Jean Baudrillard (1929 - 2007)

Introduction

Today, Baudrillard is being celebrated as one of the master thinkers in the discourses of Poststructuralism and Postmodernism. Baudrillard is best known for his claim that in the transition from the industrial age to the information age, Western societies have entered a new period of history and abandoned reality in favour of hyper-reality. This new period of history, labelled as postmodernity, emerged with the disappearance of the fundamental structures of society because of the impact of mass media and technology. Baudrillard's concept blurs the distinction between artificiality and reality, or in his terms, “the simulated and the actual”.

“A sharp-shooting lone ranger of the post-Marxist left.”
The New York Times

Contribution

Simulations and Simulacrum

Simulations (1988), one of Baudrillard's most widely cited works, claims the end of power, history and reality. Baudrillard uses the term ‘simulation’ to describe a new condition of society which is no longer governed by the logic of representation, and ‘simulacrum’ as a copy or a reproduction of the real. He believes the Postmodern world is not a world of production and progress, but rather a ‘cybernetic model of simulation’. Our world is no longer based on incessant growth, energy output and transformation, but is rather influenced by high technology and the mass media. These ideas arose from a fascination with technology and technological progress in his review of Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media (1967).

Signifier and Signified

The concept of simulacrum is further emphasised by the idea of the signifier-signified relationship. For example, the things we purchase are all signifiers. When you purchase something, it is not necessarily the case that you will use it, or that it gives you pleasure, but rather it means something beyond itself. It is a signifier that points to a signified. For example, a car you purchase can be a signifier for your social position, income level, recreational habits etc. Thus, our identity is a product of our signifiers, rather than something essential that is unique to each individual.

Published Works

• Simulacra et simulations. 1981.
• Simulations, trans. Nicole Dufresne, New York: Verso, 1988.
• The Ecstasy of Communication, trans. B. and C. Schutze, New York: Semiotext(e), 1988.
• Selected Writings. 1988.