Reality vs. Simulation
The loss of ‘real’ is something that has haunted me for these last 5 or so years of my life— ever since social media became popular in high school. With the rise of social media, perceived reality became far from real. Although this is minor on the scale of Baudrillard and Zizek’s theory, it has taken up a big part of my life and I think it can be a parallel model to what society experiences in the news or any other media outlet.
We have become a culture that embraces pleasure and chooses to ignore pain. Every day people choose to glorify the positive aspects of our lives. We share funny things on our Snapchat stories; we post highlights of our weekend on Instagram; and our favorite celebrities or influencers do the same.
As Rollins College students, another aspect of our ‘reality’ is that we live in beautiful Winter Park. We get to see the highlight reel of Florida every day and we have a whole staff of people working to maintain it. I’m not sure about you all, but when I went back home freshman year during fall break I felt punked—why did my house all of the sudden seem smaller and more rustic than I remembered?
When we surround ourselves with ideals and pleasure we crave spectacle. We are always looking for excitement. In some cases, this is the bigger and brighter thing. A common thought process of Rollins students: I have settled in Winter Park, so now I need to go study abroad in Spain or New Zealand. I need to go on an Immersion to experience poverty. Baudrillard might say that we are shielded of reality—so much that our reality has become simulation. He defines simulacrum as a copy without an original. For example, living in a reality that is not actually a reality because it is better than true experience or falsified in some way.
Furthermore, I love Disney, but it is a prime example of a simulation. When I am in Disney with my family, I revel in its simulation. This is not necessarily a bad thing—I think everyone deserves a vacation, but I realized my naive assumptions about its reality/promise of pleasure when I went on an alternative spring break trip last year to Memphis, TN.
I spent a week in Memphis with other Rollins students and we woke up every morning and tutored low children for their upcoming standardized testing. These kids came from areas of Memphis that were severely struggling. The girl I was working with told me in tears how her cousin was killed earlier that year. Another boy told one of the other Rollins students how his dog was shot and killed a few years ago. Then, I came home to Florida to meet my mom in Disney for the end of my break. I could not help it—I got to Disney and broke down. The juxtaposition of reality (Memphis) and simulation (Disney) was too much.
Simulation had mystified my experience with the world, and the veil was lifted. I was reminded of this experience when I read Zizek’s reference to The Truman Show and other films in which the main character[s] “gradually discovers that the whole town is a fake staged to keep him satisfied” (Critical and Cultural Theory Reader, 232).
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