David - Florence
The idea of a hyper real state also grabs my attention. I get the impression that Baudriallard is saying that we are so influenced by the media and the world has become so accessible through the media that we are no longer seeing the world through experience. We are seeing a modified and edited version of the world. I think Lindsey's example of the war image is a perfect way to show how the media can manipulate what we see as 'real'. To truly experience something real, we would have to see it with our own eyes or we are not getting the full picture. I think he would also argue that simulacra is not really the 'real' thing, again it is a modified version of something that has already existed. I guess my question is, what is real? Maybe this era of simulacra and media is what is real in today's era.
I completely agree with tlloyd. I am intrigued by the same issues mentioned in her blog. In addition to her comment, I want to note a few things in relation to it. The factors mention in relation to the real are extremely necessary in portraying reality of something. We talked about mechanical reproduction and how Benjamin believes specific elements like the ones mentioned in the blog post make an experience or lack thereof. Where is the “aura” of anything if it is a copy? The presence of mechanical reproduction in our society is everywhere and impossible to escape, but does this also mean we have lost touch with reality?
ReplyDeleteLike Baudrillard mentions the contributing factors that make something the original are taken from us when we can’t recognize them. Like we discussed in class in regards to the Colin Powell mishap or the statue of David mentioned in the post I’m responding to how do we really know unless we are told. And then even if we are told, how do we know if it is true? In the beginning of the semester we established in class the difference between truth and reality. So where does this leave us as a society?
Like tlloyd mentions, it seems more than fair to assume that the media and are lack of desire of wanting to know the real has taken over any hope of getting back to a society where we can distinguish between the real. Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of advertising the copy as a destination such as the tower in Vegas, the statue was removed and only the original was allowed to stand? I wonder how it became acceptable for such things to even exist in society so much so that even members of our community, elected officials don’t even want us to know the real and therefore keep us from the truth.