Discuss Jean Baudrillards concepts of simulacrum and hyper-reality using one or more

literary or cinematic text of your choice.

Simulacrum was by no means a new word coined by Jean Baudrillard in the 1960s. The
Oxford English dictionary dates the word to the late sixteenth century in meaning an
unsatisfactory imitation or substitute1. What Baudrillard does in his essay, Simulacra and
Simulations, is use the term to discuss the context of the twentieth Century, in particular the
United States of America. In relating the self-fashioned dreamland Disneyland to corporate

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America, Baudrillard suggests how things we believe to be false are there to hide the reality;
there is no reality anymore. With this essay it is my intention to explore and elucidate
Baudrillards concepts Simulacrum and Hyper-reality by suggesting how they are present
even in childrens stories written before the twentieth century with Lewis Carrols Alices
Adventures in Wonderland (1865) as my primary example. I shall also discuss the existence
of Baudrillard in twenty first century cinema. By looking at the Matrix Trilogy (1999 2003
I will concentrate on how Baudrillards concepts are used with the intention to create a
Hollywood blockbuster franchise whilst still remaining thought provoking and pertaining to
the initial philosophy.
In understanding Baudrillards concepts of Simulacrum and Hyper-reality it is important
to extract and define his terminology. The term real for Baudrillard has philosophical
grounding as something that exists as it is and does not exist as a symbol for potential
existence. However, for the purposes of this essay I will use the term real in opposition to that
which is hyper-real, in other words something which is generally regarded as fact.
Baudrillard makes many references towards the term phantasm (and phantasmagoria). This
term is defined as being something which exists in the imagination, for Baudrillard the realm

Oxford English Dictionary Online.

rd
http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0774530#m_en_gb0774530 (accessed on March 23
2011)

of hyper-reality is a system of signs relating to that which is within imagination as opposed to

the real. Thus, phantasm is the presence of the imaginary manifest, or imprinted, within
reality.
The concept of simulacrum to Jean Baudrillard is that simulation leads inevitably to the
extinction of the original. The basis for this lies in his four successive phases of the
simulation of an image. The first stage is the reflection of a basic reality2, which suggests

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that at first the simulation acts as a sign referring to a deeper meaning although already
subverting, by reflection, the original. However, in the second stage It [the simulation]
masks and perverts basic reality (423), meaning that the symbol has become in itself a
symbol of the transformation of the original. The third phase, masks the absence of a basic
reality (423), and denotes that in the symbols presence as a symbol that has taken on its
own transformation, thus outgrowing or moving away from the original concept, we can no
longer grasp the reality it belongs (or belonged) to. Therefore, this stage is the simulations
own act of disguising itself as the real. The fourth stage is that It bears no relation to any
reality whatever: it is its own pure simulacrum. (423) In this fourth and apparently final
stage of simulation, the simulated image has become too distant from its origin that it is
longer able to exist within its own world. Therefore, at this stage the simulacrum grows
into its own reality which bears no resemblance to its original, becoming in itself a new
reality. It is this realm the simulacrum occupies which Baudrillard names Hyper-Reality.
Hyper-reality, however, is technically, in Baudrillards terms, not a reality that exists to
separate simulacrum from reality in the world. It is, in fact, a distraction from a real world
which is in itself unreal. The hyper-real concept stems from Baudrillards questioning of
what real is. The discussion in Simulacra and Simulations concludes by saying that what is
2

Jean Baudrillard, i ula ra a d i ulatio s , i Modern Literary Theory and Criticism: A Reader, ed. David
Lodge and Nigel Wood (Harlow and New York: Longman, 1988), 423. Subsequent page numbers in text.

