Scorpio, 2/19

In class last Thursday, we discussed Baudrillard’s notion of real and what constitutes as real versus fake. Dr. Rog gave an example of a fake holdup in a bank that resulted in a man having a real heart attack. I thought that example was interesting to give and demonstrated Baudrillard’s article. When asked if reality outstrips fiction, I responded that the difference between reality and fiction is possibility. If the possibility of fiction is brought out, then it could become reality. This literal barrier helps to maintain fiction as entertainment and reality as true terror.

For example, I once saw this dateline episode where a story about this topic was being broadcasted. The incident revolved around a prank call to several fast food restaurant managers. The prank caller identified themselves as the police and said that the employee working had drugs on them. The caller then gave the manager step by step instructions on how to “strip search” the employees. Most of these searches were caught on tape. The ending result: the managers were arrested and charged with sexual harassment. I find this example a case of Baudrillard at work because the managers followed fake directions in a real attempt to search for drugs.

I come back to my answer above concerning the level that reality does indeed outstrip fiction. The possibility of an employee carrying drugs to work was more real than the chance of being prank called. Likewise, if the media shows us a fake image, we are hardly even apt to question the source, information, or events surrounding this. Therefore, the desert of the real is indeed alive and well in the media.