Order 1 is a copy that IS an original such as art or a photograph. It blurs the idea of a copy and an original such as the Mona Lisa as the original piece versus the lady herself. The reality is masked or altered by the copy (art/photograph/etc).
This is an example of Order 1 because is it a copy (photograph) that is an original (the dog). However this image displays a moment of the dogs life, failing to provide the reality of the dogs life. The image masks the dogs reality.
Order 2 is a copy OF the original. Baudrillard associates it with the industrial revolution. Because of mass production (and multiplying of copies) the distinction between the original and copy are broken down so the copy threatens to replace the original that it imitates. Reproduction of a prototype are just as real as the prototype itself.
This poster is an example of order 2 because this poster has been reproduced many times from its original prototype. As the years change, the copies are edited but the overall theme of the banner remains the same, and is just as real as the prototype.
Order 3 Is the copy without the original. This stage is associated with the postmodern age in with the representation comes before and determines the real. There is no distinction between the two (representation and the real), there is only the simulacrum.
Television sitcoms are very good examples of order 3 because in order three there is no prototype or real, instead there is only the simulation of reality – hyperreality. Friends is an example of this because while it’s meant to represent reality, the representation is inaccurate and unrealistic. By understanding the unrealistic nature of friends, we identify our reality (our world and lives) as real.
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