The document discusses postmodern theorists Jean Baudrillard, Fredric Jameson, and Jean-François Lyotard. It outlines Baudrillard's theory of hyperreality, in which the distinction between reality and simulation is blurred. Jameson believed that postmodernism is driven by consumer capitalism and results in a loss of historical depth and reality. Lyotard argued that the idea of truth needs to be deconstructed to challenge dominant narratives.

1. Baudrillard, Jameson and Lyotard

2. Jean Baudrillard
Involved in post modernism as his
theories deconstruct the truth.
He addresses the natures of reality and
how often it is constructed.

3. Theory of hyper reality
 Baudrillard believed hyper reality to be a reality
which has been replaced by simulacra.
 Simulacrum is an image or representation of
someone or something.
 A simulation
 Hyper reality is the division between real and
simulation – if there is no real object then there is
no illusion of the object.
 It is a mixture of both real and simulation.
 It exists but it is only a representation/illusion.

4. Applying hyper reality
 An example of hyper reality would be
celebrities whose lives are taken care of by
someone else - are said to live in a hyper real
world.
 Another example would be the effect of video
games.
 Where the line stops between the realism of
a virtual world in game and reality.
 One man believed he was in a game and would
gain points by carrying out illegalities. The worst
crime he committed was killing his best friend.
 He could not distinguish reality and virtual worlds.

5. More examples of hyper reality
 Inception
 The Matrix
 Sixth Sense
 Disney land
 It brings fiction and imagination to something that
seems real as people can walk around and touch
buildings identical to those they have seen in films
and collect autographs etc.
 The Truman Show
 TOWIE/Made In Chelsea
 Derren Brown e.g. Derren Brown’s Apocalypse

6. Fredric Jameson

7. About
 American literary critic and Marxist political theorist, best
known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends
 Marxist theorist – believes that each class is defined by its
relation to the productive process .E.g. hierarchical
 1984 – the publication of his essay; “Postmodernism, or
The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism” (later expanded into
a book)
- became known as one of the most prominent critics
of postmodernism
- argues that “aesthetic production today has become
integrated into commodity production generally”
- commodity production = production of wares
for sale – not produced for direct consumption but
with specific intention of sale in the market
- postmodernism = a cultural dominant – driven
primarily by the forces of consumer multinational
capitalism

8. His Thoughts
 Described the postmodern condition as:
- “a new kind of flatness, of
depthlessness, a new kind of superficiality in
the most literal sense”
 In his essay:
- describes the loss of reality in historical
writing –
“we can no longer represent the historical past;
but can only ‘represent’ our ideas and
stereotypes about the past”

9. Loss of Historical Reality
 In the postmodern era our historical past is
represented “not through its content but
through its glossy stylistic means, conveying
‘pastness’ by the glossy quality of the images”
 Pastiche = an artistic work in a style that
imitates that of another work, artist, or period
- instead of creating our own unique styles
we look to the past and imitate old, dead
styles through pastiche
- unlike a parody, it is often intended
as a compliment to the original (an
homage)

10. Jean-François Lyotard

11. About
 The idea of truth needs to be
‘deconstructed’ in order to challenge the
dominant ideas that are claimed to be
truth (the grand narrative).
 It could be considered a luxury to
challenge the idea of truth in Western
media when there are more heavily
censored countries where the civilians
most basic human rights are challenged.