Baudrillard, Simulation & Simulacra, Reality Television

This paper will use the concept of hyperreality to compare the so-called ideal state described by ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi with the world of The Truman Show. The concept of hyperreality is defined by Jean Baudrillard as the generation by models of a real without origin or reality. A hyperreal world is a simulation, or kind of a copy without its original. It is generally accepted, and confirmed by Baudrillard himself, that the world of The Truman Show is hyperreal. In order to compare Laozi’s ideal state with the world of the film, this paper will give a hyperrealist interpretation of the former, which will be only hypothetical, without intending to substitute any other existing interpretations. Laozi imagines that people live simple lives, with few desires and without traveling to other places. If we accept that the ideal state is a hyperreal world, we can make comparison between the two worlds; find out their similarities, as well as differences.

Read at: https://www.scirp.org/Journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=92329

A reading of gendered violence, body horror, "hyperreality," and postmodern cinematic nostalgia in Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof' through Jean Baudrillard's 'Simulacra and Simulation' and 'America' as well as Gilles Deleuze's "Coldness and Cruelty" ('Masochism').

دراسة لمفهوم الواقع الفائق Hyperreality ، لدى الفيلسوف الفرنسي جان بودريار، وهو محاولة لبيان التأثير الأيديولوجي لوسائل الإعلام والاتصال الحديثة، وخاصة للصورة
تتناول الدراسة الوظائف الأيديولوجية لعصر الصورة، وتوضح نقد الفيلسوف الفرنسي جان بودريار للتأثير المزيف الذي تمارسه وسائل الاتصال الحديثة، إذ تعمل هذه الوسائل على صنع واقع افتراضي يتصف بظهوره على أنه أكثر واقعية من الواقع الحقيقي، أي "واقع فائق" Hyper-reality. وتعد هذه النظرية استمراراً لنقد ماركس لصنمية السلع Fetishism of Commodities، لكن الصنمية في عصر الصورة هي صنمية الصورة ذاتها، باعتبارها بديلاً عن الواقع الحقيقي الذي يحل محله بالكامل.

Julian Barnes' England, England is a satire on the cultural heritage tourism which has boomed in England in recent years. The novel reveals Barnes' view that tourism industry is responsible for a crisis of representation caused by the conditions of the consumer society in which the signs, quickly circulated and consumed, displace the traditional designs of "identity", both individual and collective. The novel to which Baudrillard's theories of simulation and consumer society provide the theoretical framework and inspiration is about the reproduction of a new model of Englishness for marketable aims. In light of this background, this paper intends to show the dystopic result of seeing heritage as a commodity in England, England.
ÖZET Julian Barnes'ın England, England adlı romanı, son yıllarda İngiltere'de ivme kaydeden 'kültürel miras turizmi' üzerine bir taşlamadır. Romanın odağını, Barnes'ın "Turizm endüstrisi temsil krizine yol açar" tezi oluşturur; bu krizin nedeni, göstergelerin hızla dolaştığı ve tüketildiği tüketim toplumunun, hem bireysel hem de kolektif zeminde geleneksel "kimlik" tasarımlarını temelden yoksun kılan koşullarıdır. Kuramsal çerçevesini ve esin kaynağını Baudrillard'ın simülasyon ve tüketim toplumu üzerine düşüncelerinin belirlediği bu roman, pazarlama amacıyla bir İngilizlik modeli' oluşturulmasını konu alır. Bu makale England, England'da kültürel mirasın meta olarak görülmesinin distopik sonucunu göstermeyi amaçlar.

هل شهد عصر التكنولوجيا اضمحلالاً للأيديولوجيا أن ازدهاراً لها؟ الحقيقة أن كثيراً من المفكرين قد ذهبوا إلى أن الأيديولوجيا انتهت ولم يعد لها مكان في عصر التكنولوجيا، ومن هؤلاء عالم الاجتماع الأمريكي دانيال بيل صاحب كتاب "نهاية الأيديولوجيا" "وكتاب "قدوم عصر الصناعة"، وفرنسيس فوكوياما في كتابه "نهاية التاريخ"، وليوتار في كتابه "وضع ما بعد الحداثة". لكن عصر التكنولوجيا، وخاصة تكنولوجيا الاتصال، يأتي معه بتوظيفات ومعان جديدة للأيديولوجيا. فطالما كان معنى الأيديولوجيا هو التبرير والتزييف والخداع والتضليل، فإن عصر تكنولوجيا الاتصال يأتي معه بإمكانات غير مسبوقة وغير متاحة لأي عصر سابق لتحقيق نفس هذه الأغراض.

