The Truman Show
Baudrillards Third Order is based on a simulation without an original. It encompasses the death of the real and presence of a simulation of reality ie a “hyperreality”. The Truman Show is a prime example of a simulation. Truman believes in this false reality he has grown up in because he knows no other world (reality) besides the one he’s grown up in. Therefore the Truman Show is a simulation of the perfect “reality” that is Truman’s life.
The audience within the movie that watches this show do not see any ethical violations and continue watching the show despite knowing the life Truman is living is all for the purpose of entertainment. The audience that continue watching are complicit because they allow him to continue living in this false reality.
A social criticism the movie portrays is the effects media has on people. The audience in the movie are compelled to the show. They are tuned in 24/7, and some even sleep with the television on for “comfort”. The show has made money off of this 24 hour viewership and the product placement in the show that the audience is manipulated to buy just so their life mimics a fraction of Truman’s.
Another criticism the Truman show portrays about society is the surveillance of people within the society. People are constantly being watched in society, and this show reflects that by the 24 hour surveillance of Truman.
The Matrix
The Matrix is another example of the Third Order by portraying a computer simulation that seems like reality but is actually hyperreality. The coding in some scenes of the movie symbolizes the falsehood of the reality of this simulation. However the people within the movie are so focused on this hyperreality that they forget it isn’t real. However, Neo becomes an exception because he realizes that this matrix world isn’t real. Its only a simulation he’s put himself in and that whatever happens in this simulation (ie whether he dies) wouldn’t effect him in real life.
A social criticism the Matrix depicts is the idea that human beings are prone to believing something is not real if it isn’t before their eyes. Just as the men in Plato‘s cave allegory only believed in what was before their eyes, human beings believe in what they are able to prove or see. But just because people are unable to see or prove something does not make it any less real.
Another social criticism is surveillance. This Movie depicts the constant surveillance Neo and his group are under, but reveals everyone is being watched as well. It’s symbolized the surveillance people are constantly under in our modern society.
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