This Short Film Shows the Dark Side of Augmented Reality
‘They Live’ meets Google Glass.
Japanese artist Keiichi Matsuda’s newest film is a dystopian vision of augmented reality’s potential. HYPER-REALITY is a six-minute video filmed from its protagonist’s POV, which absolutely bombards the audience with advertisements, stats, notifications, to-do lists, virtual pets and other examples of visual noise. More of a hyper-modernized They Live for the Snapchat generation, Matsuda’s film follows a case of stolen or misplaced identity in a future where devices control everything, including one’s perception and grasp on reality.
The holographic visuals are hectic and overwhelming, but once they are stripped away reality seems drab and unadorned.
The film is the latest in Matsuda’s ongoing critique of capitalism’s adoration and embrace of the hyperreal.
