Immersion: Cashing in on Dreams Becoming Reality?

One of the main points of Henry Jenkin's is the idea of immersion, which he states is " the the ability of consumers to enter into fictional worlds."

But what happens when businesses "cash" in on people's overwheming need to escape reality? I experienced this more recently when I was able to take trip to Universal Studios with some friends from back home during Winter Break. There was one friend in particular who was an avid Harry Potter fan.

Maybe fan is an understatement.

She was an absolute fanatic. She has reread the entire series multiple times. She swears up and down that she is a Gryffindor. And she nearly lost it when she found out that the Harry Potter universe would be expanded with a play. So you could only imagine her reaction whenever we rushed through Universal Studios in order to get to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And the fact that her boyfriend proposed to her as soon as we got there, she was in a teary eyed happy place.

Now her experience was the COMPLETE opposite of what I felt when we reached the park.

As we rushed through the amazing parts of the Park such as Dr. Seuss and Jurassic Park, I felt more compelled towards these worlds. I will say however whenever we reach "Harry Potter World" I was in absolute awe. I mean, they really recreated a magical world. But to me, that was just it. It was just an apprecation of what it was for others, such as my teary-eyed friend. As we continued our day in Harry Potter World, I had come to this important realization: everything was f**kin expensive. And not that kind of expensive where you're like "Oh, I mean, it's a bit much, but it's an experience." The kind of expeerience that made you reevaluate my entire financial situation. Interactive wands that you could motion in front of certain landmarks to create an event for $50. A chocolate frog for $16. Even pumpkin juice was $9. And don't even get me started on the wizard capes.

It was through a collection of these financial crisis by the end of the trip that I really sat down and thought about the relationship of immerision and capitalism. People are willing do anything to escape to their desired fictious world. Whether this is Harry Potter or some other universe like Star Wars, people are willing to dish out enormous amounts of cash in order to futher immerse themsevles in that world. For people like my teary-eyed friend, it was worth it for her. But as an outsider looking in who is not really a big fan of the Harry Potter franchise, I wsa in doubt the entire time I was there. Really? How much for that? However, if people's for desire for immersion is that much, companies such as Universal are able to charge out the a** for "experiences" like that because the cost will always be justified for it.

For me, I stuck with those giant and delicious turkey legs.