[Vision2020] Simulation, Hypermarkets, Hypercommodity

[Nick Gier]

Greetings from Crescent Lake in the Olympics,

I'm on vacation and I've not read my e-mail for 
five days (that's really hard!), but I just had 
to remind my good friend Joe that there are many 
kinds of postmodernism and constructive 
postmodernism is not anti-analytic. It's leading 
philosopher, David Griffin, is a expert logician as well as metaphysician.

The only form of postmodernism (the French form) 
that people talk about is the worst version of it.

Nick Gier

At 09:33 AM 7/22/2007, you wrote:
>Ted, To my knowledge, Baudrillard's philosophy 
>has not been mentioned by my students, though it 
>wouldn't surprise me if I missed a reference. As 
>I mentioned, I tend not to focus on ethics or 
>political theory in my classes since my own 
>specializations are in the areas metaphysics and 
>epistemology. And post-modernism is 
>anti-analytic, so it is hard for me to get my 
>head wrapped around it. I do plan to explore the 
>connection between Baudrillard and the Matrix 
>given what you've said. Your comment about the 
>Matrix not being totally ‘fake’ is an 
>interesting one. There is a difficult article on 
>this topic -- The Matrix as Metaphysics, David 
>Chalmers -- available on the Matrix website: 
>http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/phi.html 
>The site contains several nice essays written by 
>contemporary philosophers. Among my favorites 
>are: Dream Skepticism; Brain-In-A-Vat 
>Skepticism; The Experience Machine, Christopher 
>Grau What’s So Bad About Living in the Matrix, 
>James Pryor Plato’s Cave and the Matrix, John 
>Partridge Neo’s Freedom
 Whoa!, Michael 
>McKenna Wakke up! - Gnosticism & Buddhism and 
>the Matrix, Francis Flannery-Dailey & Rachel 
>Wagner The first reference -- a set of three 
>essays -- is my favorite and is the most 
>accessible. These and other essays are collected 
>together in the first book noted below; I’ve 
>used the second book for a class before and it 
>is very good, too. The Matrix and Philosophy: 
>Welcome to the Desert of the Real, edited by 
>William Irwin (Open Court, 2002) Philosophers 
>Explore The Matrix, edited by Christoper Grau 
>(Oxford University Press, 2005) Lastly, I 
>recently came across a set of essays on 
>Baudrillard and the Matrix, which I hope to 
>explore in the coming weeks, on this website: 
>http://altreligion.about.com/library/bl_matrix.htm 
>Thanks! Best, Joe ---- Ted Moffett 
><starbliss at gmail.com> wrote: ============= Joe 
>et. al. What a surprise.  The best film for a 
>Philosophy class? Though the Matrix films have 
>some rather silly flaws as science fiction, and 
>a few over wrought scenes more befitting of a 
>Bruce Willis "Die Hard" action flick, than a 
>film with the depth of thought that, for 
>example, Bergman achieves, your list of 
>questions explored in the film shows that the 
>Wachowski Brothers did a good job making a 
>mainstream commercial movie, with all the flaws 
>this usually implies, and still sneaking in 
>enough substance to provoke thought beyond the 
>nail biting suspense of "will Neo save Zion from 
>the machines!" Of course Reeves is a slouch 
>compared to McQueen, but we are in the age of 
>the Third Order of Simulacra, the death of the 
>real, thus McQueen is a quaint abstraction, 
>while Reeves is a hyperreal media 
>simulation.  The kids go nuts! Given the 
>explicit reference to Baudrillard in the Matrix, 
>I can't but wonder if you mention Baudrillard's 
>philosophical relevance to the themes in this 
>film to your students?  And it seems that if you 
>do not mention Baudrillard, the more careful 
>student observers of the film might bring 
>Baudrillard up for discussion.  The hollowed out 
>copy of "Simulacra and Simulation" in the Matrix 
>is deliberately and plainly featured in the 
>film, and what first prompted my reading of 
>Baudrillard's work.  I have not been much of a 
>follower of European post modernist thinkers. 
