For the video installation Immersion, Farocki visited a workshop organised by the Institute for Creative Technologies in Los Angeles, a research centre for virtual reality and computer-simulations. One of their projects concerns the development of a therapy for war-veterans suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Farocki is interested in the use of virtual realities and games in the recruiting, training and now also therapy for soldiers. Farocki explores the connection between virtual reality and the military – how the fictional scenarios of computer games are used both in the training of U.S. troops prior to their deployment in combat zones, and in psychological care for troops suffering battlefield trauma upon their return. With the help of virtual devices, soldiers try to imagine the future on the one hand and to forget the past on the other. Recalling their memories reveals that the reality is more banal, yet much more cruel, than video games. Krisztina Szipőcs