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Scotsman
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe Theatre reviews: Rift
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rift Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) ★★★★☆ Red Like Fruit Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) ★★★★☆ Standing In The Shadows Of Giants Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) ★★★☆☆ It's one of the great myths of human development that progressive change towards greater equality and freedom, once achieved, is somehow irreversible. Yet in fact, history is full of examples of once liberal and relaxed societies suddenly, under pressure, becoming much more repressive again; and it's both thrilling and significant to see the Traverse Theatre opening its programme of visiting shows with two forceful and enthralling new plays from North America, set in this moment when many seem increasingly convinced that the liberalisation of our society has in some way 'gone too far.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Blake Stadnik (l) and Matt Monaco (r) in Rift | Contributed In Gabriel Jason Dean's searing two-hander Rift, the character known as the 'Inside Brother' is a damaged man who – sentenced for a murder he swears he did not commit, and severely attacked and beaten up in jail – soon becomes convinced that the white race is facing decline and extinction, and that his only protection lies in joining a white supremacist brotherhood active in the prison. His younger 'Outside Brother', meanwhile, is also damaged, but able to survive youthful run-ins with alcohol and drug abuse to graduate from university and eventually become a successful writer; and over 25 years, we see their relationship evolve from the younger brother's occasional visits, through more recent online sessions, to a final face-to-face confrontation. This is no smooth evolution, though, from alienation to greater understanding. Instead this 90-minute play, based on Dean's real-life experience with a brother in the US prison system, shows a relationship riddled with lies, half-truths, and sudden jagged shocks that can set it back by years, starting with the outside brother's early failure to acknowledge the sexual abuse they both experienced as children. Yet although the wealth of themes and preoccupations that emerge can be almost bewildering – ranging from the social causes of rising white supremacism, through the lifelong impact of child sexual abuse, to the morality of seeking to make art out of real-life stories that involve the privacy of others – Dean's writing never flags in its utterly gripping sharpness and intensity. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And in Ari Laura Kreith's fiercely-paced production, Matt Monaco and Blake Stadnik deliver two simply breathtaking performances as the inside and outside brothers; one twitching with tension, anger and physical energy in his orange prison suit, while the other gradually learns how to thrive in a deeply compromised society, where the problem is not too much liberalism, but our failure to live out the full meaning of our liberal creeds, whenever they become too difficult, or too demanding. If Rift presents a many-faceted and sometimes explosive study of the times we live in, Hannah Moscovitch's superb Canadian two-hander Red Like Fruit, also in Traverse Two, offers a much more precise and brilliantly focussed exploration of the current post-#metoo moment in gender politics. Written as a monologue, but fascinatingly read on stage by a male actor while the female central character – who has written the story – listens, reacts and occasionally comments, Red Like Fruit tells the story of Laura, a happily married Toronto journalist who nonetheless finds herself increasingly depressed and mentally uneasy, haunted by a frightening sense of anger, and of dissociation from her everyday life. Michelle Monteith in Red Like Fruit | Riley Smith Working on a story about an employee of Canada's governing Liberal Party who has been reinstated to his job after admitting to an act of violence against his wife, Laura gradually finds herself revisiting sexual incidents from her own earlier life, and wondering exactly how she should define them; she asks herself how much of what she remembers is really problematic, and how much is down to the normal sexual confusion of teenage and early-twenties life. She also, sometimes, pauses the narration to ask her actor-spokesman what he thinks; and he sometimes offers answers, thoughtful, liberal, compassionate. Neither the play, nor Christian Barry's impeccable production for Canada's 2b Theatre, offers clear