A virtual reality experience at Fair Park will change the way you think about immigration

No trip to the movies or the opera compares to the intense and overwhelming immersive experience that unfolds at the Food & Fiber pavilion at Fair Park. Between now and April 18, take the time to visit the virtual reality exhibition Meat and Arena (flesh and sand), which immerses guests in an intense scene between refugees crossing the border into the United States and Border Patrol agents.

This installation, written by Alejandro González Iñárritu, received a special Oscar in 2017 and is based on the true stories of Mexican and Central American immigrants. Iñárritu, the famous director of films such as The ghost, birdman and babelinterviewed numerous refugees for the project and drew inspiration from their haunting stories to create an experience that would allow viewers to become part of a chaotic and harrowing scene, a common scene for many who attempt the journey to America to foot.

This 20-minute exhibition is intended for visitors who travel alone, without a phone or photograph. It begins with a brief statement from the show’s creators heard standing in a small, darkened room. Individuals are then invited to enter a solemn gray area that is well below normal room temperature with faded items of footwear strewn across the floor. There are instructions on the wall asking guests to remove their socks and shoes, then they quietly wait for a flashing alarm signaling that it’s time to enter the next phase of the experience. The time between taking off the shoes and being transferred to the next room is several minutes, depressing and tense. The only information on the wall besides instructions is a brief description of the shoes that adorn the room, all of which have been abandoned in the desert by migrants attempting to complete the perilous journey to the American dream.

When the alarms go off, guests enter a room filled with dirt and sand beneath their bare feet. They are greeted by a person who simply helps manipulate the virtual reality equipment, and they are given a backpack to carry throughout the chilling six-minute experience. When the goggles are worn, viewers are transported to an arid desert setting and come face to face with a group of immigrant adults and children crying from exhaustion after their long journey. Suddenly, the Border Patrol is among them with flashing sirens, pointing guns and helicopters whirring overhead. The storyline between the two groups turns stomachs as migrants plead and cry in despair, desperately seeking food, water and safety while being met with angry commands in English.

Viewer reactions vary. On the day of our visit, some chose to watch the scene from behind a virtual cactus or others froze in place, obeying the all-too-real cries of the Border Patrol. The experience ends with an agent, hand on the trigger, directly shouting at the viewer to get down. Then the screen goes black.

Once guests have taken part in the unsettling experience, they leave the room and are led into a dark, quiet hall with digital images of real people such as Lina, 53, from Guatemala, Luis, 36, from Mexico or Amaru, 20, from El Salvador. Guests can spend a few minutes reading each immigrant’s stories and learning about the sacrifices and risks they took for the possibility of a better life. Each refugee has their own story. Some have succeeded in the United States while others struggle with the complicated legal processes that prevent them from becoming citizens.

After the experience is over, guests have the option to write a handwritten note to the director before leaving the room. Some guests seemed too stunned to do so, most unsure how to deal with this heartbreaking scenario, a sad reality for so many.

This exhibition has traveled internationally and has been presented in Mexico City, Amsterdam and Milan and debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017 as the first virtual reality piece presented in the history of the festival. It also made stops in American museums and was shown at the Denver Center for Performing Arts and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Current viewing of Meat and Arena made its way to Dallas in association with the Nasher Sculpture Center and the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Tickets start at $35. The experience is recommended for an adult audience aged 15 and over.