Prior to commencing this project, hyperreality was foreign to me. I was unaware of its meaning or implications. However, since commencing work and simply defining what hyperreality is lead to a 4 month long process of engaging with this idea and continuously identifying aspects of the hyperreal realm apparent to me. Here is a collection of my thoughts:
IN SPORT
Some may suggest Hollywood actors represent a form of hyperreality. Pictures of them scattered across magazines and advertisements appear real, as there is nothing that suggests they aren’t. However, it is known that these images are severely altered not only by makeup applied to the stars but then again by programs such as Photoshop. These images we are bombarded with shape our perspective on how we should look and set certain standards that are unattainable in the ‘real’ world. As a male, it may be argued that I remain blissfully ignorant of the damaging effects these impossible standards created by a hyperreality can have. Nonetheless, surely male orientated parallels can be drawn to things such as sports stars that often appear as god-like or of possessing freakish abilities, of which can not be obtained by regular human beings but only by these ‘super human’ sports stars. One can look no further in sport than to the NBA basketball where Lebron James has been assigned the nickname ‘The King’. The monarchical name suggests he is in a position of superiority and power, commanded by the god-given right to rule the world of basketball. One look at the photo above, that portrays Lebron sitting in his throne surrounded by lions, further supports this notion that these figures are presented in a light much like Hollywood actors, existing as immeasurable creations of the media’s hyperreal realm.
MIKE TYSON
In addition to this, masculinity within the context of male sport is inherent across all forms of professional sport, and exists as a form of hyperreality. As a young boy, sport was a central aspect of life as I strove to emulate the success of figures such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Regardless of whether one plays sport or not, the achievements of these figures have been immortalized by the media and as such one strives to achieve the same success and differentiate from the masses by doing so. The media also glorifies the masculinity of professional sports starts, such as Mike Tyson, suggesting that to be successful in sport one must be aggressive and physical. In relation to Jean Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality, television is seen as one of the leading causes of this hyperreal image of sport stars. Baudrillard continues to explain that television overtakes reality, and disconnects the boundary between the reality that these sports stars are regular humans and the hyperreality of the sport stars as super human, god-like figures as presented by the media.
IN POLITICS
In light of the recent US political campaigns, it has come to my attention that there is an underlying form of hyperreality surrounding the public image of each candidate. This occurs much in the same way that the images of Hollywood actors are created under the influence of a media-laden society. Previous elections have seen George Bush portray an image of himself as a wholesome, down to earth person from Texas, but one must question whether he was like this before the election or if it was purposefully created before entering politics. The Obama campaign of 2008 saw the use of the recognizable poster (seen left) that attempted to emotionally hijack people by sparking dreams of change and ‘hope’. It was a symbol used by the campaign to identify Obama as the one that was to do such great things and was largely successful in doing so and to such an extent that it could be argued that the poster came to represent more to people than Obama’s actual policies. Jean Baudrillard suggests that replica’s of reality often come to mean more or have more value than the original itself. Obama’s poster has much the same effect as the poster of Che Guevara did in prompting a communist revolution. Here the poster of Che has come to be a form of simulacra that precedes the reality, adding to the hyperreal realm as suggested by Baudrillard in recounting Borges.
IN THE FUTURE
Jean Baudrillard continuously remarks that hyperreality is prevalent in technologically advanced societies. Thus, one questions what the implications of the future and inherent technological advancements hold for the hyperreal realm. Will rapid developments enhance the blurring between the real and the unreal such that we will no longer be able to consciously distinguish between the two?
Surely augmented and mediated reality technologies will serve as a medium for enhancing the effects of hyperreality. One can point to a recent performance by music producer Amon Tobin at the Sydney Opera House. Here the artist utilizes a lighting design called project mapping to present a somewhat dystopian look into what this technology has install for us.
Surely augmented and mediated reality technologies will serve as a medium for enhancing the effects of hyperreality. One can point to a recent performance by music producer Amon Tobin at the Sydney Opera House. Here the artist utilizes a lighting design called project mapping to present a somewhat dystopian look into what this technology has install for us.
This presents us with the possibility that augmented reality could possibly alter one’s own reality, such that we could augment the landscape of the human world. A further look into this technology proves that this capability is in the not too distant future.
Baudrillard’s concept suggests that a hyperreal state exists when the simulation of something becomes more important than the original, of which that possibility rings true here under such technologically advanced circumstances.
FURTHER THOUGHTS
- The US lost the the Vietnam War on the ground but won it in the hyperreal realm, through films such as Apocalypse Now and Platoon, which fantastically replay the war not as defeat by a determined enemy, but that of internal division.
- The Gulf War never took place, as the Western audience were only made aware of it through a series of hyperreal images on our television screens. There was no real enemy as Saddam Hussein was a former ally of the US, and the outcome was predictable. Similarities can be drawn to the war in Iraq, as another US venture into the Afghan desert, that we are only made aware of through mediated versions of reality on the news.
- Is Hyperreality more likely to occur and at a more rapid pace in more technologically advanced countries such as the USA or Australia rather than 3rd world countries? Does the speed of transfer to a hyperreal world accentuate this ‘blurring’ effect between the real and the unreal??
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