Catherine Francblin ha osservato come Baudrillard sia uno dei pensatori francesi più frequentemente citati nell’ambito della scena dell’arte contemporanea. I critici infatti utilizzano i suoi testi per commentare le opere degli artisti mentre gli artisti citano i suoi testi quali apologia del loro lavoro  e, come ha cercato di spiegare Nicholas Zurbrugg , l’impatto di Baudrillard deriva dal fatto che il suo pensiero suggerisce un modo alternativo per ragionare sulle cose, elaborando una maniera specifica di riconsiderare il passato e i possibili sviluppi futuri di quanto sta accadendo, giorno per giorno, nel mondo dominato dalla tecnica.
La nostra tesi consiste nell’affermare che non è affatto necessario postulare una conoscenza dell’autore francese da parte degli artisti per spiegare la genesi creativa di molte opere contemporanee. A tal proposito risulta evidente come per i critici sia una chiave di lettura efficace ma è lo stesso mondo dei media a porre continuamente a noi - osservatori modello - e a loro - in quanto autori modello - il dilemma della sostituzione del reale dovuta all’erosione dello scarto fra realtà e finzione. È proprio questo comune paradigma culturale a far si che tali opere instaurino una comunicazione con il pubblico. Il contributo di Baudrillard è stato quello di renderci evidente la sindrome collettiva di tutta una cultura , ma se ciò risponde al vero, al di là delle sottigliezze filosofiche, è verosimile che tanto gli artisti quanto noi stessi lo abbiamo intuito, seppure inconsapevolmente. È la stessa cultura popolare a far riemergere l’inganno: i libri di Philip K. Dick , le fiction , i reality show , i docudrama che, per citare le parole di Roberto Nepoti, rendono «ancora più inestricabile quel viluppo di realtà e irrealtà che è diventata la nostra vita» . In questa potenziale presa di coscienza giocano un ruolo rilevante le pellicole cinematografiche - Matrix, Truman Show - che fanno esplicito riferimento a questa condizione. Si è così consolidata una vera propria iconologia della realtà dissolta .
Nell’ambito cinematografico, da questo punto di vista, è istruttivo il film Death of a President (2006, di Gabriel Range e Simon Finch). Si tratta di un falso documentario - un mockumentary - su un fatto mai avvenuto: l’attentato al presidente George W. Bush a Chicago il 19 ottobre 2007. Seppure la pellicola abbia suscitato ampie polemiche per il tema trattato, in realtà non mette in scena la morte di un presidente ma la morte di una verità, quella dei media.
Se W. J. T. Mitchell aveva già posto in luce come Oliver Stone avesse realizzato il film inchiesta sull’assassinio di J. F. Kennedy sulla base delle immagini del film amatoriale di Abraham Zapruder - sgranate, mosse e sfuocate -, l’utilizzo non solo iconografico ma formale di quel documento , conferma il fatto che qualsiasi nostro rapporto con gli eventi è mediato dalle immagini, anzi, come direbbe Jean Baudrillard, sono le immagini ad essere divenute gli eventi.
L’utilizzo di materiale di repertorio televisivo e dei modi narrativi del reportage giornalistico permette l’abolizione della linea di confine fra il vero e il verisimile: il codice è il messaggio. L’effetto realtà è sbalorditivo ed al contempo la sensazione straniante che ci assale, per il fatto che sappiamo di vedere documentato un fatto mai accaduto, è vertiginosa. La locandina di Death of a President, concettualmente e formalmente, appartiene alla stessa iconologia de La Nona Ora di Cattelan ed entrambe le immagini dimostrano come nel momento in cui il falso mette in scena sé stesso la verità sembra finalmente affiorare.

Kaburnya jarak antara realitas dan hiper realitas menyebabkan apa yang disebut simulakra. Simulakra kembali diperkuat dengan pembangunan ruang simulasi pertandingan di stadion dan di simulasi ulang dengan atmosfer yang hampir sama di cafe lewat perantara televisi. Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari penggemar juga dibanjiri informasi dari media massa maupun media sosial yang menyebabkan kedekatan emosional palsu antara pemain dengan para penggemar. Televisi juga menghadirkan acara yang secara berkala menghadirkan momen-momen dramatis dan merangkumnya dalam sebuah acara yang bersifat trivia mingguan yang menjauhkan kembali penggemar dengan realitas yang asli dan mendekatkan dengan realitas tiruan buatan.

