The Precession of Simulacra
A representation is something we know to be a copy, that is preceded by something real. A simulacra on the other hand imitates something real, but acts as a substitution. It transforms the real, or calls it into question.
the hyperreal are simulacra, where it doesn’t matter that they are simulacra. It’s not that they are indistinguishable, it’s just that it doesn’t matter if they are real or not.
Joe Biden exist as a real person, but most know him as a series of images, brands, and PR campaigns. That is a simulacra.
The Venetian canals in Las Vegas are a simulacra for those who cannot afford to go to Venice.
Notes from the chapter:
- simulacra, when they become indistinguishable from reality, form the hyperreal
- we live in a world where simulacra don't refer to any specific reality
- The simulacra becomes the real, but when simulacra is real, it can be replicated indefinitely without reason (it doesn’t have to refer to any reality, so why be logical), insulated from death)
- Simulators force reality to act like the simulations
- Unsure if Baudrillard means that simulators bend reality through exerting power, or if people become so used to simulacra that they perceive reality differently.
- simulation inherently dissolves the real
- resurrection creates simulacra
- Disneyland as a simulacra is a simulation of the third order.
- the false resurrection of tradition
- post truth politics
- I have absolutely no idea what Baudrillard is getting at in “The End of the Panopticon”
- The world has spent trillions on security systems in order to prevent nuclear war, but those systems are really to maintain stability (and prevent more realistic disasters from occurring)
- I also have no idea what he’s getting at in “The orbital and the nuclear”. It’s a pretty unique lens towards the cold war he wrote this in.
