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When a product is featured on a major broadcast network morning show, it tends to stir up a fair share of interest from the perennially hungry and spend-centric public. Never above considering myself above said public, I must admit more than a passing curiosity about a product that can transpose by English girth in lieu of John Belushi in the now-revered Blues Brothers. No, I am not an actor, but I play one before the green screen.

To be sure, I am convinced that the popularity of films like Surrogates and Avatar intone a more remote, and less physically interactive world. I have written, at some length and frequency, that the future of entertainment is a completely interactive one. To that end, I believe, the nature of entertainment will shift to accommodate the desire to be immersed in the narrative and directly affect its outcome.

What is key is the underlying reality that, as a species, we are perennially looking to transcend this reality. At the risk of sounding too much like an avid reader of conspiratorial or science fiction, it seems the future is to be come the game. If the bold innovations of companies like Yoostar are any indicator — which I think they resoundingly are — then transposing yourself into your favorite film clip is just the beginning.

Let’s chalk this peculiarity to eons of struggle. We long a life of least resistance. Leisure is no longer a privilege, it is a right. To that end, what could be more appropriate than escaping into a life of ultimate leisure? This is the promise of a new reality — this is the promise of virtual reality. This is the promise of technology.

But will the promise be worth the expectation? What will become of Jim Belushi when he is no longer factored into any of the films he popularized? What happens when Jake and Elwood Blues are merely names? The new reality will entail grooming ourselves to play these parts. The avatars will be prepared for us — we need only plug in, tune in, and drop out.

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