DANCE LIKE YOU'RE IN BRIDGERTON, PLAY SQUID GAME: WHY ARE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES BOOMING?
Welcome to the age of immersion. Last summer saw the launch of Stranger Things and Tomb Raider "experiences" in London, and an Alice in Wonderland "immersive cocktail experience" in Sheffield. By September, fans were able to re-enact Netflix's Squid Game at Immersive Gamebox venues in London, Essex and Manchester. In the coming weeks, London will also host an experience based on the horror franchise Saw, while Cheshire will see thousands visit Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience. And that's without mentioning the boom in immersive art experiences, the most recent of which — Frameless — has just opened in central London.
The buzzword everyone will tell you is immersive-interactive. As a small number of companies dominate the cultural landscape, it seems that each wants to build its own mini-Disneyland. But why are we suddenly obsessed with stepping into the screen? In an increasingly dark world, are we seeking escapism? Or do we just want loads of cool Instagrammable pictures?
"It's really driven by a desire to find new ways to connect with our members and fans around the world," says Greg Lombardo, head of live experiences at Netflix. The streaming service lost almost a million subscribers between April and July last year after subscription fees increased by £1 a month. The company is seemingly diversifying its income — tickets to Stranger Things: The Experience cost £52 per person, £62 on a Saturday. "We really wanted to offer people a chance to feel like they were the hero of that story, that they had the powers," Lombardo says. Guests are divided into different coloured teams and allocated a hand gesture they can use to remotely crush cans, unlock doors and battle monsters as they wander Stranger Things-inspired sets. The experience features exclusive footage from the show's actors as well as live actors who interact with the audience. Why do more and more people seek this out? Lombardo says the Stranger Things experience attracts all ages, while guests of The Queen's Ball — a party based on Netflix's hit show Bridgerton — are 87% women aged 18-45. It is a prom for adults and some people even join fan-created social media groups to discuss how to prepare for the event.
Elizabeth Cohen is a communications professor at West Virginia University who studies audience responses to different types of media. She says fans have always wanted to enter fictional worlds but the internet allowed them to get their voices heard. "I think the internet made 'geeking out' more mainstream," she says. "And what is mainstream is also more profitable." Cohen says immersion is psychologically gratifying because people connect with others, relieve stress and get creative. Just as we can both watch and play sports, Cohen says we can now watch and play with shows. Does this mean we're big babies? "Sports fans often go to great lengths to dress up in support of their team, put on face paint, collect memorabilia," Cohen says. "But I've never heard anyone suggest that sports fandom was infantilising, so why is there a double standard for pop culture?"
Millions have been invested into immersion, but some experiences are rougher around the edges than others. Many last an hour — meaning prices seem high when you consider a whole day ticket to Disneyland Paris can cost just £50. It remains to be seen whether they will attract repeat customers, or if they'll quickly become associated with the forced fun of work socials and first dates. Or perhaps high inflation will only increase the desire to step into the screen. If you think about shows like Stranger Things or Bridgerton, they are escapist stories. They allow us to forget, for a moment, things that might be more challenging in our lives.
Text adapted from an article by Amelia TAIT.
The Guardian [online] (October 14, 2022)
buzzword: paraula de moda / palabra de moda
footage: escenes filmades / escenas filmadas