Virtuality as a Motif - A Comparative Study

Abstract

The term "virtual reality"-as originally coined by Antonin Artaud, way back in the 1930s - referred to the effect of the phantasmagorical world of the Theatre wherein characters, objects, and images figure and flit. However, currently Virtual Reality, aka Virtuality, for most of us, is a cyber-age phenomenon, something generated by technology. It is a Computer-simulated imaginary world, often displayed on a computer screen, to create a lifelike experience, as for example; videogames, simulated military exercises, therapeutic interventions, virtual classroom, etc. It is, in short, a world as generated by the electronic medium. But if we use a comparative and intertextual perspective, we could see that, besides these two obvious meanings, the term has its deep philosophical connotation too, especially in the postmodern space. 'Reality', for Postmodernists, is allegedly something never accessible to the human mind. It is, to put it in philosophical terms, a 'thing-in-itself'. What we have access to, then, is virtuality, in as much as it is generated or contaminated by our linguistic medium. But this determination is often lost on most of us, which is not our fault. We are actually misled by postmodernists who play their 'language games' with us deliberately-if subtly. This article is meant to enable us to develop a comparative/intertextual perspective, which will lead us, as in this case, to a better understanding of the mysterious working of language in literature and life. More specifically, this article will help us to see how a broader comparative perspective can enable us to cope with postmodern writings, creative or otherwise.