answers to the questions it raises; instead, it leaves behind a profound uncertainty about how far we can protect women from exploitation while leaving space in our culture, for the daft, anarchic energy of real sexual desire. Moscovitch's writing, though, is dazzlingly precise, vivid and thought-provoking throughout; and Michelle Monteith as Laura, and David Patrick Flemming as the actor-reader, deliver two performances so beautifully pitched and timed that Moscovitch's words shine through with a magnificent clarity, searching and searching again for some kind of truth among the overheated culture wars of our time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In her autobiographical Traverse monologue Standing In The Shadow Of Giants, meanwhile, Lucie Barât is a woman of similar vintage to Moscovitch's Laura, and one with far more experience of sexual exploitation by powerful men. Barât is the sister of Carl Barât, who with Pete Doherty co-founded the successful late-Nineties/early 2000s band The Libertines; and the story of how Carl's sudden fame changed her life, robbing her of her childhood best friend and plunging her into a world of temptations and dangers where she had no real role of her own, only captures part of her struggle against a lifelong sense of abandonment that began in a disrupted childhood, and left her with a seething inner rage which she increasingly turned against herself. Lucie's story of chronic self-harm and eventual redemption, only made more intense by the roller-coaster of highs and rejections she experienced in her career as an actress, is a familiar one on a Fringe full of monodramas about the pains and traumas of a career in show business. In this debut solo show, though, Lucie Barât tells her story with a certain self-conscious charm; and when she picks up a microphone to sing one or two of her own songs, co-written with her brother and Pete Doherty, she reveals a powerful, eloquent and poetic mature woman's voice that seems somehow less present in the rest of the play. All shows until 24 August
Business Insider
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Rwanda-DRC security dialogue begins as US-backed peace agreement enters implementation phase
The meeting marks a cautious yet significant step toward de-escalating tensions and rebuilding trust between the two countries, whose relations have long been marred by mutual accusations of supporting rebel groups and fostering border insecurity. Convened under the terms of the Washington peace deal signed in June, the session included the selection of committee chairpersons, the adoption of terms of reference, and initial preparations for the launch of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism. This mechanism is expected to play a key role in enhancing intelligence sharing, strengthening border surveillance, and coordinating responses to armed groups operating along the volatile frontier. In a statement released by the U.S. Department of State, the Joint Oversight Committee was described as the designated body to ensure effective implementation and conflict resolution under the peace accord. ' The Committee is responsible for receiving complaints about violations of the agreement, taking appropriate measures to address violations, and amicably settling disputes, ' the statement said. According to officials present at the meeting, the two sides discussed initial progress on implementing the agreement and finalized logistics for the upcoming launch of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism, which is expected to provide the operational backbone for sustained peacebuilding efforts between Kigali and Kinshasa. DRC-Rwanda Decade-Long Rift Nears End The decade-long crisis between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda may finally be nearing a resolution, as both countries begin taking concrete steps to implement a U.S.-brokered peace agreement. Long marked by deep mistrust, cross-border rebel activity, and accusations of proxy warfare in eastern Congo, the relationship between the two neighbours has now entered a cautious but potentially transformative diplomatic phase. For more than a decade, tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali have been fueled by allegations that Rwanda supports the M23 rebel group, alongside Congo's persistent struggle to secure its volatile eastern provinces. The conflict has displaced millions, destabilised the Great Lakes region, and repeatedly derailed regional peace initiatives. While optimism remains guarded, observers view this development as a meaningful attempt to establish a sustained diplomatic framework between Kigali and Kinshasa.
