Simulation is our norm and should not be confused with “representation.” A representation can be used to distinguish falsehoods because by definition representations are about something else. The combined effect of S&S is that reality takes on the qualities of a desert, harsh and lacking genuine sustenance. Out of this basic truth, simulacra proceeds, the endless unfolding of copies of things until there is no longer a trace of anything original or until originality is trivialized. What’s more, the mass of western civilization actually prefers simulation to reality itself. Baudrillard proclaims that our world is no longer really “real.” Instead, it has become “hyperreal,” a simulation of reality that is disconnected from whatever was real before. When Morpheus speaks this line to Neo he is paraphrasing Baudrillard’s first chapter in S&S. Part One: “Welcome to the desert of the real.” Each of these aspects lies at the heart of the film. Existential melancholia and the use of terrorism serve as the human response to the operational construct. Contemporary hyperreality and systems of control are metaphorically represented in the film by the matrix itself. The philosophy of Baudrillard as discussed in S&S is revealed in The Matrix in several primary categories. What it does not contain is anything original (other than an essay on nihilism.) It’s an emptiness filled with stolen goods.
What it does contain are copies of software. That is, it doesn’t contain what the cover would suggest.
In opening the book to the chapter about nihilism the filmmakers guide our thinking in what this represents and possibly make more than one statement. Taken as a symbol (which is what it is) this shot has a great deal of value. Most of the comments I’ve seen regarding the obvious visual presentation of this work in the film revolve around the fact that the book appears to be too thick (in reality it is little more than 160 pages) and it opens to a chapter entitled “On Nihilism” which is, in fact, the last chapter in the book.īut, these are just superfluous remarks. “Simulacra and Simulation” (S&S) was written by Baudrillard in 1981. Baudrillard provides them with a springboard by which they explore contemporary thinking and plays a more fundamental role in their creativity than one might expect at first blush. We all know the Wachowski brothers are quite well rounded when it comes to serving up metaphors, covering everything in the film from Lewis Carroll to Plato to Jesus Christ.
#Simulacra and simulation before baudrillard full#
Our hero retrieves the program from his stash inside a hollowed-out book of philosophy by Jean Baudrillard entitled “Simulacra and Simulation.” In a film chocked full of symbolism, this seemingly innocuous moment is actually one of the more blatant significations employed in The Matrix. Neo is startled by the late arrival of Choi, his punky friend, who comes seeking rather expensive hacked software. Of Simulation and Simulacra: Baudrillard in The Matrixīy W. does not share the opinions here-in, they are those of the author
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