From Phantasy to VR Immersion: Phenomenological Insights on ‘Unframed’ Experiences

Originally tied to cinematic experience, immersion is frequently associated in media discourse with Virtual Reality (VR) and often regarded as a media-property. For instance, ‘fully immersive VR’ refers to a setup enabling a unique form of image appreciation: the digital image displayed through a headset respond to user’s movements, simulating an environment filled with perceptual affordances. Thus, it has been claimed that VR displays a peculiar kind of image that attempts to negate its iconic nature, by rejecting the traditional frame of pictorial representation. Though bodily engagement, the user indeed often feels immersed in the artificial image-world. However, a purely technological view of immersivity overlooks the immersive and emersive shifts in user experience throughout VR consumption. To address this issue, the article proves the value of theoretical insights coming from phenomenology to tackle immersion as a variable condition rather than a homogeneous state. Drawing on phenomenological considerations on digital images accessible through fully immersive VR set-ups, the contribution explores the concept of Versunkenheit, testing its potential to address active and passive moments as well as shifts in VR immersion. In phenomenology, Versunkenheit is closely related to phantasy consciousness, whereby absent objects are presentified through mental images, that can sometime evolve into actual visions. Daydreams, for instance, entail the subject’s absorption into an inner pseudo-world, while temporary losing awareness of its actual surroundings. On these grounds, the contribution compares phantasy and VR immersion, arguing that similar attentional dynamics are at stake. In VR, however, immersion is achieved through the sensory engagement of the user’s body, still bearing a framing function. By integrating phenomenology with media studies, the article ultimately provides a theoretical framework for analyzing immersion in VR digital images, contributing to a critical assessment of ‘unframed’ experiences.