October Blog Post

One thing that stood out to me from these last couple of classes would be the idea of simulacra. Learning all about simulacra was very interesting to me because I have never heard of such a thing but after learning all about it, I’ve realized how present it is in our daily lives, especially in social media. Simulacra is an unsatisfactory representation of a person or thing. It is when a culture has had so much influence on the original person or thing, that it has drastically changed and separated from its original way. An example of this that we talked about would be how pumpkins used to represent fall, but in today’s world the pumpkin representation of fall has turned into pumpkin spice lattes and how whenever it’s time for pumpkins, people automatically think of the warm cozy drink from Starbucks that helps us get through those chilly days. 

            One example that I found to be really interesting regarding simulacra would be Disneyland. Disneyland has been a place for people to escape reality and live in a fantasy for years now. They look forward to the food, the rides, and the magic. What is interesting about Disneyland after learning about simulacra would be the sense of reality it gives visitors and how that can transform into a world they dream about but still be able to experience. Disneyland creates an allusion of a false reality which makes it more desirable for people to participate in. It was once just a theme park, but with the real life buildings, friendly animals, and magical feel, people go there to exist in a new reality that they can escape their lives from. Disneyland is turned into a new world for people to exist in; where there are no problems and unlimited amounts of happiness. It has become a real life imaginary world for people to enter. 

            Overall, simulacra has been a very interesting topic to learn about for me. It’s hard to realize all the things around us that have changed because our culture has influenced it so much. But once we realize what these things are, we can see what they once were and just how drastically they have altered who or what they are/stand for.