Hyperreality is used in semiotics and postmodern philosophy to describe a hypothetical inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced post-modern societies. Hyperreality is a way of characterizing what our consciousness defines as "real" in a world where a multitude of media can radically shape and filter an original event or experience.
Definition.
hyperreality:-a condition in which "reality" has been replaced by simulacra
-Borges
-Baudrillard argues that today we only experience prepared realities-- edited war footage, meaningless acts of terrorism, the Jerry Springer Show
The very definition of the real has become: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction. . . The real is not only what can be reproduced, but that which is always already reproduced: that is the hyperreal. . . which is entirely in simulation.
reality, hyperreality (1)
The Oxford English Dictionary defines reality foremost as "the quality of being real or having an actual existence" and supplements this with a definition of real as "having objective existence," and finally to exist as having "place in the domain of reality." These conventional definitions of reality represent a larger problem in the attempt to locate the real on the most basic level, for they are wholly circular, a set of signifiers reflecting back at each other lacking the grounding necessary to render meaning. This problem is not unique to the word ‘reality,’ indeed almost all words and signs are only able to refer back towards the internal exchange of other signs in order to produce a theoretical anchor. The slippage of reality, its elusiveness encountered even in a basic search for a definition, is an element of the hyperreal – a condition in which the distinction between the ‘real’ and the imaginary implodes. There is no static definition of hyperreality, and the interpretations employed by theorists vary on some of the most essential terms. That said, this article will attempt to extrapolate a common understanding of the hyperreal based on the work of several theorists. A general understanding of hyperreality is important for it is an issue at the crux of several critical debates within the study of media including semiotics, objects and space, the spectacle, performativity, the examination of mass media, Platonism, resistance, and the structure of reality.
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Focusing on how reality TV is considered to be a form of hyperreality, the MTV series 'Laguna Beach' which started in 2004 is prime example of hyperreality. The show was based on a select group of high school teenagers who's everyday life was filmed and aired to the public, giving the viewer a closer look into someones else's life, however many aspects of the show were actually only created for entertainment purposes, where the teenagers were told to dramatise real life situations. "It is no longer a question of a false representation of reality (ideology) but of concealing the fact that the real is no longer real, and thus saving the reality principle" - Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation. What started off to be the reality then turned into something that was created for sole purpose of being entertaining. The follow up to the show 'The Hills' featured Lauren Conrad, who later went on to leave the show as she believed she was being forced into creating situations that weren't true but having to deal with the media backlash that came with it, as many people still believed that this was reality.
A long with television shows like 'The Hills', 'Geordie Shore', Jersey Shore', 'Made in Chelsea' and 'The Only Way is Essex' are all examples of how hyperreality is present in today's culture. Each of the shows focuses on showcasing a reality based on something that in fact is far from it. The shows lead people to assume that what they are watching is real, from which they begin to base their opinions and judgements about someone or something based on a false reality, but is what they see as a reality.
Reality TV shows alter a individuals perception of reality, as they believe only what they see regardless of whether it is true or not and whether they have actually witnessed the reality of the situation for themselves. The content of the TV show is easily manipulated, meaning that that you only believe what you see and don't question the reality of the situations.
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