Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard was a French sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist, political commentator, and photographer. His work is frequently associated with postmodernism and post-structuralism.
Jean Baudrillard’s Philosophy
Jean Baudrillard’s philosophy centers on the twin concepts of ‘hyperreality’ and ‘simulation’. These terms refer to the virtual or unreal nature of contemporary culture in an age of mass communication and mass consumption. We live in a world dominated by simulated experiences and feelings, Jean Baudrillard believes, and have lost the capacity to comprehend reality as it actually exists. We experience only prepared realities–edited war footage, meaningless acts of terrorism, the destruction of cultural values and the substitution of ‘referendum’.
The Gulf War Did Not Take Place
In a provocative analysis written during the unfolding drama of 1992, Baudrillard draws on his concepts of simulation and the hyperreal to argue that the Gulf War did not take place but was a carefully scripted media event–a “virtual” war.
Digital Media & The War
In the 90s: beginning of the public internet and development in digital media coincided also with the start of the Gulf war.
Role of media in war is always important. However this time the role of media was different.
The first victim in war is the truth, reality.
“Reality” Status In Vietnam War
While journalists had enjoyed fairly wide access in the Vietnam War, some commanders felt that the depiction of that war in the media had contributed to declining public support for it.
TELEVISION Journalism in Vietnam brought war reality ‘home’ where
Massacres were reported by journalists.
TV JOURNALISM
“Reality” Status In Gulf War
Digitization brought unreal quality to Gaze of viewers, grainy reality images. As well as first video-game-war computing gaming and bloodshed.
Good And Clean War
During three weeks, all what we saw from this war was strikes from the air, airplane with green radars like the target images you see in the video games.
War Video Games
War images were like images you see in video games. It was a way to desensitize the audience. Computerized animation feeds on war.
Embedded Journalists
Embedded journalists Us reporters attached to a specific military unit, unlike what happened in the Vietnam war where journalists had fairly wide access.
Baudrillard’s Theory
KUWAIT VIRTUAL EVENT
The event of a war that never happened.
Media Event and ‘not real event’.
“The idea of a clean war, like that of a clean bomb or an intelligent missile, this whole war conceived as a technological extrapolation of the brain is a sure sign of madness. It is like those characters in Hieronymus Bosch with a glass bell or a soap bubble around their head as a sign of their mental debility. A war enclosed in a glass coffin, like Snow White, purged of any carnal contamination or warrior’s passion. A clean war which ends up in an oil slick.”
― Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard 