Baudrillard Hyperreality

Baudrillard Hyperreality

Most aspects of hyperreality can be thought of as "reality by proxy." Some examples are simpler: the McDonald's "M" arches create a world with the promise of endless amounts of identical food, when in "reality" the "M" represents nothing, and the food produced is neither identical nor infinite. (think back to Falling Down)

Baudrillard's idea of hyperreality was heavily influenced by phenomenology, semiotics, and Marshall McLuhan who coined the phrase 'the medium is the message'.  By this he means that the manner in which the message is mediated becomes more important than the meaning of the message itself.

Baudrillard Simulacra and Simulation

Think back 9/11 'it was like a Movie', Baudrillard gives this phenomenon a name, Simulacra Simulation. Baudrillard claims that our current society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that human experience is of a simulation of reality. He believes we cannot separate the image from the 'reality', when we drink coke we drink more than brown coloured water flavoured with sugar, we drink the marketing