Post on Reading

Jean Baudrillard wrote “The Procession of The Simulacra” and speaks of the not existent line between reality and fiction. A simulacra is a copy without an original. Much like Walter Benjamin’s idea of mechanical reproduction, a simulacra is not an original. A simulacra has no history, aura, or authenticity. The difference between a simulacra and a mechanical reproduction is that a simulacra has lost its original. Baudrillard uses Disneyland as an example of a simulacra. Disneyland is based on reality, but because it exists in a land of ‘imagination’ it erases all bad history. Disney does not mention slavery, lynching, or any other bad parts of American history. This deprivation of history changes Disneyland from a copy, to a simulacra because it does not replicate anything real. No town or city exists without history. Disneyland is a replication of a fictional city. Baudrillard further discusses the relationship between reality and fiction by uncovering the true agenda of Disneyland. An example of how Disneyland is a simulacra is Epcot. Epoct mimics countries and cultures from around the world. However, the cultures in which Disney chose to represent do not really exist. In ‘Mexico’ everyone wear sombreros and tequila products are sold at almost every stand. This is not an accrete representation of Mexico’s culture, in fact the detail Disney chose to focus one have little to nothing to do with the culture they claim to be portraying. From what I could comprehend of the text, our world if filled with simulacra, because simulacras are copies without an original, their presence is fiction and has no relation to reality. The major problem is that the mainstream public/ audience cannot or does not decipher what is a simulacra and what is real. This is related to the concept of versilatude, in which the wall between reality and fiction has collapsed. To decipher between what is real and was is not in today’s society is a daunting task. Overall, Jean Baudrillard asks the question, What is Real? Sadly, this question has no clear cut answer primarily due to the abundance of simulacras in our culture today.