believed to be reality is in itself a simulacrum of reality, a system of signs which point

inwards towards themselves. The hyper-reality therefore, exists as unreal by disguising itself
to being real. Baudrillard exemplifies Disneyland as the perfect hyper-reality as it is
something that becomes real through the claim that it is imaginary. This system relates
strongly towards that of religious imagery which relies on the representation of idols in order
to sustain a system of belief. In Renaissance Padua, for example, an image gave strength to
the real act Giottos Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, painted at the beginning of the fourteenth
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century, shows images from the Last Judgment in the New Testament on its western wall.
The commissioner of the Chapel, Enrico Scrovegni, can be seen offering a small scale model
of the chapel to the Virgin Mary. This symbol represents Scrovegnis attempt for redemption,
since he is represented in Heaven; it becomes his place at a symbolic level. The important
thing to note here is that it is the representation which has to guarantee redemption and not
the act of commissioning a public chapel itself. The hyper-reality of this is that it negates the
act as meaningless due to a need for symbolic representation, thus the symbol is purposeless
as it has no grounded meaning beyond its mere presence.
The main problem with Baudrillards concept is that it is unsustainable on application
beyond theoretical discourse. In order to discuss his theory Baudrillard must first transform
his ideas into language. In practice this is similar to stage two of simulation as it reflects the
authors intention. However, in the process of reflection, the meaning is subverted existing
only within the words without the source (Baudrillards mind). The concept is, therefore,
inherently flawed in its application. Language, in the grounds of semiotics, is merely a
system of signs designed to allow society to interact. This social interaction is a hyper-reality
as it is based in the abstract. This conforms to Saussures arbitrary nature of the sign there is
no intrinsic connection between a word and its meaning. I believe this will lead to problems

in analysing a text using the aforementioned concepts, since the real world within the
narrative is still a constructed reality portrayed through language.
In discussing Baudrillards concepts in terms of analysis I need to first extract a
method of analysis. My analysis will be looking at the four successive stages of the
simulation and attempting to extract them from a narrative, taking into account evidence in
the use of language, signs and theme. Firstly I will analyse Lewis Carrolls novella Alices

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Adventures in Wonderland as it deals thematically with a world that becomes steadily

curiouser and curiouser3. It also deals with the concept of the self and the loss of identity as
the imaginary world fights to become real. Taking for granted that Alices world constitutes
the reality, the first stage of simulation is shaped as she falls down the rabbit hole4. This
can be noted in the language Carroll uses to present her fall and is witnessed throughout the
first chapter. The bottle with the label Drink me5 represents the reflective part of Alices
journey; she exclaims, if you drink too much from a bottle marked poison it is almost
certain to disagree with you, sooner or later6 However, if the bottle is not marked poison it
does not contain poison. By merely being called poison, a drink becomes deadly. In
Baudrillards terms this indicates the presence of a Simulacrum, as the word is simulating the
effect. The label Drink me also reflects the idea of a consumerist society which Baudrillard
critiques in his essay when discussing the political parody. He states that the parody of
politics is an imaginary effect concealing that reality no more exists outside than inside the
bounds of the artificial perimeter. (424) In Wonderland the same thing occurs, having an
order such as Drink me on a bottles label appears in the confines of the narrative to be an
out of the ordinary item. However, within the real world this is a subconscious activity that

Lewis Carroll, Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass [1861-1875], Bristol: Parragon
Books, 1993. 12
4
Ibid 7
5
Ibid 10
6
Ibid 10-11

occurs everywhere within capitalist society. Advertising in the modern world works very
much in the same way as the bottle in Wonderland, only it is through the parody where the
connection becomes obscured making us forget the role of advertising for the more blunt and
satirical portrayal within literature. This also means that, by forgetting the real world and
having no the awareness for the artificiality of the promoted universe, we are subjected to
having to believe in hyper-reality. This further relates to the successive stages of simulation
since basic reality is reflected within the bottle as a metaphor for advertising. Stage twos
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perversion of reality occurs in the mind of Alice where the symbol of poison means that there
is a poison in the bottle. Following this train of thought, without the symbol, the same liquid
would no longer be poisonous. This consequentially masks the absence of a basic reality
(423) by creating a new symbolism that exists within its own space without external input.
Once the bottle is marked poison, whatever is in it becomes poisonous; subsequently
whatever is placed into a bottle marked Drink me must be eventually consumed. A hyperreality bearing no relation to reality is created; it becomes a pure simulacrum of the abstract
influencing the concrete. Alices encounter with the Cheshire cat is a further example. She
asks upon their meeting would you tell me... which way I ought to go from here?7 thus
signifying that Alice is lost. However, her response to the cats question as to where she
wants to go leads into a simulacrum of meaning. I dont very much care where said Alice
Then it doesnt matter which way you go, said the cat. So long as I get somewhere8
What Alice needs is a name to attach to a place in order to feel she has got somewhere to get
to; the naming creates the location. Giving a name to a place is a form of simulacrum as the
name gives it a symbol. Without the symbol, Alices wonderings would seemingly lead her
nowhere; in producing a name, the Cheshire cat has also created a place with its own history
and meaning. Wonderland is a continuous simulacrum in this respect. As Alice journeys
7
8

