Baudrillard and popular culture

Abstract

Simulation is a key aspect of contemporary society. The idea of the simulacrum dates back to Plato's questioning of the nature of representation. It has also been addressed by thinkers such as Debord, Virilio, Boorstin, Eco, and Deleuze. However, it is primarily associated with the writings of Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard's central thesis rests on the concept of simulation defined not as a copy or representation of the real, but rather as eclipsing the real. Simulation becomes the underlying structure in contemporary society, substituting the real by the hyperreal. Baudrillard traces a genealogy of the simulacrum that is initiated by the dominance of production, then shifts to consumption, and in turn to reproduction, and connects these three stages to phenomena in cultural theory. He is mainly concerned with the ways in which simulacra alter one's understanding of the world and he attempts to provide a new way of conceiving the world. Baudrillard's concept of the simulacrum has been greatly misunderstood, with critics claiming that Baudrillard completely denies the existence oi the real world. However, through a close examination of the concept of simulation, Baudrillard emerges as a proponent of the real. By way of connecting his ideas to popular culture, it becomes clear that Baudrillard's writing serves as a challenge to the simulacrum and a means of uncovering the real. Hence, the underlying idea in Baudrillard is not an outright denial of the real world, but rather a way of understanding the real in a world dominated by signs and simulations. Baudrillard's philosophy is crucial to understanding a world that is being overshadowed by simulation. His ideas are pertinent to understanding today's age of digital media, information technologies, virtual reality, and computing.