Virtual Reality: A Case Study on Fear
No full text
When developing an aesthetics of VR, it is essential that it remains anchored to concrete objects and actual users’ inclinations and practices. This article provides an example of an “experience-based” aesthetics of VR, presenting the results of a pilot empirical study on fear in VR and discussing it in aesthetic terms. More in particular, the article ventures into two important debates in the field: that around the “paradox of fiction”, and that concerning aesthetic distance. By doing so, the article highlights the fruitfulness of investigating a difficult object like VR, which eludes standard conceptualizations from image and media theory. At the same time, it illustrates how developing a specific aesthetics of VR can contribute in turn to indicate new pathways into long-standing issues in aesthetics as a whole. When developing an aesthetics of VR, it is essential that it remains anchored to concrete objects and actual users’ inclinations and practices. This article provides an example of an “experience-based” aesthetics of VR, presenting the results of a pilot empirical study on fear in VR and discussing it in aesthetic terms. More in particular, the article ventures into two important debates in the field: that around the “paradox of fiction”, and that concerning aesthetic distance. By doing so, the article highlights the fruitfulness of investigating a difficult object like VR, which eludes standard conceptualizations from image and media theory. At the same time, it illustrates how developing a specific aesthetics of VR can contribute in turn to indicate new pathways into long-standing issues in aesthetics as a whole
Sguardi che bruciano : Un'estetica della vergogna nell'epoca del virtuale
No full textA dispetto della sua natura apparentemente impalpabile, lo sguardo può produrre effetti concreti sui suoi destinatari. Uno dei più significativi, e più strettamente carnali, è la vergogna: un’emozione che coinvolge aspetti essenziali della nostra esperienza sensibile e che è – in questo senso – profondamente estetica. Innescata nelle sue forme più violente da uno sguardo che ci giudica, la vergogna deforma la percezione del nostro corpo, nonché dell’immagine complessiva di noi stessi. Allo stesso tempo, però, essa ci spinge a ridefinire – almeno in parte – il modo in cui ci presentiamo, nei suoi legami indissolubili con la sfera di ciò che siamo. Questo libro affronta la vergogna nel contesto dell’attuale panorama tecnologico e mediale. Se si tratta di un’emozione fortemente carnale, come può evolversi in un’epoca in cui le modalità dell’incontro intersoggettivo vanno verso una progressiva virtualizzazione? Come possiamo affrontare le varianti contemporanee di questa emozione
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