The National
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Play explores if it is possible to love someone whose views you hate
That's the question being asked by a powerful new drama based on the relationship between an award-winning US playwright and his brother, a convicted murderer and high-ranking member of a white supremacist prison gang. An explosive exploration of race, power and cultural divides in the 21st century, Rift is to be given its UK premiere at the Traverse in Edinburgh during the Fringe. It has already won critical acclaim from both audiences and critics in the US, but playwright Gabriel Jason Dean told the Sunday National he was a little nervous about showing Rift in Edinburgh this summer. READ MORE: 'Not in our name': Hundreds gather in Scottish cities to protest Donald Trump 'The context has changed from when [Joe] Biden was president,' he said. 'Then it was a little bit safer to be talking about these things. Now it feels like I'm holding a stick of dynamite. There has been political anxiety in the States my entire life to some degree, but things are really coming to a head.' Rift certainly doesn't stray from tackling political controversy and Dean said he was looking forward to seeing what the audience reaction would be like in Edinburgh. 'In the US if you say a play is political, that is a stroke against it for audiences, but in my experience, drama here is the opposite of that,' he said. 'I'm excited to see how what feels a little more aggressive to an American audience will land in a place where political theatre is just the status quo.' The play is based on Dean and his half-brother's relationship and different trajectories in life. Both were sexually abused by the same person but were brought up separately until Dean was a teenager. He lived with his father and mother and, despite the abuse, had a less traumatic upbringing than his brother, whose mother was in and out of incarceration. Eventually, their father took a paternity test and agreed to bring the boy into their home but by that time, much of the damage had been done. In later life, it is the sexual abuse they both suffered that allowed them to connect despite their ideological differences. 'His was enduring because he lived with this person,' said Dean. 'It happened to me one time but it doesn't need to happen more than once to leave a mark on you.' Talking to his brother, along with therapy, helped Dean come to terms with the sexual abuse and enabled him to write about it. However, while that is part of the play, it is not the centre of it as Dean still has difficulties with his brother's ideology even though it appears to have mellowed slightly during his incarceration. Now 46, he was jailed for life without parole when he was 21, after being involved in a murder. In prison, he joined a white supremacist gang, possibly as a survival tactic, but then became more and more extreme in his beliefs. It was more than Dean could take and he stopped contact with his brother for 10 years, only resuming it a year or so after Donald Trump was elected President of the US in 2016. 'I started thinking I needed to talk to my brother,' said Dean. 'I couldn't explain it at the time, I just felt this need to reach out to him. 'I had no intention of writing anything – I just felt that if the outside world was starting to look like the inside, then he needed something else in his life.' Dean admitted 'a bit of a saviour complex' may have motivated him but it swiftly became more than that. 'Being so close to extremism with him made me start to understand the ways in which the tentacles of white supremacy had weaved their way into my life too,' said Dean. 'I'm still trying to unweave that tangled web in my own life and hopefully my children's lives too.' Although he thinks it's misguided, he understands why people would vote for Trump. 'I think the answer that they're seeking with him is wrong but I think what they're seeking isn't,' he explained. 'They want to have enough, and be able to live the life that has been promised.' Dean added: 'The play really gets into this idea that it's actually the lie of whiteness that's killing us all. It's killing folks of colour yes and it's also killing poor white people.' He believes the political situation could turn around in the US if there were a truly progressive presidential candidate that would appeal to those who voted for Trump. 'Essentially we have two conservative parties,' Dean said. 'We desperately need a legitimate third party in the US. And to take big money out of politics.' Although the circumstances of Dean and his brother's lives are unique, he believes the conflict of ideologies is souring many relationships all over the US and elsewhere. 'At first I was full of self-doubt about the play, thinking nobody would understand it or want to see it but the opposite has been true,' he said. Rift has resonance in Scotland too, with the rise of Reform and topics like climate change and gender recognition continuing to split society. Yet while Dean finds many of his brother's views abhorrent he can still find qualities in him he loves and admires. 'He's a charming individual which is both his strength and his Achilles' heel,' said Dean. 'He is so loving but he's not been exposed to the best people a lot of times and they've taken advantage of that.' His brother's giving nature was exemplified when Dean said he was considering writing about their relationship. 'I felt like I had to absolutely have his permission, no matter how much I fictionalised it and without hesitation he agreed. That demonstrates the way that he moves through the world, and especially in relation to me. He's always put me on this sort of pedestal.' Dean recognises that even if he and his brother had grown up together in a stable environment they would still be very different people, but writing the play has helped their relationship. 'We talk on a weekly basis now and, you know, he kind of filled a hole,' he said. 'I think I filled a gap for him too, and now we have some kind of family, the two of us. 'I think it's shown me I have a capacity for love I didn't know I had. And if there is anything I'd like an audience to take away, it's that if you have that rift in your life, whatever it is, it is possible to mend it.' Rift opens at the Traverse Theatre on Thursday, July 31