>Regarding the dilemma of the fake life with a 
>lot pleasure in the Matrix or an authentic life 
>with less pleasure in the real world, it is 
>interesting that the liberation of Neo from the 
>Matrix was not presented to him as this sort of 
>ethical quandary, or even offering more pleasure 
>in the real world compared to less in the 
>Matrix!  He was not explicitly told he was 
>living in a computer generated simulation from 
>which Morpheus and his crew could free him.  He 
>was offered a choice of being shown the truth, 
>almost tricked, it would seem, because if Neo 
>had really known what he was in for he might 
>have taken the blue pill! Actually, the Matrix 
>is not a totally "fake" life.  Consider that the 
>brain stimulation that the Matrix induces to 
>simulate a "real" life is real; on a 
>neurological/chemical basis it is as real as 
>what a brain receiving sensations in a real life 
>would be undergoing, in theory, a perfect 
>simulation not distinguishable from "reality" 
>unless the plug is pulled. Note also that humans 
>interact with other humans in the Matrix...This 
>means there is a "real" aspect to the Matrix 
>that is not totally a simulation. Peoples' 
>brains are relating to each other via the 
>intermediary of the computer intelligence 
>providing the background, aspects of the script 
>(the computer generated agents appear), offering 
>the simulation of their bodies interacting and 
>moving, etc; and the humans are making "choices" 
>about how they interact as they make love, talk, 
>work together, etc.  Recall that "choice" was 
>the flaw in the Matrix program that gave rise to 
>the more "intuitive" Oracle program designed to 
>cope with the subsequent "systemic failure," 
>according to the Architect, the artificial 
>intelligence master Matrix programmer. I suspect 
>if a Matrix virtual world hookup were possible 
>now, people would pay big bucks for this 
>ultimate interactive virtual game!  And some 
>would not want to pull the plug.  Scary, 
>yes?  This is the future we are heading for, it 
>seems. Baudrillard is/was (I guess he died this 
>year?) onto something... Here are a few short 
>paragraphs attempting to explain Baurdrillard's 
>concepts of simulation, simulacra and the 
>hyperreal, along with a chart explicating 
>Baudrillard's orders of simulacra that can help 
>immensely to get a handle on his thinking.  Note 
>the bottom paragraph where the quote in the 
>Matrix film spoken by Morpheus referencing 
>Baudrillard ("The desert of the real") is 
>explained: 
>http://publish.uwo.ca/~dmann/baudrillard1.htm 
>Going back to the beginning of his "postmodern" 
>phase, Baudrillard starts his important essay 
>"The Precession of the Simulacra" by recounting 
>the feat of imperial map-makers in an story by 
>Jorge Luis Borges who make a map so large and 
>detailed that it covers the whole empire, 
>existing in a one-to-one relationship with the 
>territory underlying it. It is a perfect replica 
>of the empire. After a while the map begins to 
>fray and tatter, the citizens of the empire 
>mourning its loss (having long taken the map - 
>the simulacrum of the empire - for the real 
>empire). Under the map the real territory has 
>turned into a desert, a "desert of the real." In 
>its place, a *simulacrum*of reality - the frayed 
>mega-map - is all that's left. The term 
>"simulacrum" goes all the way back to Plato, who 
>used it to describe a false copy of something. 
