The Sci-fi Movie Of "virtual Reality" Narrative Research

In the modern society deeply influenced by the mass media, especially in those developed countries such as the United States, the balance between reality and media has been upset, reality as presented by the mass media is therefore not a picture or reflection of 'reality', the distinction between 'real' and 'virtual' has faded. Virtual reality sometimes can be more convincing than reality itself. Sci-fi films themed around the concept of 'virtual reality' are based on the status quo and the trend of development in media technology. They provoke the philosophic thoughts about the interaction between human beings and information technology, focus on two propositions that contain ultimate meanings, namely 'real' and 'virtual', and give prominence to their significance in our society under the impact of mass media. This kind of films surpasses the aesthetic illusion constructed by the modern technology and the mass media, reflects the essence of human beings' mental existence and sublimes the meaning of existence beyond the surface of daily life through the subjective choices made by the individuals, that is, the dramatis personae in the films. In this thesis, the narrative research in sci-fi films themed around the concept of VR is generated from the history of cinematic morphology and thus concerns the relationship between these films and the realist society or the cultural tradition in the process of history. The methods of dissertation are also in the direction of cinematic morphology. First I trace back to the narrative origin of this kind of films, then I analyse its narrative configuration and relevant cultural morphology. In the end I demonstrate the value of these sci-fi films themed around the concept of VR from the standpoint of Chinese traditional narration in order to offer some valuable references to the film production and the narrative mode of Chinese cinema.