Reproductive freedom is under constant attack – we all know that, and we are taking all measures to repel this attack. Many of us do grass-roots work, by talking to people, disseminating scientific information, and dispelling myths and stereotypes.
Actors and filmmakers have produced many films dealing with the subject of abortion, both fiction and documentary. And now, Joanne-Aśka Popińska is using new virtual reality technology to let people share their abortion experiences in The Choice VR.
At Abortion Conversation Projects, we hear from all kinds of people who are using their creativity to change stigma and Joanne’s vision caught our attention. We have followed his progress over the past few years and have been impressed by the impact of this technology. Popińska says, “For my project, I interviewed women who had abortions, and they are sharing their stories for the first time in Virtual Reality. This approach creates a very natural feeling of talking to a friend, someone we know, not an activist or “professional” advocate.”
The filmmakers presented The Choice VR at various conferences, meeting with both enthusiastic reactions, but also criticism from some anti-choice audiences. Then they invited this audience to try the demo version of the project, and the reaction was surprising even for them. Hear their experience with VR testimonials:
One of the very outspoken anti-choice VR developers, initially commenting very loudly and making sure the whole room heard his opinion, suggested that we should film a fetus being dissected in VR – which gives people a “real picture of what abortion is. .” After 20 minutes of “defense of life” rage, she put the headset on, to hear the story of Elizabeth, a young homeless girl living on the streets of Toronto. When she was done, we waited in silence for more rage, and surprise to hear him say: “Wow, this is something, really… Congratulations, it’s important!” And at another event, a few months later, we heard him praising our work, saying how important it was.
Another similar situation happened at a conference in Poland, a very conservative country with a huge Catholic influence that in recent years has been growing. Popińska presented The Choice at a Women’s Rights Conference there, and again one of the members of the audience raised some doubts about abortion, describing it as evil politics started to destroy the Polish nation, and expressing some other questionable opinions. So, again, he was invited to put on the headset and meet one of the storytellers. When he finished, he was silent for a while, and then he said: “OK. He made me think again…”.
According to Popińska, “Change happens very quickly because it is often the first time for those people to really listen to someone who has had an abortion. Virtual Reality is very powerful in making us feel like we are present in this conversation, which makes us feel like it’s happening, instead of watching or reading some distant story. This is incredibly powerful for everyone, but especially for people who have never had the opportunity to talk about abortion in a person who has had it. And this personal conversation leads to empathy – so necessary if we are to respect each other’s choices.”
Popińska is a Polish Canadian who will now be filming in Austin, Texas in March. He’s looking for some help, both in securing interviewees and funding it.
Her goal is to address the various stereotypes surrounding abortion, as well as to show the various obstacles that women face when deciding to terminate their pregnancy: state obstacles, financial limitations, but also stigma, isolation, and personal feelings. It varies, depending on a person’s socio-economic, cultural, and ethical background. Joanne-Aśka Popińska says, “I like the interviews to show these different potential challenges.”
Being an independent filmmaker, he finances the work himself, he also looks for potential partners and collaborators, as well as organizations that can help fund his work.
For filmed interviews in Austin in March, check out his fundraising campaign at GoFundMe. Help spread the word and donate if you can bring Virtual Reality to destigmatize abortion.
