The Politics of Consumer VR: Framing Contemporary Virtual Reality

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dc.contributor.advisorJenson, Jennifer
dc.contributor.authorHarley, Daniel Eric
dc.date.accessioned2021-03-24T15:45:09Z
dc.date.available2021-03-24T15:45:09Z
dc.date.copyright2020-04
dc.date.issued2021-03-24
dc.date.updated2021-03-24T15:45:09Z
dc.degree.disciplineCommunication & Culture, Joint Program with Ryerson University
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractPositioning this dissertation as a technofeminist inquiry, I examine discursive tropes and ideologies that are constructed and/or mobilized by industry leaders from multinational corporations like Facebook and Google as they tout the revolutionary, democratizing, and/or emancipatory potential of consumer virtual reality (VR). Identifying themes from sources dating from 2012-2018, a timeframe that precedes and follows the launch of consumer VR, I employ a frame analysis to document some of the ways that this new technology is interrelated with the power and politics of its mediations. As my frame analysis seeks to illustrate major trends and strategies, I also provide a case study on Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR, to show the consequences of discursive frames that can begin with a seemingly innocuous call for games in VR amid the antifeminism of gamergate and the racism of alt-right neo-Nazis. My data relies on particular actors (companies, individuals) and events (industry conferences, highly reported controversies) from a complex digital communication landscape that includes developer blog posts, news media, promotional media, videos, and talks at developer conferences published online. In most cases, sources were selected because they feature an industry leader whose views purportedly represent a companys views (e.g., Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, Palmer Luckey and Michael Abrash at Oculus, or Clay Bavor at Google). Throughout, I argue that industry leaders frame a problematic support of the status quo of technological design, entrenching marginalizing norms while establishing a consumerist desire to participate in this future.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/38266
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectInformation technology
dc.subject.keywordsVirtual reality
dc.subject.keywordsVR
dc.subject.keywordsTechnofeminism
dc.subject.keywordsTechnology
dc.subject.keywordsFeminism
dc.subject.keywordsGender
dc.subject.keywordsColonialism
dc.subject.keywordsDesign
dc.subject.keywordsFacebook
dc.subject.keywordsPalmer Luckey
dc.subject.keywordsOculus
dc.subject.keywordsvideo games
dc.subject.keywordsgames studies
dc.titleThe Politics of Consumer VR: Framing Contemporary Virtual Reality
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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