Ibid 42
Ibid 42

through the imaginary world it unveils in symbols and words ahead of her without a basis in
reality. Once these symbols manifest within the narrative, the world of real becomes obscured
and even Alice manifests crises of the self due to the real being masked by the created
Wonderland. The constant creation and recreation of Alices reality ultimately causes it to
collapse in on itself due to a lack of deeper meaning beyond the symbols. This is seen largely
in the trial scene at the end of the tale. In a world that bases its society on meaningless
tradition and ritual the hyper-reality is unable to sustain its own weight as it grows in on
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itself. As the trial unfolds, trying to capture the essence of a reality based on its abstract
modes of manners, things become increasingly confused. The trial begins with the description
of the King and Queen... seated on their thrones with the knave... standing before them in
chains9. This evokes the image of a trial in the readers mind through its symbolism. Without
the foreknowledge of the knave having done anything wrong we have no basis to see him as
the convicted, however, due to him being the one in chains we can deduce that he is the
criminal. This can be identified as a simulacrum of a trial, a replication of the symbols of a
trial without a real basis for what is happening. Alice is in the same position as the reader, for
she had never been in a court of justice before, but she had read about them in books. It is
due to the symbols, induced by prior knowledge, that Alice realises where she is. The hyperreality is again produced on symbols. When Alice thinks to herself theres the judge...
because of his great wig a simulacrum has occurred. The character in the wig need not be a
judge since he is wearing a wig, however, because this is the only relation we have to a judge,
he instantly becomes a judge within the story. This conforms to Baudrillards discussion in
the Strategy of the Real; in this Baudrillard states that illusion is no longer possible because
the real is no longer possible (426). This occurs when the symbolism forms its own reality
outside of the physical real. The lack of objective difference (426), as Baudrillard names it,

Ibid 72

from the simulated appearance and the reality underlying it means that these symbols, real or
not, are always of the order of the real (426) as far as established codes go. Therefore, it
does not matter whether the character in the wig is a judge or just someone pretending to be
one, that he is recognised as a judge, he has the same prerogatives of one. The downfall of
Wonderland culminates in a complete loss of what Alice considers to be the real. Once the
simulacrum is so far distanced from reality, it no longer bears a strong resemblance, due to a
lack of reference, within the world it has generated. As the pack of cards comes down upon
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Alice she is suddenly brought back into the real world, reality has managed to normalise by
reducing all simulation of Wonderland into a reality. The image of the falling pack of cards,
in other words, is a metaphor for the hyper-reality collapsing under its own weight and reality
resuming in fact. Carrolls novel is, therefore, an example of a saved reality, a concept
which implies reality can be re-attained once hyper-reality can no longer sustain itself. In
Baudrillards concept, on the other hand, this state of normalisation is unable to occur. This
does not work due to the third successive stage of simulation. Wonderlands detachment from
Alices idea of the real is to mask the fact that her reality is in itself a hyper-reality. The
connections Alice makes in Wonderland to her real world are ones based on symbols which
still seem to point towards similar structures. This means that in simulating and perverting the
original symbol Wonderland exists for the sole purpose of masking the real worlds
simulatory effect. Alice comes from a world based on facts and figures, exemplified in the
first chapter where she is supposed to be studying from a book. This means that her real
world is in itself hyper-real as it exists only within the consciousness due to signs without
depth. For Alice, however, she has returned to the normal world once entering Wonderland,
hyper-reality is safe consequently, as Alice has experienced a world apart which distracts
from the inconsistencies of the one in which she lives.

