A disturbing picture of a virus-controlled future

Yorkshire based digital media and theatre company 2b Acting, has released yet another hard-hitting NO interactive video, ‘The Line’. A disturbing dystopian future where citizens are heavily controlled to maintain self-isolation.

The sudden societal changes introduced in response to controlling the COVID-19 virus, such as social distancing, wearing of masks, lockdowns, virus tracking apps, etc. serve as the backdrop to 2b Acting’s latest episode in the ‘NO series’ of interactive videos.

Their ‘NO series’ raise subjects that have an impact on society and where a question can be asked that should have the answer NO, yet this is not the case. For example, “Is it right that 3 million children die from hunger in this world every year?” NO! But it keeps happening.

In ‘NO: The Line’, the question asked is, “Is it right to brainwash a population?” To answer this, the viewer takes the role of a controller, an employee, asked to utilise known control techniques to keep Angela (played by Anastasia Ampatzoglou) from crossing a self-isolation demarcation point – The Line. This is represented as a marked border that Angela has been conditioned never to cross, to stay safe.

Whilst the story presents a future that may never happen it does highlight the possible abuse of control techniques currently being employed and the subsequent trade between our humanity and our safety because of it.

“In this interactive video, the viewer controls the unfolding story. Each decision has consequences for Angela and in this way, the viewer gains a better understanding as to why answering NO to the question is not as straight forward as it first appears”, says 2b Acting. “This is an interesting way to tell this powerful story, which is great for us, as we want our art to lead towards truths that encourage betterment.”

Interactive videos do allow for new ways to tell stories and those who watch will find this medium more engaging and meaningful than other forms of storytelling. The interactive video is available for viewing by Enhanced Mode users on 2b Acting’s InView platform.