![]() In the following screenshot, the protagonist is surrounded by hungry velociraptors. The most popular example of the fourth phase is Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park”. The final stage is simulation where the sign has “no relation to any reality whatsoever”. The signifier is supposed to convince the students and faculty there is a real threat to our safety, but we all know there is no fire. ![]() If you have ever experienced a fire drill in your school when everyone leaves their desks and makes their way to the assembly point, that shrill and awful sound from the fire alarm is one of the best examples of this third phase of “sorcery”. These are signs which claim to represent reality, but they are merely copies where the original reference does not exist. Baudrillard labelled this phase the “order of sorcery” because the sign “plays at being an appearance”. The third the stage “masks the absence of a profound reality”. ![]() If you were to read some of the one-star reviews, you might even say the images reach the third stage of simulacra. We can easily argue the official images uploaded by the holiday companies distort reality because they are representing the hotels and restaurants in a way that does not reflect the real-life experience. Have we always been consumers rather than the audience? It is also worth noting Kraft sponsored “Music Hall” on NBC TV in the late 1960s when this advertisement appeared in magazines. Therefore, the signifier here is a corruption and distortion of reality. Let’s assume the factory-made sauce was not actually smoked over burning hickory logs but simply stirred in an industrial-sized vat. The advertisement claims the sauce “simmers real cookout flavour”, but does that phrase denote a meaningful comment on the sauce’s taste? The sauce is available in “hot or hickory smoke” flavours. Kraft Barbecue Sauce Advertisement (1968) The following advertisement for Kraft Barbecue sauce was created in 1968 for an American audience: Is anything really genuine or fresh? The next time you order “homemade” lasagne in a restaurant, ask the chef where the meal was prepared and cooked. Baudrillard called this distortion of reality the “order of maleficence”. The second stage “masks and denatures a profound reality” because the sign takes an “evil appearance” and is no longer a faithful copy of the original message. Presumably, this user-generated content reflects their true experiences of those holiday destinations. ![]() Think about the traveller photos uploaded to Tripadvisor documenting their hotel rooms, walks along the beach, and posing beside a famous monument. At this point, we accept the sign’s authenticity because it resembles its real-life equivalent and referent.Īn unedited video recording of a concert is an excellent example of this first stage because it is a faithful copy of the original moment. ![]() Baudrillard described the image having a “good appearance” so the “representation is of the sacramental order”. The first stage of simulacra is a “reflection of a profound reality”. The Four Phases of the Image The Sacramental Order We will then try to illustrate his concept of the simulacrum with specific examples of each stage to help you get to grips with this important media studies theory. Since simulation refers to the inescapable blurring of reality and representation, we are going to begin with an explanation of the theory in terms of signs. In “Simulation and Simulacra”, which was first published in 1981, Jean Baudrillard concluded we were now living in a simulation constructed by the media. When your personal data is being sold around the world, you are no longer the audience. It seems every website wants to know your location and allow notifications. Our experiences are cropped and filtered before they are posted on social media. Think about how advertising uses signs which do not reflect the real world, but still generates desire for those products. Jean Baudrillard argued it was increasingly difficult to separate representation from reality because we live in a culture of consumerism where the electronic mass media maintains the “illusion of an actuality” to keep us shopping and entertained. ![]()
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