Post Class Zizek & Baudrillard Post

This week in class we discussed both the Zizek and Baudrillard readings. While I struggled with the Zizek reading and am still working on mastering its content, I enjoyed the Baudrillard reading a lot. Baudrillard stressed the idea of masking reality in his writing, I think I understood what he was saying better than some of the other theorists because what he was saying relates to Benjamin. Baudrillard suggested that our 'post modern condition' has distanced us from what we think is real, whether we know it or not...he claims there's some sort of multiplication in our society where the real is taken from its original concept and twisted as it moves through certain receptors in our communities (tv, online, word of mouth, etc); this is also where the successive phases of the image that he diagrams come into play.

I also though that what Baudrillard was saying could relate to Memento in the sense that Leonard shows us his trust in the 'real' (or what he thinks is real) through repetition and signals/messages. At the end of his reading we come to a number of conclusions, one in particular that he expands is that there's a difference between what is simulated and real. All too often in our society we see copies and reproductions of things - especially in Art where works are stolen, reprinted, modified, and done through individual perspectives.

Because I missed the pre-class post I wanted to write a little bit longer and elaborate on one of the quotes from the readings that stuck out to me/made me think of a very important personal experience in my life:

On p.231 Baudrillard wrote that "the 'terrorist's themselves did not do it primarily to provoke real material damage, but for the spectacular effect of it". While this quote is about 9/11 I found that it related to my sophomore year in High School when my best friend's brother was killed in a Football game right before homecoming. While I don't really want to get into specifics, Kurt (the brother) was illegally hit from behind during a game vs. the Hill school and went into a coma, he died 8 days later and the kid who hit him went on to UVA with a full scholarship for Lacrosse. I know the kid who hit Kurt (Ken Clausen) didn't mean to kill him or cause any lasting physical injuries, but he did cheap shot him - there was no reason to tackle him - it was unnecessary roughness and unfortunately in our society big hits like that are rewarded with cheers and laughter (even played over and over in the Media) until they realize the true effect of what happened.