Baudrillard, simulation and hyperreality

Overview

Baudrillard's proposition about images in a postmodern age, hyperreality outside the screen and pastiche and why is it considered postmodern.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Which theorist argued that reality and simulation can no longer be distinguished?

   Model answer

   Jean Baudrillard made that argument. Baudrillard claimed that the boundary between the real world and the media has collapsed.

2. 2

   Define simulacrum.

   Model answer

   A simulacrum is a copy for which no original exists. Simulacra refer only to other images.

3. 3

   What is hyperreality?

   Model answer

   Hyperreality is a condition in which media images seem more real than reality itself. The copy becomes the standard against which life is judged.

4. 4

   State Baudrillard's proposition about images in a postmodern age.

   Model answer

   Baudrillard argued that the images surrounding us no longer refer to anything real. Signs circulate without an anchor.

5. 5

   What does postmodernism mean as a term in media studies?

   Model answer

   Postmodernism describes a culture of surface, quotation and blurred boundaries. Distinctions between high and popular culture break down.

6. 6

   How does reality television illustrate Baudrillard's argument?

   Model answer

   Reality television stages events for cameras and then presents them as unmediated. Participants perform a version of themselves for an audience.

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