Jean Baudrillard

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Jean Baudrillard

French sociologist , cultural critic , and theorist of post modernity , was born July 27,1929 in the northern town of Reims ( European Graduate School ,2001). He lived in poverty with his grandparents , while his parents were civil servants . Jean , being the first in his family to attend an University , studied German at the Sorbonne in Paris . In 1956 he began teaching German at a French lycée , and in the early 1960 s published essays on literature for the journal Les Temps Modernes , as well as translating works of Bertolt Brecht and Peter Weiss ( Steven Poole ,2007). May 1968, Jean published his first book , The System of Objects .

Baudrillard focused on two main ideas and concepts ; hyper - reality and simulation . He defined hyper - reality as the generation by models of a real without origin or reality ; it is a representation , a sign , without an original referent ( D . M . Boje ,1995). Basically , a method of characterizing the way consciousness interacts with reality . When consciousness loses its ability to differentiate reality from fantasy , it begins to engage with the latter without understanding what it is doing . Believing that we live in a world where simulated experiences and feelings replace the real thing . Shopping malls , amusement parks and mass - produced images from the news , television shows and films dominate , is drained of authenticity and meaning ( Robert Mackey ,2007). Another example of hyper - reality would be Disneyland . Baudrillard says the " imaginary world " of Disneyland magnetizes people inside and has been presented as " imaginary " to make people believe that all its surroundings are " real "( Askville ,2011). Basically , everyone who goes to Disneyland knows that it ' s done with facades and effects , while other places , people or things that one encounters in the real world may be phony . Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real , when in fact all of Los Angeles and the American surrounding it are no longer real , but of the order of the hyperreal and of simulation ( Jean Baudrillard ,1994). The other term he focused on was simulation . Jean defined it as the imaginary and unreal ." For example , if you create a computer game in which what appears to be a person throws what appears to be a basketball through what appears to be a hoop , you have a simulation of the game of basketball , even though no actual people , basketballs , or hoops are involved ( Jean Baudrillard )."

Works Cited

" An A to Z of Theory | Jean Baudrillard : Hyperreality and Implosion ." Ceasefire Magazine RSS . N . p ., n . d . Web .11 Dec .2013.

< http :// ceasefiremagazine . co . uk / in - theory - baudrillard -9/ >.

" The Cultural Studies Reader ." : Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard - Summary . N . p ., n . d . Web .11 Dec .2013.< http :// culturalstudiesnow . blogspot . com /2012/10/ simulacra - and - simulation - by - jean . html >.

"' The Iraq War Is Not Taking Place '." The Lede The Iraq War Is Not Taking Place Comments . N . p ., n . d . Web .11 Dec .2013.< http :// thelede . blogs . nytimes . com /2007/03/08/ the - iraq - war - is - not - taking - place /?_ r =0 >.

" Jean Baudrillard - Bibliography ." Jean Baudrillard . N . p ., n . d . Web .11 Dec .2013.< http :// www . egs . edu / faculty / jean - baudrillard / bibliography / >.

" Jean Baudrillard - Biography ." Jean Baudrillard . N . p ., n . d . Web .11 Dec .2013.< http :// www . egs . edu / faculty / jean - baudrillard / >.

" Jean Baudrillard - Disneyworld Company Translated by Francois Debrix Liberation , March 4,1996." Jean Baudrillard . N . p ., n . d . Web .11 Dec .2013.< http :// www . egs . edu / faculty / jean - baudrillard / articles / disneyworld - company / >.

Kellner , Douglas , Kellner ,." Jean Baudrillard ." Stanford University . Stanford University ,22 Apr .2005. Web .11 Dec .2013.< http :// plato . stanford . edu / entries / baudrillard / >.