Discuss Las Vegas in Relation to Hyperreality. Demonstrate This Through Specific Examples and at Least One Theoretical Approach. Include Relevant Illustrations to Support Argument.

What is hyperreality and what does it mean? Why is Las Vegas postulated to be ‘hyperreal’? Furthermore why is it that so many people in the world want to visit Las Vegas, and people return back to Las Vegas year after year, even though we all believe the city, and everything within it, is superficial and fake? Perhaps it is to do with nostalgia, or the fact that Las Vegas is very good at being a themed illusion which puts everyone into a trance and make them believe they are in fantasyland? Why is Las Vegas the way that it is and has been, and will it be as successful in years to come? Why does Las Vegas stand out within the theory of Hyperreality? It is because it epitomises the core functions of what hyperreality is as a theory.
¬ Hyperreality is difficult to separate from postmodernism, but hyperreality is about how the signification is more important that the authenticity, which means the meaning and experience is more important than the function. Why be satisfied with reality, when you can experience hyperreality which is “better” than the real thing. Nowadays we all live in a hyperreal world, many things are replicated and are a reconstruction of a copy of a copy, what was real is getting confused with the fake, so the true meaning or understanding of anything is getting tainted and often lost. For the purpose of this essay hyperreality is defined as “the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy”1. Therefore many of the real things are getting mingled with replicas and fakes causing hyperreality to grow and become a bigger part of our lives. Modern cultures and societies such as America and the UK, are alarmingly obsessed with duplicates so much so that the people within these societies aspire to live within or attain these “false” levels of satisfaction. How can one be truly happy or content, if one’s understanding or interpretation of the world and everything within it is twisted and manipulated and goals set upon a false set of

References: 3Venturi, R et al. (1994), “Learning From Las Vegas: The Forgotten Symbol Of Architectural Form”. Rev. ed. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press, 4Everything Must Go, (2009), “The Business of the Hyperreal: The ubiquity of imaginary Places” 5Everything Must Go, (2009), “The Business of the Hyperreal: The ubiquity of imaginary Places”. [Internet] Everything Must Go. Available from: [Accessed 14 December 2009.] Bibliography Huxstable, A. (1997), “Th¬e Unreal America”. United States, The News Press Publishing. Changing Minds, (2009), “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”. [Internet] Changing Minds. Available from: [Accessed 15th December 2009]. Devenney, M. (2009), “Lecture Notes”. Everything Must Go, (2009), “The Business of the Hyperreal: The ubiquity of imaginary Places”. [Internet] Everything Must Go. Available from: [Accessed 14 December 2009] Knowledgerush, (n.d), “Hyperreality” Merkhofer, R. (2007), “Hyperreality: The Authentic Fake”. [Internet], Media Crit. Available from: [Accessed 14 December 2009.] Goodman, R Venturi, R et al. (1994), “Learning From Las Vegas: The Forgotten Symbol Of Architectural Form”. Rev. ed. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press Eco, U Eco, U. (1995), Faith in Fakes: Travels in Hyperreality. New ed, Harcourt Brace and Court Publishing. Images “Ancient Egypt Pyramids”, (2007), [Online Image] “Caesars-Palace2”, (2005), [Online Image]. Available from: [Assessed 14 December 2009.] Huxstable, A Huxstable, A. (1997), “The Unreal America”. United States, The News Press, p. 78, Image. Venturi, R et al. (1994), “Learning From Las Vegas: The Forgotten Symbol Of Architectural Form”. Rev. ed. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press, pp.60-61, image. “The Strip”. (2008), [Online image]. Available from: [Accessed 12 December 2009].