In “The precession of Simulacra”, Baudrillard (1994) mentions how the society has constructed an unreal world without the people being able to detect it. The reality has been replaced by Simulacra, therefore, by the hyperreality.
He mentions how Disneyland is a perfect example of Simulacra because it is a constructed World full of illusions: Disney Princess Fantasy Faire, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Mark Twain Riverboat or the Star Tours, an attraction inspired by the science-fiction movie “Star Wars”.
This movie can also be seen as an example of Simulacra. On one hand, it revolutionized the science fiction movies with its realistic special effects. On the other hand, it has surpassed the fiction by becoming a “hyperreality” in the life of a vast number of people and in the futuristic images of technology.
Star Wars in the “real” world
Star Wars has been a repeated theme for parodies and copies in books and all forms of media, but it has also been constructed as “real” by artists like the photographer Cedric Delsaux, who created several photos of how will the Star Wars world would be if it tooked place on Earth.
Another example is the short film of Patrick Bolvin, where we can see how would it be to have an ATAT as a “real” pet.
Jedi Faith as a Religion
In the 2001 ABS census, more than 70,000 Australians declared that their religion was the “Jediism”, meaning that they followed the Jedi Faith. This religion does not has followers only in Australia, but in Canada, New Zealand, United States, England and other countries of the world.
The Jedism follows a philosophy that involves the concept of “The Force”, an energy that everybody posses and that unites everything. It should be used for doing well (for the “Light Side”) and not for doing evil (for the “Dark Side”).
Futuristic Images
Star Wars emblematic lightsabers are not fictional anymore. Today the Defence Department of the U.S. is testing laser weapons that are being developed for a future use. Also, the U.S. Air Force is making plans for developing space weaponry in the following years.
The hologram with which the characters of the movie used to communicate is now a reality with the On-Stage Holographic Video Conferencing done by Cisco Telepresence.
Cisco On-Stage Holographic TelePresence Experience from Musion Systems on Vimeo.
With these examples we see how the fiction in Star Wars can imitate reality or how reality can imitate the fiction in Star Wars. And if this Simulacra can help some people to believe in something or to fulfil their objectives in life, I guess that, as Baudrillard said, the Simulacrum is true.
REFERENCES
Baudrillard, Jean (1994) `The Precession of Simulacra´ from Simulacra and simulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press excerpt pp.1-14
Darley, Andrew (2000) A Back Story: Realism, Simulation, Interaction´ in Andrew Darley. Visual Digital Culture: Surface Play and Spectacle in New Media Genres, London and New York: Routledge, pp 11-36
WEB PAGES
http://www.jedichurch.org/
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/71616/Star-Wars-fans-want-Jedi-Rights.html
http://www.musion.co.uk/Cisco_TelePresence.html
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