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Today, immersive technologies—like virtual reality—are celebrated as natural empathy machines, capable of fostering meaningful cross-cultural understanding. I interrogate this assumption through my case study of an early twentieth-century immersive, interactive ride: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1903). The elaborate travel simulation and multisensorial, live-action scenes that followed offered millions of visitors a thrilling glimpse of the electrified future promised by American imperialism. Through 20,000 Leagues, audiences climbed aboard a simulated submarine and traveled to the Arctic (a massive refrigerated warehouse on Coney Island at the height of summer, featuring live polar bears and “authentic” Native Alaskans). Though perhaps experienced simply as entertainment, the ride was a potent pedagogical tool; the amusement introduced visitors to the thrill of “discovery” first-hand while erasing the violence of colonialism. The impact of this ride, and others like it, was profound, contributing to mass support for imperial wars abroad and racial segregation at home. Drawing lessons from my case study, I argue that the early ride was a precursor to twenty-first-century immersive worlds. 

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