taking on bits of martin lister's digi-cinema

In the course reader article for week four, Martin Lister talks about the 'virtualisation' of the modern world. In his introduction he states that "There is great excitement about the future possibilities of immersive or interactive entertainment, but also the fear that digital technologies are leading film into a descending spiral of spectacular superficiality."
I think that there are a number of films in which special effects or CGI's are made because they have an availability to and not to enhance the creativity or narrative of the film. For example eight legged freaks, kung pow enter the fist and date movie. whteher its just because i don't like those films that i find the spectacle superficial or whether they'reintentionally superficial, the special effects and the movies are depthless.
However there are so many more films in which the simulation and hyperreal improve narrative and genre, more commonly in sci-fi and fantasy. With favorites such as Lord of the Rings and Terminator in which the special effects and image manipulation are not vulgar or explicit.
I think that people sometimes need to escape the real world and do so via all technologies where digitally enhanced films or programming or even games invite them to do so and enter worlds of the fantastic. Therefore i don't think that the spectacular realism of CGI are necessarily meaningless or depthless nor do i think the audiences are merely duped. seduced and exhilarated maybe, but hasn't all creation of new media produced that?