The simulacrum, therefore, has its own ontological autonomy as a copy without a model. It will appear in such a different form at the tenth photocopy to the point of being unreadable. Imagine, for example, photocopying a book ten successive times (photocopy, then photocopy of the photocopy, etc.). The simulacrum is a copy of a copy whose relation with the original has been so dissipated that it can barely be called a copy. In 3-4, on the other hand, the “sovereign difference” between the real and the simulation is under question. Here lies the problem of ideology and political propaganda. For instance, a landscape can be portrayed in a clear photograph (1), or with the artificial addition of filters (2). We can think of 1-2 as belonging to the order of representation, whereby an object can be depicted either accurately or falsely. Signs merely connect to other signs without a material referent. No relation to any basic reality: in the order of pure simulation, there is no relation to any original reality whatsoever.Mask of the absence of a basic reality: in the order of “sorcery,” the image pretends to represent a real object/event, but it is a copy with no original.Perversion of a basic reality: in the order of “evil” appearance, an object/event is portrayed falsely or misrepresented.Reflection of a basic reality: what he calls the order of “good” appearance involves the faithful representation of a real object/event.What does, however, the author mean by “simulacra and simulations?” He outlines four types of images: In other words: the medium is the message.ĭumping Core, Gretchen Bender, 1984, via MoMA Baudrillard warns us that media are not merely means of communication: they are a mode of representation and simulation of reality. The spread of television networks, cinema, and media reports creates a situation in which the narration becomes somewhat independent from the narrated event. We live in a world where signs and symbols assume an independent existence and exercise a great influence on our lives. This seminal text outlines how the production of signs, narratives, and images in mass media leads to the inability to perceive what is real. This element leads the Frenchman to break from Marxism in 1973, with The Mirror of Production: in it, he declares the end of the modern era of material production and the coming of the postmodern age based on the production of signs.īut it is Simulacra and Simulations (1981) that grants him a unique position in the history of philosophy. However, he introduces a third important category: sign value. This leads to commodity fetishism: the lay religion centered on the purchase and accumulation of goods regardless of their use. In The System of objects (1968), he provides a critical analysis of consumer society, in which objects lose their intrinsic value at the expense of their exchange value. Although he is most commonly associated with postmodernism, the roots of his philosophy are Marxist. Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) is one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Jean Baudrillard: The philosopher of the media age Jean Baudrillard, artist unknown, via AOS (art is open source)
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