As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary Prehistory of Virtual Reality

ISBN-13: 9780195343168 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 224 str.

Michael T. Saler

Opis

Many people throughout the world "inhabit" imaginary worlds communally and persistently, parsing Harry Potter and exploring online universes. These activities might seem irresponsibly escapist, but history tells another story. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, when Sherlock Holmes became the world's first "virtual reality" character, readers began to colonize imaginary worlds, debating serious issues and viewing reality in provisional, "as if" terms rather than through essentialist, "just so" perspectives. From Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and Tolkien's Middle-earth to the World of Warcraft and Second Life, As If provides a cultural history that reveals how we can remain enchanted but not deluded in an age where fantasy and reality increasingly intertwine.

Recenzje

Saler's book uncovers and identifies precursors to the shared imaginary worlds of our time. His argument is clear, his examples entertaining; the cumulative effect is startling and ultimately very useful, in that we are given a new and positive way to understand not only several currently emerging art forms, but also our entire cultural moment. I now see my kids' activities in a new light; it even seems as if our future could be good.

O autorze

Michael Saler is Professor of History, University of California at Davis. He is the author of The Avant-Garde in Interwar England: 'Medieval Modernism' and the London Underground (OUP 1999) which received an Honorable Mention for the 2000 British Council Prize in the Humanities.