Baudrillard and the Culture Industry by Amirhosein Khandizaji

Author:Amirhosein Khandizaji
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Production is the dominant schema in the industrial era.

Simulation is the dominant schema in the current code-governed phase.

The first-order simulacrum operates on the natural law of value, the second-order simulacrum on the market law of value, and the third-order simulacrum on the structural law of value” (Ibid, p. 50).

According to Baudrillard, the counterfeit emerged through the collapse of the feudal system by the bourgeois order and the emergence of competition to possess signs of social distinction. In a caste system or a society based on rank, signs are fixed and determined. So, they have no mobility. They are controlled and protected by prohibition and sanctions. As a result, the counterfeit is not easily possible. Here, each sign comes from and reflects the real and reciprocal relations between people. Therefore, signs are not arbitrary. “The arbitrariness of the sign begins when, instead of bonding two persons in an inescapable reciprocity, the signifier starts to refer to a disenchanted universe of the signified , the common denominator of the real world, toward which no-one any longer has the least obligation” (Baudrillard 1998b, p. 50). Through the liberation of signs from symbolic and fixed relations, an opportunity opened up for competition among people and classes to achieve them. This was the time for the emergence of the counterfeit . In the first order, representation is an artificial and fake copy which is made from the original . Here, the copy is trying to become just like the original. But the fact is that no matter how similar a copy is to the original, there is still a clear distinction between them. The second order of simulacra starts with the Industrial Revolution and continues until the middle of the twentieth century. During that time, reproduction of identical copies, which were exactly like the original, became possible by using reproductive technologies. That was the time that series emerged. Here, the distinction between original and copy disappeared and therefore talking about originals and copies made no sense anymore. The third order is the sphere of digitality , computer, virtual reality , “cybernetic control , generation through models”, and codes. Here, everything is absorbed into simulation . In this stage, there is no reality or original from which a copy can be made. Everything is a simulacrum . There is no counterfeit or series anymore. “There are models from which all forms proceed according to modulated differences. Only affiliation to the model has any meaning since nothing proceeds in accordance with its end any more, but issues instead from the model, the ‘signifier of reference’, functioning as a foregone, and the only credible conclusion” (Ibid, p. 56).

In any case, Baudrillard’s main discussions about simulation can be found in his well-known book Simulacra and Simulation. This book can be considered one of the clearest examples of Baudrillard’s postmodern orientation. Here, he talks about the world in which simulation has invaded all aspects of our lives and controls them. In such a world, media, cybernetic order , models, and codes play significant roles.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.