Hyperreality blurs the line between what is real and fictional, with symbols and representations becoming more important than reality. It is exploited in advertising and can lead to people living in a state of hyperreality, disconnected from the real world.
Although there is some debate over the exact definition, hyperreality is generally defined as a condition in which what is real and what is fictional are blended together so that there is no clear distinction between where one ends and where one begins. the other. It is a postmodern philosophy that deals in part with semiotics, or the study of the signs that surround people in everyday life and what they really mean. French sociologist and philosopher Jean Baudrillard studied hyperreality to notice how humans were starting to accept simulated versions of reality. As the line between what is real and what is a misrepresentation blurred, he questioned whether anything was truly real in the age of mass media.
To understand how something real can be merged with what is imagined, one can use the example of a royal crown. The king’s crown symbolizes his title and his power; the crown itself is meaningless, but has taken on the meaning society has given it as a representation of the monarchy. The reality of the crown and the hyper-reality of what it represents – wealth, power, fame – are inextricably intertwined.
In the modern world, much of “reality” is somehow mediated. Information is edited and packaged into news programs, so what is real is often processed and shaped to fit a particular narrative structure. In hyperreality, the copy becomes more valuable than the real thing, and what something symbolizes is more important than what it really is. How the use of money has changed is a useful example, since what was once an exchange of two things of similar value, for example the bartering of two objects of equal value, or the exchange of precious metals for commodities, is has become the buying and selling of digital ones and zeros by credit or debit card for goods whose price may have little connection with their actual value.
Hyperreality can also take the form of proxy reality, where a person takes on board someone else’s version of reality as their own. Some people who have watched soap operas for a long time develop a view of interpersonal relationships that is skewed by the way soap opera writers describe characters, for example. Some people begin to relate to these extreme dramatic relationships as real and begin to judge relationships and social situations from this heightened lens of reality.
Some theorists argue that more and more people in modern culture exist in a state of hyperreality, often engaging more with the hyperreal world than the real world. Media images, the Internet, computer games and virtual worlds are taking people out of the real world more often and for longer periods of time than ever before. As a result, their connection to the real world blurs with the unreal and it can become more important to assume the symbols than to reach reality; some people, for example, may believe they can be rock stars or celebrities just by acting like one.
Hyperreality is exploited in advertising for just about everything, using a pseudo-world to allow people to be the characters they want to be. Advertising sells to audiences through strong, desirable images, and many consumers buy the brand’s point of view and products. If the consumer wants to be seen as a sex icon, he should buy the most expensive jeans worn or designed by his favorite celebrity. While the clothing itself has limited actual value, it symbolizes a state of being that some consumers desire.
Whenever a person enters a large commercial area with a certain theme, they may enter a hyperreal world. Theme parks like Disneyworld® or casinos in Las Vegas are hyper-realities in which a person can get lost while their money lasts. There is no reality in these places, just a construct designed to represent reality, allowing the person to temporarily exist in a world outside of what is real.
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