This evening we watched Jumanji — the 2017 version. I had seen it before, and it was great fun watching it again. It’s one of those movies that holds up very well under repeat viewings.
The entire time, part of my mind was thinking about the fact that we were watching a movie about people being transported into a fully immersive make-believe world. This is a trope that comes up quite often in cinema. We’ve seen it in Mary Poppins, TRON, The Matrix and many other films besides.
There will come a point when cinema itself will become completely immersive. Rather than watching stories on a flat screen, future audience members will find themselves transported into a story world that appears to be all around them.
When that happens, I wonder what people will make of old films that used the concept of immersion as a kind of fantasy. Will people be able to appreciate that fantasy of the future, after it has become their every day reality?
I guess it’s a bit like young people of today watching the classic Star Trek TV show. When first Captain Kirk first talking into that futuristic communicator, it seemed wondrous and amazing.
Now everyone has one of those gadgets in their pocket, and it’s no big deal. I guess that’s what happens when fantasy becomes an every day reality.