simulation, simulacrum (2)
http://hum.uchicago.edu/faculty/mitchell/glossary2004/simulationsimulacrum2.htm
The Oxford English Dictionary defines simulation as the noun derived from the
verb "simulate." It defines "simulate" as follows: 1. pretend to be, have, or feel.
2. imitate or counterfeit. 3. reproduce the conditions of (a situation etc.) e.g. for
training. 4. produce a computer model of (a process) [1] Another word that
belongs to this family is simulator.
The most commonly accepted use of simulation is in relation to an imitation of
an apparatus or situation that has as its aim to bring about a certain behavior.
Such simulations are used, for the most part, in instances of training such as in
military operations. The idea behind this kind of simulation is to give an
individual first hand experience of something he/she may later encounter in
reality. This is a preparatory simulation as well as a testing device. These
simulations are computer generated and are therefore able to alternate degree
of difficulty or circumstances.
There exists another type of simulation having similar goals, but which is free
from the pretext of training and instead offers an experience of an event or
situation that the patron would otherwise not encounter. These experiences are
also computer generated and are called simulators. Through them people can
be exposed to a variety of events that range from trivial experiences such as a
walk in a park, or those that are more exhilarating such as skydiving, without
physically pursuing the activity.
As seen with the example of training for real experience, simulation rests on the
existence of reality. Simulation is the resembling of something else, of a sign in
the world. A photograph is also a resemblance of an already existing sign.
However, a simulation differs from a photograph in that it exists in time. A
simulation isn't a stilled image, but rather a kinetic experience. A related term
that could be used to better explicate this is "to pretend." Because simulation
relies on the existence of that which it is mimicking in reality, the simulation
becomes unreal. Simulation rests on the traceability of its origins back to
reality. That is to say that in order for a simulation to be named (i.e. "that is a
simulation of...") that which it is attempting to represent has to be identifiable in
the realm of the real. Because it is in opposition with reality, a simulation can be
assumed to be false and have a negative connotation. It can be seen as
deceitful with a malicious intent (i.e. cases involving false identities).
Because simulation is thought to be a false representation of something real, it
is often thought that simulation is shallow. That is to say that in order for the
simulation to be successful only the outer appearance of the "real" subject has
to be imitated. A simulation therefore is a surface event. Furthermore this
imitation need only last as long as the deceit is needed. In assuming a false
representation, it is enough to mimic the outward appearance of the "thing",
there is no need, nor is it possible to also mimic the essence of the subject. Of
course it can be argued that taking on the outward appearance is the same as
completely becoming something else. This idea is challenged in films such as
Face/Off (John Woo, 1997). In this film the two main characters surgically
change faces. The film attempts to show that the essence, or soul, of a person
cannot be altered by outward appearance.
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy defines simulation as: "the view that our
understanding of others is not gained by the tacit use of a 'theory', ...but by reliving the situation 'in their shoes' or from their point of view. Understanding
others is achieved when we ourselves deliberate as they did." [2] Simulation
was a topic for theoretical debate as early as in the writings of Plato and
Aristotle. The Allegory of the Cave deals with the idea of simulation through the
metaphor of puppets producing shadows on a cave wall. The simulation that
Plato deals with exists on many levels. First there are the puppets that
represent what is outside of the cave, and then there are the shadows on the
cave wall, which are a simulation of the puppets. The puppets are a primary
simulation whereas the shadows act as a type of second order simulation of the
real world outside. Another term that gets used to talk about simulation,
particularly in the writings of Aristotle, is mimesis. For Aristotle, mimesis is the
representation of life, of reality. It is also natural part of life. Aristotle claims that
humans have an innate propensity toward mimesis. [3] It is through mimesis
that the real becomes apparent to us; it is how we learn about the real. It is not,
as it is for Plato, a hindrance to our perception of reality. For Plato and
Aristotle, simulation is directly linked to the real. That is to say that the real is
identifiable (i.e. that which is outside the cave or that which is being
represented). Certain contemporary theorists believe that due to multiple levels
of simulation, the real is no longer identifiable. The existence of simulations as
a representation of the real is therefore an argument rooted in history.
According to contemporary critical thought, the world has become composed
solely of simulations. Theses simulations exist in layers and therefore cannot
be traced back to their original subjects. In this way simulations have become
based on other simulations, therefore the element of the real that they originally
represent is unknowable. It is simulation that mediates reality. These multiple
simulations give rise to the notion of simulacra. Simulacra refer to the layers of
simulation present in the world.
