University of Southern California

USC Network Culture Project

USC Annenberg School for Communication

	Community Challenge #3: Mauerkrankheit/Wallsickness 05.28.08

Project Name: Mauerkrankheit/Wallsickness (Click to read original Proposal)

Description

Mauerkrankheit (Wallsickness) is a virtual reality installation, set in Second Life, of current and historical walls dividing nations. It will begin with a section of the proposed "border fence" dividing Mexico from the U.S. and continue with segments from Gaza Fence, the Melilla Fence (the E.U. funded wall to separate Spanish territories from Morroco), the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China and other important political and historical border walls. Our wall, with embedded guest books and video screens, will anchor community dialogue with the aim to unite a divided populace. The project will not only integrate documentary video and news footage into the installation to augment the virtual landscape, it will use the virtual landscape to enable a new type of machinima documentary: veritar documentary - the filming of a true name avatar witness to an experience of wallsickness.

How does it utilize the unique features of virtual world?In the case of the U.S. border fence, even the real (physical) wall is virtual, existing as (controversial) legislation. A virtual version of one or more of the proposed designs in the landscape (Mexico on one side, the U.S. on the other) offers viewers a perspective not possible on the ground; the interplay of the Rio Grande private ranches and public lands. Continuing the U.S / Mexican border into the E.U / African border, the Palestinian / Israeli border, Berlin and China exploits the virtual world capacity to bend space to represent not one wall, but the shared topography of political walls in general. The lack of physicality diffuses the physical danger represented in transgressing the boundary allowing a "safe" meeting space to share personal stories and explore community dialogue.

What is the scope of your endeavor and what would you most like to accomplish?

We intend for this project to live beyond the grant period, and eventually, be "handed over" to local citizenry to explore to their best advantage. We hope to complete the build (including the inclusion of video and the embedded guestbook), contact local groups, introduce them to the site, and prep the site for conducting "veritar" documentary interviews. We intend to document local involvement and interview participants to assess the effectiveness of both virtual community dialogue, documentary and storytelling.