In this weeks BCM112 lecture, we learned about hyperreality, simulation and spectacle. This blog post will focus on hyperreality, detournement and control in the media.
The word Hyperreality was first created by Jean Baudrillard, a French sociologist and cultural theorist. The following video details exactly what Jean discovered and the definition of hyperreality.
Jean was also known for his theory of ‘simulacrum‘, the theory that something replaces reality with its representation. These theories mainly pointed back to one point, that media images slowly but surely start forming a reality of their own, independent from any underlying reality.
These theories are visible in the media today. People are constantly getting drawn in and manipulated by the media. The online sphere has no rules and people have creative freedom to post whatever they want to, even if it isn’t true.
Detournemant, meaning ‘hijacking’ in french refers to the manipulating of media in order to grab the audience’s attention and show them the appalling side of society. Here are a few example:
References:
As/Is 2014, ‘McDonald’s Ads vs The Real Thing’, Buzzfeed, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx1IvvLuuEI&ab_channel=As%2FIs>
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia 2021, ‘Jean Baudrillard. Encyclopedia Britannica’, <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Baudrillard >
Medina, M 2011, ‘Détournement’, Dictation ePortfolio, Accessed 9 May 2021, <https://depaul.digication.com/key_terms_new_media_old_media/detournement>
“simulacrum”, Oxford Reference, Accessed 9 May 2021,<https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100507502>
Mitew, T 2021, ‘Internet paradigm IV: Hyperreality, Simulation, Spectacle’, online lecture, BCM112, University of Wollongong, viewed 3 May 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=6Eyz-3WY0m4&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=TeodorMitew>
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Hey Sophie! I really loved your video that you included in this post. It was super informative and presented an overview of the lecture information in a really engaging way! The only constructive feedback I have, would be to hyperlink your sources as oppose to officially referencing them… Well done!
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Thanks Olivia!
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Hi Sophie, I think the video works really well for the weekly topic. I just found the explanation of the concepts a bit confusing, in particular when you start talking about realities. Other than that, nice job!
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Thanks for the feedback!
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Interesting take on this week’s topic – I definitely enjoyed the video explanation! My blog post this week focused more on Baudrillard’s conceptualisation of Disneyland as an example of simulation however reading your blog has made me think I should’ve included some more information about the topic as a whole…
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