Deep Thunder 10/03

So, Baudrillard thinks that we are being deceived by the simulacra, or rather, led by the simulacra, an entity that he attributes as being “evil”. I find it odd, first of all, that in this Post-Modernist world where the system of binary opposites is shunned, that we are being presented with the ultimate binary law: good and evil. In this simulacrum of post-modernity, are we not to accept ironies and juxtapositions as a part of a grand, seamed, system? Secondly, the concept of reality seems to be up for debate, itself. I am making a film right now about this theorist, and my partner and I asked many of you in the class to define reality. We received a wide variety of answers ranging from, “I just pay the bills” to, “It’s all simulacra”. This supports my theory of “relative reality.” Although it has probably been executed much more eloquently by theorists who would dwarf me with their expansive intellects, I intend to claim this bastardized position as mine. You see, Baudrillard assumes that there is a reality to be masked. In fact, reality to him is much different that yours or mine. A different series of signs and other sensory inputs are taken in each day by each subject. There’s just no blueprint for what is real, and therefore, no way to stray from reality. Honestly, Baudrillard seems like a very lonely man who is not happy that the world does not see things his way; he is alienated by his yearning to actualize his subjective realities. Getting back to this reality is much like getting back to nature, or God, relative terms as well. My plan, rather, is to embrace the liquidity of reality, to relish in its relativity, and accept the warnings about the simulacra while realizing its probably a load of horse feces.