Who's afraid of the metaverse?

Abstract

Immersive technologies seem destined to promise us a different reality than the one we currently inhabit. Whether in advertising, at tech conferences, or in individual creators' descriptions of their work, the allure of a metaverse, a digital twin reality, or a new horizon seems everpresent. Augmented (AR), Virtual (VR), Extended (XR), or Mixed (MR): these reality media technologies intertwine mediations and representations in a manner that seem to call for intermedial reflections. Based in a series of examples from designers, artists and filmmakers, I will talk about the complexities of immersive media, and how intermedial perspectives can be part of a critical understanding of these media forms and their place in the contemporary media landscape