India.com
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Stranger Things Season 5 Teaser Out: Everything You Need To Know – Release Dates, Plot Twists, Cast & The Final Battle
New Delhi: Hawkins is no longer the town we once knew. The quiet streets are cracked open. Red-veined portals breathe. Demogorgons are back. The Rift has won, and the fight is no longer a secret. It is a war. And for the final time, the gang is getting back together. Netflix has unveiled the first official trailer for 'Stranger Things' Season 5, and it promises nothing short of a cinematic apocalypse. Nine years after the Duffer Brothers' supernatural saga first premiered, the final season is here. It arrives in three parts, kicking off with Volume 1 on November 26, followed by Volume 2 on Christmas Day and concluding with the series finale on New Year's Eve. Each drop goes live on Netflix at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. '9 years ago, the adventure began. Stranger Things 5. Teaser tomorrow,' Netflix wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Every battle has led to this the Stranger Things 5 teaser is HERE! — sƃuᴉɥʇ ɹǝƃuɐɹʇs (@Stranger_Things) July 16, 2025 The streaming giant made good on that promise. On July 16, it dropped a 2-minute 46-second trailer that flooded social media timelines. Fans were stunned by the scope, emotion and scale of what is being teased as the last and deadliest chapter in the 'Stranger Things' universe. A Town At War Set in fall 1987, Hawkins is still reeling from the violent aftermath of the Rifts. The teaser opens with Steve (Joe Keery) setting up a radio in his van, as the gang listens in silence. Vines snake through empty streets. Military blockades line town borders. The Upside Down is no longer hiding. It is rather seeping into Hawkins. 'After all we have been through, this thing ties us all together,' says a narrator in the trailer. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), now hunted by the government, is forced into hiding. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) feels a growing dread as the anniversary of his own disappearance approaches. A military-enforced quarantine now surrounds Hawkins, complicating the already chaotic hunt for Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), who has been still alive and missing since the end of Season 4. The new villain is not alone. The Demogorgons are back. And this time, there is no illusion of safety. The Cast Returns With a New Face The cast lineup for the final season is stacked with fan favorites: Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers) David Harbour (Jim Hopper) Finn Wolfhard (Mike) Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) Noah Schnapp (Will) Sadie Sink (Max) Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) Natalia Dyer (Nancy) Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) Joe Keery (Steve) Maya Hawke (Robin) Priah Ferguson (Erica) Brett Gelman (Murray) Cara Buono (Karen) Amybeth McNulty (Vickie) Nell Fisher (Holly) Jake Connelly (Derek Turnbow) Alex Breaux (Lt. Akers) And action legend Linda Hamilton joins as Dr. Kay, who can be seen gunning down Demogorgons in a nod to her 'Terminator' days. 'The final battle is looming, and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they have faced before. To end this nightmare, they will need everyone, the full party, standing together, one last time,' reads Netflix's official synopsis. Max's Fate, Dustin's Grief and Will's Shadow The trailer teases haunting flashbacks and heartbreaking moments. Max (Sadie Sink) is still in a coma, with her future unclear. Dustin appears to be mourning the town's treatment of Eddie Munson, who is blamed for crimes he did not commit. Eleven is seen flying alone into battle. But this time, she may not be the key to victory. 'It started with the disappearance of Will Byers. It may end with him too,' a voice says. Fan reactions flooded social media within minutes of the trailer's release. 'Stranger Things Season 5 looks INSANE,' tweeted one fan. 'The music choice is top tier, El is flying, and we are going to cry,' said another. The new trailer for Stranger Things season 5!!! So much happening in this trailer and boy what a trailer it is! The music choice is top tier and I can spot red herrings, El is flying, and we're going to cry — Becca (@trivia_purple) July 16, 2025 seated for stranger things 5 for the plot the plot being : — (@softiealiaa) July 16, 2025 Stranger Things 5 will premiere in 2025 and will be the last season — (@milevensxm) February 23, 2024 Stranger Things Season 5 is going to be absolute cinema — Aaron Paul - ImHybrid (@HYBRlD) July 16, 2025 WHATT?? WHY?? WHY ARE YALL CRYING?? I NEED SEASON 5 OF STRANGER THINGS NOW — yass (@airielyassin10) July 16, 2025 Some pleaded with Netflix to avoid splitting the season into three parts. But the release schedule is locked: Volume 1 (Episodes 1–4): November 26, 2025 Volume 2 (Episodes 5–7): December 25, 2025 Volume 3 (Finale Episode 8): December 31, 2025 Legacy of a Generation 'Stranger Things' premiered in 2016 and quickly became a global phenomenon. Over its run, the show has been nominated 57 times at the Primetime Emmys and has taken home 12 wins, including nods for acting, writing and drama. November 6 continues to be celebrated as Stranger Things Day, the date Will Byers first vanished into the Upside Down. As the final season nears, fans are anticipating the end and bracing for closure. 'Seated for Stranger Things 5 for the plot. The plot being: heartbreak,' posted one fan. The countdown is on. Hawkins may never be the same again. Neither will we.
