Postmodernism Case Study

Postmodernism is a theory proposed by Jean Baudrillard who suggested that there are no more truths or fixed rules especially in media, he has proposed the fact that lots of our media products which often features a hightened reality, where for example a footage has been edited and refined to encode a meaning or hyperreality where there is trouble separating fiction from reality. A hightened reality makes it clear which is relaity which is not, but hyper reality cannot disitnguish which is real which is not

A good example would be Borat Subsequent Movie Film (2020)which featured Sacha Baron Cohen playing the misogynist, racist, and direct Kazakh journalist , everything he says and do is based on the character's personality and a rough script but most of his interactions with other people are unscripted making Sacha improvise, the fact that the work is a fiction is then not entire true as it contains features of reality TV where people would show their real personalities rather than play a character, but the amount of staged actions in Borat which resulted in the natural reactions of people show that it is neither fully scripted or planned thus cannot be considered as reality TV, instead Borat Subsequent Movie Film is a melting pot of Mockumentary, Reality TV and Scripted Reality , mockumentary due to the fact that it is partially fiction and Reality TV since people show their real reactions to staged events, but the fact that Sasha plays a character with a rough script aiming to get a specific reaction from the non actors ha elements of scripted reality.

Augmented Reality meanwhile is where media or technology is able to manipulate and add to our own reality, a good example would be the dating simulator "Isekano" which was inspired by Pokemon Go, the premise of the game is that one would turn on their phone camera and explore their local areas and neighborhood to find animated 3d girls who they can interact with and even date, 3D modelling technology along with AI has enabled people to project their 3D girlfriend in real life places such as their living room or their bedroom to interact with them. Some see it as innocent entertainment but many have pinned it as a misogynistic product where women are portrayed as objects while promoting anti social behavior. The latest version of the game was released in 2021. In general augmented reality.

Augmented reality has also been able to change our perception of ourselves or even that of others which does not fit the reality thus allowing a rise in hyperreality. The usage of instagram filters and photoshop software has allowed people to manipulate their appearances whether in picture, recordings or during livestreams. This has led to confidence problems among youths who often see their internet alter egos pumped with filters and edit as themselves, the fact that they cannot separate fact from fictions makes these pictures hyper reality, later when taking pictures or simply looking at the mirror they can no longer associate their natural looks with themselves, some countries such as Canada and Germany have proposed putting labels on edited photos to promote body positivity. Incidents such as when a Chinese streamer who used filters and a voice changer which created a simulacrum (something that is not) to present herself as a 20 year old attractive woman suddenly saw her filter fail suddenly exposing her for what she really is, a 58 year old woman. But the viewers who might not have been aware of the presence of a filter and voice changer cannot tell if what they were seeing was real or not or even predict what the reality of her looks were which is a symptom of hyperreality which makes us unable to reality and fiction, this example sounds innocent enough but such technology allows for the phenomenon of catfishing which could be used for more dubious purposes such as crime, catfishing in dating apps has led to many cases of kidnappings due to the fact that it has allowed ill intended people a platform to lure young people by allowing themselves to present themselves as someone else they are not, someone is harmless.