This is similar to Baudrillards description of Disneyland as a hyper-reality.

According to his thesis, Disneyland exists in Los Angeles in order to distract from the
falsities of the real City of Angels. By going to Disneyland we exit from a world inhabited by
adults and enter a world of children figuratively frozen in time, much like its creator Walt
Disney. He states that Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe the
rest is real. Thus we are drawn to Disneyland through marketing techniques which promote
the ability to enter a world of fantasy, one which is the imagination come true. This is what
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Baudrillard continues by saying it is no longer a question of a question of false

representation... but of concealing the fact the real is no longer real. This allows us to exist
within the social order of the real world oblivious to the social constructs it inhabits: it is
meant to be an infantile world, in order to make us believe the adults are elsewhere, in the
real world (424). However, this is not the case for in reality childishness is everywhere,
in fact there are adults who wish to go to Disneyland in order to foster illusions of their real
childishness. This process then allows for the adults to leave Disneyland with new ideas on
what a false reality is, accentuated by life-size fairytale buildings, animatronic pirates and a
microcosm in the small world exhibit which puts us within the confines of a new world
where order is shifted. We choose to enter Disneyland, we choose to be told where to queue
and ultimately we allow ourselves to be told that we should enjoy ourselves, and we obey, as
this is not reality. The Utopian reality suggests that we are free in life and that the real world
is unconstrained. However, the paradox of this is, if we are to be free, why we must ask
permission and go to a specific place, park or resort in order to embrace our self in the first
place?
The Wachowski brothers 1999 film The Matrix attempts to portray a universe in
which this is realised, where the world we believe is real is actually a false representation
created in order to free us from the truth. However, this film falls flat to Baudrillards
8

theory on a number of levels. Most notably, at the beginning of the film, the character (Neo)
realises that the world he believes in as real is in fact a lie, one created by an artificial
intelligence, and that he can escape into the real world and know the truth. The problem lies
in the fact that the real world, where human beings are no more than batteries and machines
have taken over the world, is presented as the REAL world and the characters are then able to
shift between this one and the imaginary one as they seemingly please. In an interview with
Le Nouvel Observateur in 2004, Baudrillard states that The Matrix contains the problem of
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binary opposites, The actors are in the matrix, that is, in the digitized system of things; or,
they are radically outside it, such as in Zion, the city of resistors.10 Although this problem
does exist, we as an audience are asked to question our own interpretation of what is real
(perhaps we are in a digital construct ourselves and there is a real world outside of this one).
Nevertheless, the Wachowski brothers do tackle this issue within the final two films of the
trilogy, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Specifically at the
end of Reloaded the audience is given chance to question if the real world in the film, is the
actual real world in the film. Although the character of Neo has managed to escape from the
matrix and back into reality he is able to manipulate machines through powers which were
previously only available to him within the constructed hyper-reality. This contradicts what
Baudrillard says in the 2004 interview as it appears from this point that the Matrix is a
construct created in order to distract from the fact that the real world itself is a construct.
When left with the visual binary opposites given in The Matrix trilogy, the matrix is the false
world one which must be fought against. Its existence is able to mask the fact that the real
world is itself a constructed hyper-reality. The second part of the trilogy offers an explanation
of this; the character known only as The Architect states that the original matrix construct did
10