Egypt Independent
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Tech promised virtual reality would revolutionize entertainment. That moment might finally be closer than we think.
CNN — Virtual reality was supposed to transform entertainment. At least, that was the expectation roughly a decade ago with the arrival of the Oculus Rift, the first virtual reality (VR) headset that many believed would push VR into the mainstream. In 2025, the industry has failed to deliver on that promise. But tech and entertainment giants alike believe that moment could be closer than ever. The evidence is there. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Meta is in talks with Disney, A24 and other entertainment companies to produce immersive content for its Quest VR headsets. Apple announced an update to its Vision Pro headset in June, enabling users to share content with other headsets — ideal for watching movies together in 3-D. Earlier this year, Apple also launched an immersive Metallica concert for the Vision Pro and announced in July it's readying its first upgrade to boost the Vision Pro's performance. Taken together, this signals that tech and media behemoths are still betting that consumers will be willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands, to experience concerts, movies and sporting events beyond the confines of a traditional screen. A chicken-and-the-egg paradox In the 10-plus years since Oculus debuted the Rift, headset manufacturers have produced lighter, more powerful devices. Meanwhile, companies are finally warming to the idea of another medium for storytelling. Tech companies have a history of flirting with VR projects aimed at mainstream users. In June, Meta offered live virtual rinkside tickets to Stanley Cup games, echoing previous NBA and WNBA offerings. Headset owners have attended virtual concerts for years, including Apple's immersive Alicia Keys session and Meta's Blackpink show. Disney even launched a Disney+ app for Apple's Vision Pro on Day 1 in 2024. But these have been pilots to gauge interest, not long-term investments. Historically, headsets have been trapped in a chicken-and-egg paradox: to woo entertainment content, they need mass adoption; but to reach that scale, headsets need premium content. The technology must also be comfortable, powerful and popular enough to gain mass appeal. For Sarah Malkin, director of entertainment content for Meta's VR division Reality Labs, that cycle is already being broken. 'I think the 'it moment' is when you are regularly engaging in experiences in mixed reality that are super complementary and part of your integrated life,' Malkin told CNN. 'To me, that's already happening.' Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets increased by around 10% in 2024 to 7.5 million and nearly 30.8% to 3.4 million in the US, according to IDC, a global market intelligence and data company. Although IDC predicts shipments around the world will tumble this year due to delayed product launches, it expects a massive rebound in 2026 with worldwide shipments surging 98.5% to 11.3 million. However, the results haven't always lived up to the hype. Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse has cost Meta $46 billion over three years. Reality Labs, the company's VR division, posted $4.2 billion in operating loss and just $412 million in sales in Q1, down from the previous quarter. But tech giants continue to experiment with the technology. Meta invested $3.5 billion in eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica SA to bolster its AI spectacle gambit, according to Bloomberg. (A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the report.) Snap recently said it plans to launch new augmented reality spectacles next year, and Google continues to work with partners like Xreal and Samsung on upcoming headsets and glasses that run on its new Android XR software. Samsung will be among the first to launch such a device with its upcoming Project Moohan headset. Attendees photograph Samsung's Project Moohan mixed-reality headsets with Google at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, on January 22, 2025. Michaela Vatcheva/Bloomberg/Getty Images A young boy plays with Meta Quest 2 all-in-one VR headset during a festival of video games and other digital entertainment in Zaragoza, Spain, on October 15, 2023. Nano Calvo/VW Pics/UniversalWith more sophisticated hardware and a budding content portfolio, Bertrand Nepveu, a former Vision Pro contributor and partner at Triptyq Capital, said wider adoption is crucial. 'It's still early, but there's no technical limitation right now, it's more (that) we need people to invest because you need a critical mass,' Nepveu told CNN. A paradigm shift in content Although big names like James Cameron and Sabrina Carpenter are already beginning to explore VR, immersive storytelling has yet to gain that crucial widespread popularity. Slow growth can be partially attributed to incorrect assumptions by studios. 