A la hora de la desmaterialización de la imagen fotográfica digital, ¿cómo y con qué renovados propósitos insertan fotografías impresas en sus ficciones y ensayos ciertos escritores latinoamericanos? Como breve muestrario de algunos usos de la fotografía en la actual literatura hispanoamericana, se aborda en esta contribución la porosa frontera entre documentación y construcción ficcional, y en especial el irónico cuestionamiento de la identidad del autor, en obras de Alan Pauls, Jorge Volpi y Mario Bellatin.

What is the phenomenon we call public space? How much are we aware of these public spaces mentioned in our daily lives, and how much are we in that public space? How did this phenomenon change and take shape from past to present? In this article I try to understand these questions a little bit and think about them.

The following headlines are a selection of those that appeared in today's newspapers in Italy: The virtual hostess arrives at the airport 1 , Bologna Airport launches the virtual hostess 2 , The virtual hostess arrives at Marconi Airport 3 , Bologna: virtual hostess, motion-activated by people 4. What surprises us about this story? At a time of major scientific discoveries in the fields of technology and computers, with frequent launches of innovative IT products in the market, what is so curious about this news? Let us try to understand what the virtual hostess is. It is a woman (?), although it might be better described as a computer facility, which uses holographic images and is activated when people approach, providing different types of information in Italian and English. Its technology 5 offers services that aim to enhance the operating efficiency of information services and increase passenger satisfaction by reducing waiting times 6. The special feature of this machine is its appearance, as the virtual hostess has the face of an actual member of staff at the airport. Jean Baudrillard would certainly have smiled on hearing this news and said: I told you so! Indeed, the virtual hostess is an example of what Baudrillard defined as third-order simulacra. These true simulacra are copies that destroy reality and cause a form of void, a general nothingness that even encompasses the subject (Baudrillard, 1976).

Th e people" is such an elusive signifi er that it is tempting to drop it and replace it with one we can really get our hands on. So why don't we do it? Because this solves nothing: in a non-Cartesian setting "the people," like "equality," "justice," "freedom," and so many other terms that make up our po liti cal lexicon, have a contested meaning. Ambiguity, as Michael Oakeshott claims, is a structural and not a passing feature of the vocabulary of politics. 1 On top of all this, "the people" has been the name adopted by outcasts in modern emancipatory plots-and also invoked in countless racist, xenophobic, and authoritarian narratives-since the French Revolution. You just can't get rid of such a ubiquitous and resilient signifi er.

This dissertation aims to understand the relationship between the work of art and the beholder. The very existence of this relationship is the reason why there is a possibility of creating simulacra. Theatricality is a characteristic of an artistic object, which isn’t necessarily spectacular. Simulacra exist because of this theatrical nature of the work of art, which depends on a space and time experience. There are several degrees of spectator interaction in this experience: absorption and game; empathetic imagination and commotion; desire and transgression. The space/time between the individual and the work of art is diluted, generating substitution processes that incite the spectator’s identification with the object. The artistic creation becomes a theatrum mundi in which making a distinction of reality becomes something diffuse.

Las mini ciudades son productos inmobiliarios de uso mixto que se han desarrollo
en las últimas dos décadas en América Central, en el marco de una tendencia urbanística de corte neoliberal y con fuerte inversión extranjera y regional. En Guatemala se desarrolla ciudad Cayalá. Es un proyecto por etapas que incluye un paseo comercial y diversos barrios residenciales. Por su parte, el caso costarricense presenta múltiples ejemplos de los cuales se tomará avenida Escazú. Una avenida comercial con espacios residenciales en sus niveles superiores. Ambos proyectos presentan una tipología que emula una mini ciudad con espacios abiertos para ocio, variedad de ofertas de restauración, entretenimiento, trabajo y residencia. Inscrito dentro del discurso de la geografía urbana, este artículo identifica una simultaneidad espacial que invita a pensar las dinámicas urbanas más allá del binarismo clásico. Se proponen diversas aproximaciones a partir de los aportes de Baudrillard (2016), Foucault (1984), Hannigan (1998) y Soja (2000) con el objetivo de abordar el complejo análisis espacial de estas tipologías hibridadas.

