The reality effect is the imposition of elements of reality onto a representation. Some of the first reality effects were quite primitive and relied solely upon human conflation of "the real with the optical" (Crary 124). Though some of these first reality effects were produced through the stereoscope, the mechanism of film has perhaps generated the greatest reality effects, starting with a simple train.

For the Lumière brothers, film didn't need the addition of reality effects: it was itself a reality effect. The imposition of time onto images created a sufficiently powerful reflection of reality for initial viewers to flinch at the arrival of the train. Though this may have been sufficient for initial viewers, the reality effect was forced to grow over time. By 1941 and the release of Citizen Kane, viewers needed the additional visual stimulation of special effects in order to bolster the reality effect in a still primitive medium.

Entering into the modern era of the sitcom and reality television, the technologies of film and culture had developed sufficiently to create a reality effect without the additional stimulation of visual immersion. In Friends, the reality of the situation was strong enough and the camera sufficiently powerful enough for the viewer to believe they "have already seen it before and are more or less familiar with it." (Crary 124)

Yet, even this reality effect is not sufficiently strong. Though a perfect camera may be able to capture our physical reality, the addition of visual effects is required to create the effect of our mental reality. Enter Avatar and the immersive 3D experience.

Thus, the reality effect has continually challenged the creator to adopt an ever-growing symbolic lexicon to portray the realistic. Past reality effects, like old hairstyles and classic clothes, appear entirely antiquated and unconvincing.We have entered an era where reality effects are not only strong enough to make us believe that a representation of our world is our world but that which would be impossible in our world becomes realistic in the film world. In such a world, where our dreams have a greater reality effect than our life, we are left to wonder what reality effects the creators of the future will deploy.