'You can't just take the flat version of what you put on Disney+ or Netflix or Amazon, and just throw that up,' Jenna Seiden, an industry consultant and adviser who has worked with Skydance Media, Niantic, CAA, and Xbox, told CNN. 'You need to build natively so the audience is going to have a different experience per platform.' While creating media for virtual and mixed reality may seem like a departure from developing content for 2-D screens, Seiden says the secret to success is a tactic media companies are already familiar with: exclusivity. 'You look at the creation of HBO (Max), you look at the creation of Apple TV+, they grew their audiences based on exclusives, that's why you went to them,' Seiden said. 'I think that model is very familiar to entertainment companies, and they can go to their board saying, 'Hey, this is how platforms grow, with exclusive content.'' That's what makes live virtual sports an easy way to break down extended reality (XR) barriers for audiences. Paul Raphaël, co-founder of Felix & Paul, said sports can be easily adapted for immersive platforms using 180-degree cameras. Audiences experience VR e-sports games at the 2025 Jingxi E-sports Festival in Beijing, China on June 28, 2025. CFOTO/'You already have quite a few events and sports being broadcast, whether it's live or asynchronous,' Raphaël said. 'As the audience grows, it's a really straightforward path to create the content or to broadcast the content.' For Hollywood, the possibility of a new major distribution platform couldn't come at a better time. In today's fracturing media environment — shaken by streaming, the collapse of the cable bundle, and post-Covid box office woes — a new medium could be a crucial selling point, especially for entertainment boards looking for a new revenue vein. Jack Davis, co-founder of CryptTV, said headsets might provide a much-needed pipeline for premium content. 'As gigantic structural changes happen in TV and film, the industry is going to need to replace those things in the aggregate,' Davis said. 'This could be one of the only formats that premium entertainment actually seems like it makes sense (for) the user base.' Budgetary and content hurdles Over the past decade, investment in VR has been eclipsed by more pressing innovations, including self-driving cars and AI. Although it's difficult to determine how that has directly impacted XR investment, funding data from Crunchbase, a predictive company intelligence solution, shows that backing for AI and self-driving has steadily increased, rising from $39.96 billion in 2019 to $105.36 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, XR funding has experienced more erratic behavior — reaching a peak of $4.087 billion in 2021 but dropping to $347.69 million by 2025. Things were much the same in the venture capital world, where the number of global VR deals has also dropped in recent years. PitchBook, which examines private equity and VC deals, notes that 2019 was the largest year for VC deals in VR in the last decade, recording $6.43 billion in deals worldwide. That was significantly smaller than the $57.084 billion from AI-focused venture capitalists that year. In 2025, VR VCs have fallen to only $3.61 billion in global deals while AI VCs have grown to $130.89 billion. But Nepveu said that's changing. 'Now that AI is more understood, you know what it's good for, what it's not capable of, the budgets now are going back into XR,' Nepveu claimed. People stand in line to purchase the Apple Vision Pro headset at the Fifth Avenue Apple store on February 02, 2024 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Still, tech giants investing in the development of mixed reality headsets face a daunting challenge that extends beyond the entertainment available. They need to convince consumers that the devices are both worth paying for and putting on their faces. That's partially why Apple emphasized the Vision Pro as a spatial computing tool, focusing on work and productivity rather than just 2-D and 3-D entertainment capabilities. Still, even a decade later, experts can't seem to agree on exactly when VR will have its breakout moment. Nepveu said it could happen any day. Raphaël expected one or two years. Davis suggested three to seven. Seiden said five to 10. Raphaël, however, believes 2-D content may soon feel as dated as pre-Technicolor entertainment. 'Content, the way it is consumed today, is going to be much like we think of black and white movies, where, if a film isn't immersive, it doesn't lose its value, but it becomes something of another era,' Raphaël said.
