Iconic Images of Virtual Reality in Popular Culture

The article analyzes the history of virtual reality images’ emergence and development in popular culture. The images of the virtual reality are considered in the context of the influence exerted upon them by philosophy of technology as well as by the conceptions of technological optimism and technological pessimism. Ideological roots of the virtual reality images can be traced in the field of utopian literature and futurology. Popular books and movies about virtual reality have served as the main source material for this analysis.

Virtuality, virtual reality, computer virtual reality, virtualistics, popular culture, mass culture, Matrix, virtual reality images, cyberpunk, social network

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