Augmented Reality to mirror harsh reality of our society
In the winter of 2015, Ram Devineni, the creator of the hugely popular comic book series, Priya’s Shakti, met the acid attack survivors, Laxmi and Sonia at the Delhi Comic Con. Soon after interacting with the entire team of 'Stop Acid Attacks' initiative, he decided to chronicle their tales of battling the odds of the society and retaining their identity, to make people "look beyond the scars" and delve deeper into the problem.
To create powerful and long-lasting impact in the minds of people, the filmmaker and publisher chose to develop augmented reality (AR) elements in the comic series. He approached Blippar, the provider of a visual discovery app that uses augmented reality and machine learning, to breathe life into the characters of the new edition titled “Priya's Mirror”.
Devineni's initiative that sheds light on the positive stories of rape and acid attack survivors has been funded by the World Bank. In addition, Priya’s Mirror, which mainly focuses on acid attack survivors, is also being premiered at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center from September 30 to October 16 this year. It will also be launched in India on October 22 at the Mumbai Comic Con.
“By blending the old-fashioned mythological characters with high-tech tools, we can make people understand the toxic masculinity and patriarchy that make men do this kind of violence,” continued Vohra.
Though this comic series cannot heal the psychological, physical wounds of the survivors, it acts as a cathartic relief and boosts their confidence levels.
“These women love the fact that there is a comic book where they are made heroes. They are not just superheroes, they are also social activists,” said Devineni.
See the full story here: http://www.asianage.com/technomics/augmented-reality-mirror-harsh-reality-our-society-896