Hyperreality

One form of hyperreality that affects American culture is the idea of reality TV. Philosopher Jean Baudrillard once described a reality show as "a media illusion of live reality". Media tries to blend together different perceptions of reality in order to produce a show that it thinks the public will be responsive towards and entertained by. People see shows such as Laguna Beach, Survivor, Making the Band, etc and recieve their own interpretations from them that can effect there daily lives and their actual 'reality'. Baudrillard said that hyperreality “postulates that we live in a world where simulated feelings and experiences have replaced the real thing”.People can get so wrapped up in these TV shows that call themselves 'reality' but yet are only media-produced counterfeits. Reality TV gives us a false idea of how people should look, what they should talk like, how they should love and what they should live for and often, faithful viewers of the shows wind up dissappointed when their own lives do not reflect the same satisfaction that TV show characters seem to be recieving. Hyperreality is seeping in way to deep to every aspect of TV, commercials and everyday life and blurring the distinction between pure television entertainment and the lives of actual humans beings.





http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/related_news/2007_Mar_07_baudrillard_dead