The Fascinating Intersection of Vision Pro Avatars and Classic Sci-Fi Tropes

Ashley Huffman
4 min readMar 16, 2024

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Ashley Huffman via DALL-E

In the realm of science fiction, the image of a head preserved in a jar has long captivated audiences, symbolizing themes of immortality, identity, and the often blurry line between humanity and technology.

This trope has been explored in various films and shows, from the eerie experiments of The Brain That Wouldn’t Die to the humorous yet thought-provoking presentation in Futurama. Fast forward to the present, and we find the conceptual descendants of these sci-fi imaginings in the form of Vision Pro avatars, advanced digital representations that bring a new dimension to our interaction with the virtual world.

Image Credit: YouTube/Marques Brownlee

The Brain That Wouldn’t Die: The Beginning of a Trope

The Brain That Wouldn’t Die introduced us to the chilling concept of keeping a human head alive apart from its body. This movie taps into the fear and fascination with the potential extremes of medical science.

Photo Credit: https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/special-screenings/the-brain-that-wouldnt-die-2270502/

Mars Attacks!: Sci-Fi Comedy and Critique

Mars Attacks! utilized the head-in-jar trope for both horror and humor, showcasing the absurdity of alien invasions and human reactions to them. The scene where a human’s head is swapped onto a dog’s body captures the movie’s playful critique of sci-fi conventions.

Image Credit: We Are Movie Geeks

Futurama: A Humorous Take on Sci-Fi

Futurama brought the concept into the realm of comedy and satire, with heads of historical figures and celebrities preserved in jars, offering witty banter and commentary on society.

Image Credit: Futurama

Return to Oz: Princess Mombi

Return to Oz brought a darker twist to the magical world we thought we knew, introducing the unnerving character of Princess Mombi. With her collection of interchangeable heads, Mombi epitomizes the eerie intersection of vanity and dark magic.

Photo Credit: Return to Oz — Princess Momb

From Sci-Fi to Reality: The Rise of Vision Pro Avatars

The conceptual leap from these cinematic depictions to today’s Vision Pro avatars is less about the preservation of physical heads and more about capturing the essence of a person’s identity in digital form. Vision Pro avatars represent a fusion of self-expression and technology, allowing users to create highly detailed, personalized avatars for use in digital spaces.

Ashley Huffman via DALL-E

These avatars embody the essence of the individual, akin to how the heads in jars symbolized the preservation of identity, albeit in a more literal sense. Yet, unlike their sci-fi predecessors, Vision Pro avatars serve a more practical purpose: enabling richer, more personal interactions in the virtual realm.

The Future is Now: Bridging Fiction and Digital Identity

The evolution from sci-fi tropes to digital avatars underscores a fascinating journey from speculative fiction to tangible technology. Vision Pro avatars are a new layer of interaction; where our digital selves can express, communicate, and engage in ways once confined to the imagination of sci-fi writers and filmmakers.

Zoom Meetings in the Future?

As we continue to explore the possibilities of digital identity and representation, we stand at the intersection of past imaginations and future innovations. The story of heads in jars, from its origins in sci-fi horror to its comedic reinterpretations, reflects our ongoing fascination with what it means to be human in an increasingly digital world. Vision Pro avatars, in this sense, are not just tools for interaction but symbols of how far we’ve come in understanding and redefining the self in the age of technology.

Writer’s Note: Conceived by mind, crafted by machine

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Ashley Huffman
Ashley Huffman

Written by Ashley Huffman

Haptics geek, host of The Haptics Club podcast, founder of All Things Haptics blog, writing about tech, VR, and startups.

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