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Short film imagines what virtual reality will do to our memories

We're only beginning to understand what it's doing to our brains.

 

Elizabeth Robinson

Tech

Posted on Dec 8, 2014   Updated on May 30, 2021, 1:04 am CDT

Our lives are punctuated by big events—moving to a new city, starting a new job, getting married—but we tend to appreciate looking back at the smaller, more intimate moments the most. While pictures, videos, and journals can help us reminisce, a new short film imagines how virtual reality could take our nostalgia a step further.

In Memory 2.0, Henry, a heartbroken man played by Wilson Bethel, repeatedly relives a seemingly mundane morning with the woman he loves through virtual reality. Things seem harmless enough until Henry’s perceptions of virtual reality and his real life blend together, sending him on a personal mission to do whatever it takes to hold onto his memory as it begins to slip.

Though futuristic, the idea doesn’t seem to be that far-fetched. Facebook’s multi-billion dollar acquisition of Oculus Rift brought virtual reality into the mainstream. Meanwhile, developers have found ways to incorporate sound waves and vibration technologies that let users touch objects in VR worlds. Each development inevitably brings it closer to use in everyday life.

With luck, the complexities of this futuristic world could be fleshed out into a feature film. The film is one of eight finalists in the sci-fi-themed Prototype contest, with the winner receiving a deal with a New Regency Productions to further develop the film. The winner of the contest will be announced on Dec. 10.

H/T SingularityHUB 

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*First Published: Dec 8, 2014, 4:53 pm CST