Davies, Rosamund ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8645-8271 (2025) Talking to You: Addressing the viewer in Virtual Reality narratives. Illuminace. The Journal of Film Theory, History, and Aesthetics, 37 (2). pp. 53-73. ISSN 0862-397X (Print), 2570-9267 (Online) (doi:10.58193/ilu.1812)

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Abstract

A recurring feature of virtual reality (VR) narratives, in addition to the ‘spatialized storytelling’ approach that has been extensively discussed in recent screenwriting literature, is the less examined but frequent use of both fictionalized address of a textual narratee/character and direct address of the viewer. This article investigates the different ways in which such forms of address might be used to script aspects of VR experience such as presence, emotional engagement and empathy. It focuses, in particular, on the ways in which they might serve to highlight and creatively exploit the tension between immersion and self-consciousness in the viewer’s experience. Drawing on analysis of VR narratives and on discussions with the writers/directors of these narratives, it employs the concepts of metalepsis and double deixis to offer new insights into this particular feature of VR storytelling.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Iluminace is a Diamond Open Access journal. Anyone is free to download, re-use, print, and share the published content. Authors can publish free of charge and retain the copyright and full publishing rights without restrictions. Iluminace applies Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	screenwriting studies, scripting, narrative, Virtual Reality, VR, second-person narration, narrative you, direct address, pronouns of address
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Design and Creative Industries
Last Modified:	17 Nov 2025 12:07
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/51597

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