MTV VMAs felt like a simulation taking place in a disembodied, placeless nowhere

https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/vmas-2020-took-place-nowhere.html

Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards "gave the impression that they were happening in a collective imaginary place, a computer-generated nothingsville," says Kathryn VanArendonk. "Sometimes it looked like The Matrix, sometimes like a Star Trek holodeck, and sometimes like the inside of Janet’s mind in The Good Place. Miley Cyrus swung on a giant disco ball suspended from nothing, above nothing. Her endlessly long mic cord disappeared off into the ether somewhere. Announcers and performers strode out onto what must’ve been empty green screen soundstages, but on TV it looked like they were all standing on the same surreal, VMAs–flavored CGI balcony. It was a balcony in front of nothing, overlooking nothing (except more VMAs branding). Gaga’s several performances and acceptance speeches had the most 'this is happening in a specific place' vibe of the entire show, but because that specific place was 'in front of a piano sculpted to look like a brain,' it didn’t exactly feel grounded in reality. In all, the VMAs felt like a dislocated, floating nothingness, and I’m honestly still not sure how I feel about it. It was distracting, and the New York–specific images felt off. It was like watching a show set in an airport I-heart-NYC kiosk. And yet, there was something about the cloud of nothingness that also convinced me — we’re all nowhere, but we’re all nowhere together. Or rather, we’re all pretending to be together, which is as good as it’s safe to be right now."

https://www.primetimer.com/shows/mtv-video-music-awards