Simulacra: An Analysis of Jean Baudrillard’s Theory of Signs
Simulacra: An Analysis of Jean Baudrillard’s Theory of Signs Postmodernist thought is characterized by its skeptical interpretations of literature and philosophy, one of the most influential postmodernists is French sociologist, Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard’s thought emphasizes the, “reversal of the commonsense understanding of the relation of culture to nature, of sign to the thing signified,” (1730) or that culture is built on top of nature, and that signs have taken priority over the signified. In the philosophical work, The Process of Simulacra, Baudrillard focuses his criticism on how society has substituted reality with symbols and signs, and that life is but a simulation of reality. He argues that true reality is no more and is replaced with hyperreality, or a grey area between reality and representations of reality. Baudrillard uses the term simulacrum, or a fake representation, to denote his way of viewing signs. In The Process of Simulacra, Baudrlliard uses three distinct examples, a map, God, and Disneyland to explain how society views signs and reality. Baudrillard’s first example of his theory is the image of a map. Baudrillard states that, “The territory no longer precedes the map, nor survives it. Henceforth, it is the map that precedes the territory,” (1733). This example represents the idea that culture is built on top of nature, here the map represents culture, and the land that is being mapped denotes nature or reality. He goes on to say, “It is the map that engenders the territory and if we were to revive the fable today, it would be the territory whose shreds are slowly rotting across the map,” (1733). This excerpt of text speaks to the notion that if the landscape changes, yet the map remains the same, the symbol of the map then becomes reality within the eyes of society, taking them into the realm of hyperreality. For example, if a mapmaker draws a map so precise that it shows every possible detail, society will then make the symbol of