New York Magazine’s “Spring Fashion Issue” [Table of Contents – February 5, 2018] raises the #MeToo debate to a fever pitch, partly as a result of editorial intention, partly as a result of media finance infrastructure, which in- termingles intellectual content and advertising: The articles may be read as criticism of the ads, which may, in turn, be read as examples for the critique; OR, the ads and articles may be read as a complex whole, exemplify- ing and demonstrating a moment in the history of culture, when virtual (the world of advertising images) and real (the world of intellectual apperception) are confusedly interpenetrated. Either mode of reading points to a question about the role of fashion and social media in relation to lived experience.

El pensamiento hindú afirma que la creación del mundo se produce a partir del dios supremo por efecto del llamado principio de "maya" o "maia". Su etimología es simple y perfecta, ya que significa literalmente "no es". El sentido de este término sánscrito es el de "apariencia", realidad supuestamente inexistente e ilusoria, juego mágico que oculta al Uno, "verdadero conocimiento" (Vidya), la auténtica realidad. Existen otros sentidos también, pero "maya" se refiere principalmente al carácter fragmentario de la apariencia. En efecto, puedo comprobar que el mundo aparece diverso fuera de mi cuerpo; nuestra interioridad y percepción se despiertan, confrontan y mueven en la exterioridad de lo real. Pero lo que vemos y sentimos físicamente es el velo de maya, implacable disfraz del universo visible, a cada instante en su maleficio. Imperturbable silencio, cosmos ausente, desnudo y abierto, en su total indiferencia infinita. Desde esta profundidad comienza todo pensamiento y lenguaje humanos, en su significado más amplio; puente y expresión que constituyen nuestra única, personal y universal forma de superar, abarcar o abrazar la "irrealidad" de maya.

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens represents the intent of current American cinematography to recover the spirit of cinema in the ’80s; the film by Abrams realize a semblance-film of the blockbuster of the ’80s that characterizes contemporary cinema and proposes a dynamic described by Borges with the story of Pierre Menard.

Resumo Esse trabalho parte do princípio de Hagemeyer de que o filme é uma contra análise da sociedade, e, portanto, uma observação deste pode trazer compreensões acerca do contexto social em que foi produzido. O objetivo é estudar um possível posicionamento para o cinema na teoria dos simulacros de Baudrillard, a qual é utilizada como forma de compreender a sociedade, levando também em conta as relações com a mídia e a técnica, entrelaçando valores sígnicos, imaginários e fatores histórico-sociais.

This paper looks at how Saibai Islander (Torres Strait, Australia) male choreographers use popular, mass-produced films to construct identity and dance performances that wrestle with powerful, globally available models of masculinity. Their drawing on these films refers to a sense of the past where warriors are men endowed with unencumbered vigour. In a kind of historical excavation, Torres Strait Islander men have reshaped temporal and racial registers to form new identities and cultural formations. These uses of film are, I argue, not accidental, they form a political engagement that allows for mobility between global and locally available ideals of masculinity. While they express a nostalgia for an idealised warrior masculinity as a form of contemporary empowerment there is an underlying intertwining of war and performance that absorbs difference and relocates history into the present. Through this discussion I offer a critique of Jean Baudrillard's argument that representations no longer correspond to the world of objects and things.

L'intervento intende confrontare alcuni aspetti della concezione del corpo e del potere in Foucault e  Baudrillard. Benché diverse nella loro impostazione di fondo, entrambe le concezioni mettono in luce importanti aspetti del potere nel mondo contemporaneo. Per Foucault il biopotere, diversamente dalla sovranità tradizionale, basata sull'idea di contratto, investe direttamente la vita agendo sia sul corpo individuale sia sul corpo della specie, sostituendo alla legge la norma e al diritto la normalizzazione. Per Baudrillard, nel profluvio di immagini che riveste la realtà nella società post-moderna (televisione, cyberspazio, realtà virtuali), il potere subisce una trasformazione radicale, diventando potere dei simulacri. Derivanti dalla produzione e riproduzione tecnologica delle immagini, i simulacri funzionano secondo una logica della simulazione e mettono capo a un'“iperrealtà” che annulla le tradizionali distinzioni tra reale e immaginario, vero e falso, materiale e immateriale.  L'impostazione di Baudrillard permette così di cogliere aspetti che restano fuori dall'angolo visuale del metodo genealogico foucaultiano, e in particolare di comprendere il modo in cui si articola il rapporto tra corpo e potere nel mondo  mediatico, virtuale e digitale, dove il corpo, sempre proiettato su uno schermo, diventa  a sua volta un simulacro.