>Baudrillard has built his whole post-1970s 
>theory of media effects and culture around his 
>own notion of the simulacrum. He argues that in 
>a postmodern culture dominated by TV, films, 
>news media, and the Internet, the whole idea of 
>a true or a false copy of something has been 
>destroyed: all we have now are *simulations *of 
>reality, which aren't any more or less "real" 
>than the reality they simulate. In our culture, 
>claims Baudrillard, we take "maps" of reality 
>like television, film, etc. as more real than 
>our actual lives - these "simulacra" (hyperreal 
>copies) precede our lives. Our television 
>"friends" ( e.g. sit-com characters) might seem 
>more alive to us than their flesh-and-blood 
>equivalents ("did you see what 
>Jerry/Rachel/Frasier did last night?"). We 
>communicate by e-mail, and relate to video game 
>characters like Lara Croft better than our own 
>friends and family. We drive on freeways to 
>shopping malls full of identical chain stores 
>and products, watch television shows about film 
>directors and actors, go to films about 
>television production, vote for ex-Hollywood 
>actors for president (is he really an actor? Or 
>a politician? It doesn't matter). In fact, we 
>get nervous and edgy if we're away too long from 
>our computers, our e-mail accounts, our cell 
>phones. Now the *real* empire lays in tatters, 
>the hyerreal map still quite intact. We have 
>entered an era where third-order simulacra 
>dominate our lives, where the image has lost any 
>connection to real things.   *Orders of 
>Simulacra* *Phases of the Image* *Utopias & 
>Science-Fiction* 1. * Symbolic Order:* Society 
>is organized as a fixed system of signs 
>distributed according to rank and obligation 
>(e.g. in the feudal era a peasant couldn't 
>become the King). The question of reality 
>doesn't arise: the meaning of signs is already 
>established in advance (by God or power 
>structures). 1. Art reflects a basic reality 
>(see "Precession of the Simulacra" for an 
>extended discussion). Example: Gothic paintings 
>depict the birth of Jesus as the true son of 
>God, replete with signs of his divinity (the 
>Three Wise Men, a halo over the Madonna's head, 
>etc.). 1. No need for utopian or science-fiction 
>writing: the utopian order already exists in the 
>here and now. 2. *First Order of Simulacra: *The 
>Early Modern period, from the Renaissance to the 
>Industrial Revolution. A competition for the 
>meaning of signs starts. Simulacra aim to 
>restore an ideal image of nature. Fakes and 
>counterfeits enter the scene: baroque angels, 
>concrete chairs, theatre, fashion. But true 
>originals underlie the fakes. 2. Art masks and 
>perverts a basic reality. Example: baroque 
>paintings of an impossibly beautiful Jesus 
>ascending to the heavens like Superman, with the 
>Madonna watching with a blissful look on her 
>face. 2. Utopias: Transcendental or romantic 
>dreams, counterfeit copies of the real world. 
>"If only we got everything right, life would be 
>beautiful!" Thomas More's *Utopia. *Francis 
>Bacon's *New Atlantis.* 3. *Second Order of 
>Simulacra: *From the Industrial Revolution up 
>til the middle of the 20th century. Mass 
>production of copies or replicas of a single 
>prototype: cars, planes, fridges, clothes, 
>books. Liberation of energy through the machine 
>(Marx's world). Copies more or less 
>indistinguishable. Reproduced things aren't 
>counterfeits: they're just as "real" as their 
>prototype (though we can still recognize the 
>prototype). 3. Art masks the absence of a basic 
>reality. Example: photography and the mechanical 
>reproduction of paintings (see Walter Benjamin's 
>important essay "The Work of Art in the Age of 
>Mechanical Reproduction"). A framed reproduction 
>of a Renaissance painting of the Madonna hung 
>over one's bed, right beside a velvet image of 
>Elvis. 3. The Classic Science-Fiction of the Age 
>of Mass Production: robots, rocket-ships to 
>Mars, space exploration, alien invasion, 
>intergalactic wars. Present technology projected 
>into the future and outer space. Robert 
>Heinlein's *Starship Troopers.* Isaac Asimov's 
>*I, Robot. *Fifties Hollywood sci-fi films (e.g. 
