Simulacra or Hyper-Real?

Chris texted me a few minutes ago with a Baudrillard question. I somewhat convinced him to purchase his own copy of Simulacra and Simulation, and he’s hopped on this hyper-real crusade with me. The text was: Simulacra is a copy without an original, right? I said no, because simulacra are a representation of something, real or not. A simulacrum in itself is saying that this object, or perhaps idea, is representing something of greater value than the models suggest. What Chris was referring to is the hyper-real, when an object is copied without a source. He replied: But is what I said the right way to say/understand it for simpler minds. Again, absolutely not. One acknowledges the significant connection of the object, and the other challenges it. I’m going to give two examples. First, a simulacrum, for those of you who practice any of the Christian faiths, typically you would see the image of the crucifix in your church. For those who believe, it would represent something greater than two pieces of wood. Second, I’m going to throw my favorite film at you, The Matrix:

Simulacra and Simulation is the book Neo opens in The Matrix right before he enters the rabbit hole. The third movie ends with a grim exposure, showing that The Matrix itself was a hyper-real and the human mind is turned into an agent of the system. Without meaning, the agent dies, thus the need for the human mind dies. The Matrix is a hyper-real for the human mind, a fiction to simulate the freedom from a physical bondage.

Read Full Post »