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KotwalKaizaadNavroze2000 mab.pdf (15.63 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

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Variations of Virtual Reality in Theatre and Film: Truth and Illusions Via Art and Technology

Kotwal, Kaizaad Navroze
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392809424

Abstract Details

2000, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Theatre.
While the technological age has made Virtual Reality a popular buzz-word, its philosophical antecedents can be traced back at least as far as Plato. This study begins in an examination of the definitions of Virtual Reality, representation, interactivity, immersion and cyberspace. In doing so the discussion follows a trajectory from Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Rousseau, and Castelvetro to the military-industrial complex and the internet. In arguing that theatre is one of the original Virtual Realities, I discuss specific works by Lope de Vega, Calderon de la Barca, and Luigi Pirandello, in that these plays, via the illusion of theatre are dealing with themes of illusion in art and life. I also look at how playwrights like Elmer Rice and Karel Capek have dealt with technology as a thematic concern in dramatic writings. Expanding these arguments to film I examine three Orientalist versions of Gunga Din (including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Sergeants 3 ) and argue that film as a Virtual Reality is a powerful means of (mis)representation in creating racist and colonialist (mis)understandings of subordinate groups (Indians in this case). I also look at The Lawnmower Man and The Truman Show to understand how Hollywood has dealt with themes of Virtual Reality and interactivity in the technological era. In light of new computer technologies I visit the works of theatrical masters like Craig, Appia, Grotowski, Brecht and Svoboda to examine how current theatrical production practices can be enhanced and invigorated. I closely examine the work being done by Claudio Pinhanez and the Theatre Department at the University of Kansas where computers are being used not only in the design area but also in the performative aspects of theatre. The study concludes with a discussion about creating new critical discourses around the issues raised by these new computer technologies. Virtual Reality as a philosophical, technological and aesthetic construct has always carried with it parallel and intersecting dialectics based in ethics, values and social impact. As these technologies begin to permeate almost every aspect of human interaction, the need for a critical theory around the area of art, technology and culture becomes desperately imperative.
Stratos Constantinidis (Advisor)
Carol Gigliotti (Committee Member)
Anthony Hill (Committee Member)
Wayne Carlson (Committee Member)
457 p.
Theater

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kotwal, K. N. (2000). Variations of Virtual Reality in Theatre and Film: Truth and Illusions Via Art and Technology [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392809424

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kotwal, Kaizaad. Variations of Virtual Reality in Theatre and Film: Truth and Illusions Via Art and Technology. 2000. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392809424.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kotwal, Kaizaad. "Variations of Virtual Reality in Theatre and Film: Truth and Illusions Via Art and Technology." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2000. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392809424

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1392809424
662
© 2000, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.