>*Them, It Came from Outer Space)*. The original 
>*Star Trek *television series. Borges' imperial 
>map. 4. *Third Order of Simulacra:* The present 
>age - dominated by simulations, things that have 
>no original or prototype (though they may 
>parallel something). Era of the model or code: 
>computers, virtual reality, opinion polls, DNA, 
>genetic engineering, cloning, the news media 
>make the news, Nike sneakers as status symbols, 
>Disneyland. The death of the real: no more 
>counterfeits or prototypes, just simulations of 
>reality - hyperreality. Information replaces the 
>machine as the basic mode of production. 4. Art 
>bears no relation to reality at all. Example: a 
>virtual reality female talking head reads news 
>headlines to us over the Internet. Is she real? 
>A fake? The question has lost its meaning - 
>there is no original to compare her to. Or 
>Madonna (the singer) made up like Marilyn Monroe 
>vamping it up with a troupe of lithe male 
>dancers in a music video on MTV. 4. The End of 
>Science Fiction: the real absorbed into a 
>hyperreal, cybernetic world. Not about an 
>alternative universe, but about a simulation of 
>the present one. Philip K. Dick's *Simulacra.* 
>J. G. Ballard's *Crash.* William Gibson's 
>*Neuromancer. *Ridley Scott's film *Blade 
>Runner. *Paul Verhoeven's film *Total Recall. 
>*David Cronenberg's films *Crash *and 
>*eXistenZ.* The Wachowski brothers' *The Matrix. 
>*The Borg, the holodeck, and VR characters 
>(Voyager's doctor) in the later *Star Trek 
>*television series. Baudrillard's writing is 
>difficult, and for starting philosophers and 
>social and cultural theorists is best taken in 
>small doses. If you read his work, remember that 
>his central claim about postmodern culture 
>(thought he claims that he himself is *not* a 
>postmodernist) is quite simple - that we live in 
>a "desert of the real," a cultural space where 
>television, film, and computer images are more 
>"real" to us than the non-media physical reality 
>that surrounds us. This loss of reality isn't so 
>hard to understand, even if it's difficult for 
>some of us to swallow. 
>------------------------------------------ 
>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett On 7/19/07, Joe 
>Campbell <joekc at adelphia.net> wrote: > Great 
>post, Ted! > > Baudrillard baffles me, in part 
>because I adopt a completely different > 
>philosophical methodology: I'm an analytic 
>philosopher; he's a continental > philosopher. 
>What I love about continental philosophers like 
>Baudrillard, > though, is the emphasis on 
>politics and philosophy as a way of life, 
>which > is absent in most analytic works that 
>are not dealing explicitly with > ethics, 
>politics, or value theory (e.g., it is absent in 
>my own work). > Baudrillard's adeptness in 
>dealing with both metaphysics and politics is > 
>impressive. > > Right now I'm teaching 
>Philosophy Through Film as part of the Summer > 
>Cougar Quest at WSU. I have a class with 18 kids 
>from junior high school and > next week I get to 
>do it all over again with another group. Of 
>course, > anyone who is thinking of college 
>while in junior high is way ahead of the > 
>curve, so the kids are wonderful. It is much 
>different -- and much harder -- > than teaching 
>college age students but I'm learning a lot. > > 
>Each day I show and discuss various clips from 
>popular films and the best > film for a 
>philosophy class is the Matrix. In addition to 
>the political > aspects of the film, which you 
>note, there is epistemology (How do you know > 
>that you're not in the Matrix world?), 
>metaphysics (What is the nature of > reality? If 
>Neo is known to be the One by the Oricle, are 
>his actions still > free?), and ethics (Is it 
>better to live a fake life with a lot of 
>pleasure > in the Matrix world, as Cypher 
>chooses to do, or an authentic life with less > 
>pleasure in the real world?). > > At WSU I 
>created and taught a course called 'Philosophy 
>in Film' and the > first (or second) time that I 
>taught the course I showed a bunch of movies, > 
>one of which was Bullit with Steve McQueen. The 
>class hated it. I was > heartbroken and I asked 
>them to suggest a move that we could see 
>together. > That summer the Matrix came out and 
>we went to see it at Eastside Cinemas in > 
>Moscow. Afterwards we went to Pizza Hut and 
>talked about the film over pizza > and pop. 
