Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Simulacra and Simulations

    Of course, as soon as I read anything that talks about simulations, my brain immediately goes to the computer game "The Sims".  Baudrillard does give more thoughtful examples than this, but truly this game fits the rules.  While you are in control of a sort of alternate reality, it also kind of pokes fun at reality in the way that the Sim characters act and behave.  It does bear some relation to our current reality, however it is so different at the same time that it could never be mistaken for our reality.
  The definition of Simulacrum via dictionary.com is an effigy, image, or representation.  This goes along with Baudrillard's example of Disneyland as a model of simulation.  He mentions the illusions of the different worlds, such as future world and the frontier.  This reminded me greatly of my trip to Disneyworld when I was in high school. We went to Epcot that week that we were there, and the place was unlike anywhere I'd ever visited.  The ride inside the giant golf ball like structure was like a blast back into the past.  It was so funny to see what people 50 years ago thought the future would be like today, and what their simulation of that future was like.  So interesting now that I'm reflecting upon that now.

Edit 9/19/12: I felt the need after a discussion with two of my classmates to add to this post.  After rereading a good portion of this, I was interested in the part that talks about the difference in worshiping a god, and the worship of the image of a god.  In the few times I've read the bible, I always remember how angry God became when people worshiped false idols.  It's such an interesting concept though, because even though people are thinking of God when they worship, still in churches there are giant crosses and other religious artifacts that people seem to 'worship' as well.  What is the difference between worshiping the god, and worshiping whatever item might represent god? 
  

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