The Messy Truth in VR
The Messy Truth VR Experience is an Emmy Award-winning virtual reality series designed to build empathy. Each episode is based on a true story and literally places the viewer in the shoes of those from other walks of life.
In the first episode of The Messy Truth VR Experience, released in 2019, the viewer sees through the eyes of a 12-year old African-American boy as he and his dad, played by Avengers star Winston Duke, are pulled over by the police. This episode won a Lumiere Award and was a finalist for a 2019 Interactive Emmy.
The second episode in the series stars Academy Award winner Brie Larson and won an Emmy Award in 2020 for Outstanding Original Interactive Program. In it, the viewer utilizes VR to see through the eyes of a waitress waiting for her performance review. Her boss uses it as an opportunity to abuse his power. The scenario is based on a real-life incident, researched and advised by The Restaurant Opportunity Center United, a not-for-profit organization on a mission to improve working conditions in the foodservice industry.
The series incorporates Oculus Quest hand-tracking technology, which transforms your hands to match the race and gender of the character whose eyes you're looking through.
TV host, activist, and Magic Labs Media co-founder Van Jones created the series with director Elijah Allan-Blitz. Michael Dutton of 6cc Media and Jana Carter of Magic Labs Media serve as Executive Producers. Winston Duke and Brie Larson are producers of their respective episodes. Van Jones and Elijah Allan-Blitz feel strongly the importance of injecting more empathy and understanding into the cultural landscape across political and demographic barriers. To that end, they are partnering with RYOT to bring The Messy Truth VR Experience series to fruition.
"Sometimes it seems nearly impossible to truly understand what a person of a different race, gender or worldview is going through," Van Jones said. "But a Virtual Reality experience can give life-changing insight. VR has the potential to be the world's most powerful tool for generating empathy and understanding. It's time to start using this new technology to bring us together across old divides."