>Initially, I hated it ­ likely a reaction to 
>their  response to > Bullit. (Come on, do you 
>really want to compare Keanu Reeves with Steve > 
>McQueen?) But since then, I've realized the 
>errors of my ways. > > So much I learn from my 
>students through teaching! And an appreciation 
>of > the Matrix is near the top of that 
>list. > > Best, Joe > > 
>------------------------------ > > From: "Ted 
>Moffett" <starbliss at gmail.com> > Subject: 
>[Vision2020] Simulation, Hypermarkets, 
>Hypercommodity > To: "Vision 2020" 
><vision2020 at moscow.com> > 
>Message-ID: > 
><d03f69e0707190148v64b7ea76x7f1ddf112a754268 at mail.gmail.com>  
> > Content-Type: text/plain; 
>charset="iso-8859-1" > > All- > > The first 
>Matric film features Neo before his awakening 
>from the Matrix > being greeted at his front 
>door by a band of revelers (follow the White > 
>Rabbit), one of whom is buying illegal 
>software.  Neo opens a hollowed out > book to 
>facilitate the transaction: a copy of Jean 
>Baudrillard's > "Simulacra > and 
>Simulation." > > Later in the same film Morpheus 
>announces to Neo when revealing the "real" > 
>appearance of Earth, "Welcome to the desert of 
>the real." a reference to a > statement in 
>"Simulacra and Simulation:" > > 
>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/trivia > > 
>Passage from link above: > > When Morpheus is 
>explaining "What the Matrix is" to Neo, he uses 
>the > phrase, > "Welcome, to the desert of the 
>real." This is a paraphrase from Jean > 
>Baudrillard's "Simulacra and Simulation", the 
>hollowed-out book where Neo > keeps his illegal 
>software. The quote can be found in Chapter One 
>- The > Precession of Simulacra, Page one, 
>Paragraph 2, "It is the real, and not > the > 
>map, whose vestiges persist here and there in 
>the deserts that are no > longer > those of the 
>Empire, but ours. The desert of the real 
>itself." > 
>--------------------------------------------------  
> > Given the recent discussion of the worth of 
>studying Philosophy, I thought > my recent 
>explorations of Jean Baudrillard's work 
>relevant.  I find him at > once baffling, 
>obscure and absurd, then suddenly full of genius 
>when he > describes and illuminates modern forms 
>of economic/cultural process in > media > and 
>virtual worlds, in advertising and marketing of 
>products, development > of > shopping centers as 
>cultural centers, the Internet, video games, 
>the > emerging global culture sold world wide, 
>etc. > > I do not have a firm grasp on 
>Baudrillard's thinking.  He writes almost in > 
>a > foreign language (and I do not mean because 
>I read translations from the > original French), 
>designed to reveal developments in culture that 
>require > unusual uses of words and concepts, 
>sometimes appearing closer to poetry > than 
>Philosophy. > > Many in Moscow want aggressive 
>economic growth and development.  Do we > 
>understand what this means for the future as we 
>walk backwards into a > world > becoming more 
>and more global by the moment, where marketing 
>and > commodity are becoming a kind of 
>globalized simulated cultural invasion, > where 
>the copy is the real, the "hyperreal?"  This 
>places the immigration > issue into a whole new 
>realm! > > This will be old news to those well 
>versed in post modernist thinking, but > I > 
>still find these concepts endlessly thought 
>provoking: > > 
>http://webpages.ursinus.edu/rrichter/baudrillardone.html  
> > > 
>http://web3.woodbury.edu/faculty/dcremer/courses/pomo/BaudrillardSS2.htm  
> > > > 
>http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/cyberspace_internet_virtuality_postmodernity.html  
> > > ----------------- > Ted Moffett > > 
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