Hyperreality: being aware of the gap of representation.
MSC3953
Conclusion:
Hyperreality has always been an intrinsic part of our society, from the early days where armed forces made use of “mock tanks’’ which they called a “Ghost Army” (Garber, 2021) in world war two, to “fool Hitler” and the entire German army (Garber, 2021). To the 21st century version of hyperreality, where ‘influencers’ create fake realities by editing themselves in places where they physically are not, a relevant example of this would be Sweedish, social media mogul, Johanna Olsson who was highly scrutinized for fabricating an entire holiday in Paris. (Olsson, 2021) (“An influencer has been caught Photoshopping herself in Paris — Fashion Journal”, 2018) Nevertheless, although this fabrication has had many forms along the years, spotting the truth has become potentially harder, some may argue in this day and age due to the endless fabrication tools we find in our pocket. This mediated world has manifested itself into such a hyperrealistic state, that distinguishing reality from simulation has become virtually impossible in some cases. The media holds great power in its representation of reality, and the truth, moulding how society views the world, however as Baudrillard explains, that hyperreality creates a desire for our reality to be a certain way, hence we fabricate what we want. It is fundamental for one to note, and be critical of the media he is exposed to as if not, he will always view society and his reality as less than, as until society makes use of social media, adverts are still shown, and money needs to be made- Hyperreality will always exist, society, however, must be critical and be aware of the gap of representation that Stuart Hall speaks about, as this is the only way one may escape the diminishing barrier of simulation and reality.
Watch this video for a better understanding of representation in the media according to Stuart hall-
An influencer has been caught Photoshopping herself in Paris — Fashion Journal. (2018). Retrieved 26 January 2021, from https://fashionjournal.com.au/fashion/here-we-go-again-influencer-gets-caught-photoshopping-herself-in-paris/.
Garber, M. (2021). Ghost Army: The Inflatable Tanks That Fooled Hitler. Retrieved 26 January 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/ghost-army-the-inflatable-tanks-that-fooled-hitler/276137/
Olsson, J. (2021). [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/johannaeolsson/
Stuart hall Representation & the media. (1997), 2–22.
