Sex slaves, Isis, & VR: oh my!
I was completely and utterly blown away by Kent Bye‘s “Voices of VR” podcast that interviewed directors Céline Tricart and conflict journalist Christian Stephen about The Sun Ladies VR 360 video / VR experience.
It’s about the Yezidi women who were taken as sex slaves after Isis invaded their towns and killed all the men. Some managed to escape from their ordeal and are now trained fighters hunting the men down who did it to them, intent on rescuing as many other women as they can.
VR at its best: used to communicate a powerful story, in a way that can’t do anything less have a massive impact on you the viewer. VR will enable storytelling and journalism on an emotional scale previously unimaginable; here you get to not only watch the women, but be in the thick of the fighting, experiencing the drama nearly first hand (without the danger!).
I really think VR has the potential not just to entertain, but do far more in terms of enhancing empathy than it’s ever been possible to do before. Possibly one that really will help humanity build bridges in an increasingly crowded and shrinking world, where lots of people with different ideas and experiences are bumping into each other.
Listen to the podcast, watch the trailer (below), and if you can – seek out the VR experience. It’s an incredible story.