Reality and Representation - Postmodern Media
“Postmodern media blur the boundary between reality and representation.” Discuss this idea with reference to the area of the media you have studied.
Reality will never be the same for two different people. Jean Baudrillard believed that there is a problem with contemporary reality, he believed that the distinction between what is real and what is imagined is continually blurred and eroded. His theories are overly concerned with the idea that simulations of reality end up becoming “more real than the real”. For Baudrillard it would most certainly be the case that postmodern media does in fact blur the boundary between reality and representation. However, theorists such as Roland Barthes and John Fiske – who developed Barthes’ semic code – suggest that we don’t actually know what reality is anyway because all of our ideas of reality are just products of simulations we have seen in the media.
Charlie Brooker’s ‘Black Mirror’ (2011 - ) most certainly blurs the boundary between reality and representation; it takes real life situations and pushes them past their limits to a point where it becomes far more than reality. The third episode of season 1, ‘The Entire History of You’ looks at the concept of memories, something we encounter – intentionally or not – on a daily basis. Brooker contorts this concept to become a mechanical process is which the bits we can’t remember or piece together correctly in reality, are permanently stored on an internal chip. Similarly, the first episode of series 2, ‘Be Right Back’ looks at the unfortunate situation of losing someone you love, something everyone inevitably has to face at some point. Brooker takes this past its natural conclusion – being grieving and ultimately carrying on with your life – and looks at the idea of simulating the deceased’s personality. Brooker’s simulation of reality and his consequent blurring of this highlights the consequence of being taken out of the reality we know. It shows that if we change the
Reality will never be the same for two different people. Jean Baudrillard believed that there is a problem with contemporary reality, he believed that the distinction between what is real and what is imagined is continually blurred and eroded. His theories are overly concerned with the idea that simulations of reality end up becoming “more real than the real”. For Baudrillard it would most certainly be the case that postmodern media does in fact blur the boundary between reality and representation. However, theorists such as Roland Barthes and John Fiske – who developed Barthes’ semic code – suggest that we don’t actually know what reality is anyway because all of our ideas of reality are just products of simulations we have seen in the media.
Charlie Brooker’s ‘Black Mirror’ (2011 - ) most certainly blurs the boundary between reality and representation; it takes real life situations and pushes them past their limits to a point where it becomes far more than reality. The third episode of season 1, ‘The Entire History of You’ looks at the concept of memories, something we encounter – intentionally or not – on a daily basis. Brooker contorts this concept to become a mechanical process is which the bits we can’t remember or piece together correctly in reality, are permanently stored on an internal chip. Similarly, the first episode of series 2, ‘Be Right Back’ looks at the unfortunate situation of losing someone you love, something everyone inevitably has to face at some point. Brooker takes this past its natural conclusion – being grieving and ultimately carrying on with your life – and looks at the idea of simulating the deceased’s personality. Brooker’s simulation of reality and his consequent blurring of this highlights the consequence of being taken out of the reality we know. It shows that if we change the