The Future of Pop Culture: Robot Performers, an Avatar Drake and a Kanye West Superstore
- 2016-10-18
- The Guardian
AI, VR and smartphones are changing the way we consume culture, but what comes next? From film to visual arts, we explore entertainment’s new frontiers:
The blockbuster era will come to a close in about 2042 with the colossal failure of Jedi Transformers V Jurassic Avengers 12: Revenge Of The Minions, an expensive crossover epic that bankrupts all the Hollywood studios simultaneously. By that time, the idea of “going to the movies” will have evolved anyway. Films will no longer involve two hours sitting in a cinema, predicted futurologist Faith Popcorn in The Hollywood Reporter: “They’ll be gameified and will unfold in real time all around you. You pay for a time slot, tune in your technology, and literally become one with the action. Endings and events will be changed as you go; smells, tastes, sensations will all be experienced live. Casts will be comprised of your own avatars; you will be the star.” Something like a cross between Westworld, The Matrix and karaoke, in other words, without you ever having to leave your couch.