The theorist that is largely responsible for these thoughts on simulation and
simulacra is Jean Baudrillard. In noting that the representation, or simulation of
signs was occurring in a layering effect, he created a system of the orders of
simulacra. The orders of simulacra increase as it becomes less and less
possible to trace the origins of the simulations. In effect the orders of simulacra
function as a process whereby total simulacra is achieved. They are orders of
simulation that progress until the difference between true and false has
collapsed. That is to say that ultimately the simulacra is indistinguishable from
the real. This is a historical process, in that it happens over time.
According to Baudrillard the world, as we know it now, is constructed on the
representation of representations. These simulations exist to fool us into
thinking that an identifiable reality exists. Baudrillard's orders of simulacra exist
as follows: The first order of simulacra focuses on counterfeits and false
images. In this instance the sign no longer refers to that which it is obligated to
refer to, but rather to produced signifieds. [4] In this level, signs cease to have
obligatory meanings. Instead the sign becomes more important than the
physical. That is to say that the focus is placed on the sign rather than on what
it is intended to represent. Thus what becomes crucial for the furthering of
simulation is the reproduction of the sign itself not the physical or the signified.
This is the realm of the automaton, the obvious fake that plays with reality.
The second order of simulacra is dominated by production of these false
images. In this order signs become repetitive and begin to make individuals the
same. Signs refer to the differentiation between the represented signifieds, not
to reality. [5] This is the level of the robot, more real than the automaton, but
not quite human. The robot con exist independent of human control in reality,
but at the same time isn't real (see cybernetics).
The third order of simulacra rests on ultimate simulation. What is present in this
order is the ultimate collapse between reality and the imaginary. [6] It is no
longer possible to tell the difference between what is real and it's simulation.
This is the level of the clone, not equivalent to man, but rather a hyperreal
variant [see Reality/Hyperreality, (2)] . The clone is not man, but can pass
undetected for man. In this instance it becomes impossible to produce
simulations. For example you could not simulate a bank robbery in a real,
functioning bank. You could not walk in to a bank with a fake gun, demand
money and later claim, (after you have been arrested) that "It was only a
simulation." The ramifications would be potentially equal to those of a real bank
robbery. Simulation, as per the Oxford English Dictionary, is dead.
Because of this breakdown, it is through simulation that events are mediated.
To this end Baudrillard takes as examples Disneyland, Watergate, and the Gulf
War. We all know that Disneyland is not a "real" place, not a functioning city,
but that it is an amusement park, an experience. For Baudrillard however this
"false" place exists to mask the fact that the rest of America is not real. [7] He
also claims that the Watergate scandal was a simulacrum to fool us into thinking
that law and morality exist on a real level. [8] The Gulf War existed as a
simulation to reinforce America's interests in the Middle East. [9] What these
simulations do is mediate the truth. For Baudrillard simulation threatens the
difference between true and false as well as between real and imaginary. [10]
In these ways simulacra become that which conceals the truth and makes
simulation, in the everyday sense, impossible.
What simulacrum does is engender myths of origin or reality. [11] Since we
cannot trace simulations back to their source in reality, we are forced into a
nostalgic area in which we attempt to remember what the real looks like. For
Baudrillard such notions of concealment extend to sexuality, advertising and the
media. The media controls "the mutation of events from the real into the
hyperreal." [12]
Hyperreality is more real than real. It is "sheltered from the imaginary, and from
the distinction between the real and the imaginary." [13] The hyperreal is that
which is "always already reproduced." [14] The hyperreal is the world of
simulation and simulacra; it is the reality we know because the real is truly
unknowable. If we take the theoretical approach to simulation/simulacra we
have to become aware that simulation in the everyday is no longer possible.
Because the boundaries between the real and the imaginary are broken down,
the simulation itself becomes impossible to identify.
In relation to the concept of mediation, simulation takes that very middle
ground. That is to say that simulation as per Jean Baudrillard becomes the
essence of mediation. It is not a medium, by which we receive messages, but
rather it is a message in itself. In the tradition of Marshall McLuhan, the
simulation becomes our knowledge of the real, not simply the intended
representation of it. It is that which hinders our knowledge of the real and
consequently our place in reality. This idea brings up interesting issues in
relation to reality, does the real exist or has it been simulated so much that it is
entirely impossible to recall what was once real? As a "media," Hollywood is a
key factor in the production of simulation. It dictates our tastes and then
reproduces only these preconceived notions of reality. Films attempt to depict
reality, thereby dictating what reality should look like. In the end it becomes
impossible to know what came first, the filmic depiction of reality or reality itself.
The media itself is therefore responsible for this breakdown of reality since it
only provides us with simulated events and communications. As long as there
is media, there will exist a simulation and reproduction of signs that constitute
reality. The relation of media to simulation is an investigation into the idea of
unknowable reality.
Joanna Topor
Winter 2002