Jean Baudrillard, 2004 The Matrix de oded: Le Nou el O ser ateur i ter ie
ith
Jea Baudrillard , tra s. G. GENOKO a d A. BYX, I ter atio al Jour al of Baudrillard
Studies, Volume 1, Number 2
(http://www.ubishops.ca/baudrillardstudies/vol1_2/genosko.htm (accessed on 17th
March 2011)

not work as human beings are unable to comprehend a utopian world, without disease,
without war, without famine11, therefore, the matrix was a direct simulation of earth at the
end of the twentieth century. That mankind within The Matrix does not accept a utopian
world opens up the question as to whether or not the real is in fact a hyper-reality also. The
ability for Neo to manifest as The One both within and without the construct of the matrix
suggests that the real world is also a construct based on symbols and rule. The idea of the
one stems from symbolism in religion, linking again back to the hyper-reality of Renaissance
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Italy where an image was worshipped because it was said to be of a saint rather than
because it was a holy figure incarnate. Therefore, although Baudrillard does make a point in
questioning how The Matrix addresses his theory and discusses these in conjunction to other
mistakes in the portrayal of his theory, in the latter two films the concept of Hyper-reality
does remain accurate. As there is now the question of what is the real? which references the
matrix being a simulacrum whose purpose it is to distract society from the hyper-reality they
see as real.
In summary, Baudrillards concepts do contain strong ideas in relation to literary and
film texts which work well in posing further questions in the real world. However, as a
systematic scheme, the concept of simulacra does not entirely work in regards to such texts.
A hyper-reality within a text must come about simultaneously, embodying all four successive
stages at once. Within Alice in Wonderland this can be seen with each part of the titular
characters journey. The problem also arises in terms of what reality is. Within the real world
there is a physical substance to trace certain concepts back to; idols represent a specific
person etc. However, in the realms of the text, the real world itself is a creation of the writer.
Therefore, the concepts must be adapted for use in literary theory in order to analyse a text

11

The Matrix Reloaded, Dir. Larry Wachowski, Laurence Wachowski, feat. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishbourne
(Warner Bros. 2003).

10

fully enough in regards to what is real and what is hyper-real. The abstract nature of language
means directly that the words on the page relate to nothing in particular outside of the
conventional meaning. Therefore, although helpful and thought provoking in analysis, the
concepts of Simulacrum and Hyper-reality are difficult to place in terms of theory in the way

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Baudrillard intends.

11

Bibliography
Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulations, in Modern Literary Theory and Criticism: A
Reader, ed. David Lodge and Nigel Wood, Harlow and New York: Longman, 1988.
Baudrillard, Jean. The Spirit of Terrorism. Trans. Chris Turner, London: Verso, 2002.
Carroll, Lewis. Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass [1861-

25/04/2011-17:36:51 <LT204-5-FY_10a2_0929901_488BAA558ADEA6DD8DBF2778B7BBC3371DB31902>

1875], Bristol: Parragon Books, 1993.

Saussure, Ferdinand de. The Object of Study [1906-1916], in Modern Criticism and
Theory, ed. David Lodge, Harlow: Longman: 2000.
Saussure, Ferdinand de. From Course in General Linguistics [1906-1916], in The Norton
Anthology of Theory & Criticism, gen. ed. Vincent B. Leitch, New York and London: W. W.
Norton, 2001.
iek, Slavoj. Welcome to the Desert of the Real, London: Verso, 2002.

Online Texts
Baudrillard, Jean (2004) The Matrix decoded: Le Nouvel Observateur interview with
Jean Baudrillard, trans. G. GENOSKO and A. BRYX, International Journal of Baudrillard
Studies, v. 1, No. 2 <http://www.ubishops.ca/baudrillardstudies/vol1_2/genosko.htm>
accessed on 17th March 2011.

Filmography
The Matrix, Dir. Larry Wachowski and Laurence Wachowski, feat. Keanu Reeves, Laurence
Fishbourne, (Warner Bros. 1999)

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The Matrix Reloaded, Dir. Larry Wachowski, Laurence Wachowski, feat. Keanu Reeves,
Laurence Fishbourne (Warner Bros. 2003).
The Matrix Revolutions, Dir. Larry Wachowski, Laurence Wachowski, feat. Keanu Reeves,

25/04/2011-17:36:51 <LT204-5-FY_10a2_0929901_488BAA558ADEA6DD8DBF2778B7BBC3371DB31902>

Laurence Fishbourne (Warner Bros. 2003).

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