Graham, 10/1

“Does reality actually outstrip fiction?” (228).Dr. Casey posed the question of whether or not “reality” more fictional than actual fiction. I think that this was a really interesting point, because many things that happen today are so unusual so it is difficult to think of it as being real. Someone in class used the example of reality television. Many people take this very seriously, and believe that it is real, even though this is not a realistic thought. In real life, we are not followed by cameras, and the scenes are obviously scripted which in a way makes it fiction, because we are not able to set up scenes in reality.
On the other hand, someone else brought up that fiction may be more fictional than reality. Speaking about television, he brought up the point that it depends on what you are watching (not only on television, but also in daily life.) What is your occupation, where do you live? When these things change, our realities change along with it.
We discussed the concept of “Simulacra” which is a word used to make us think that we are somewhere or doing something that we have never actually experienced. He gave the example of the restaurant, Johnny Rockets, because it is set up to be an old fashion 1950’s scene. When we go in there, we get to experience somewhat what it was like, but we actually have no idea what it was like to live so many years ago.
We discussed photos that were taken in Iraq by a photographer when no one else was around. Is it real? Is there a good source, or is it on Fox news? The source is very important in determining whether or not something is real, but it gets harder to say when no one but the photographer saw it. But “images reflect reality”.