Task 4// Hyperreality..

What is Hyperreality?

(Sociology) (Philosophy) an image or simulation, or an aggregate of images and simulations, that either distorts the reality it purports to depict or does not in fact depict anything with a real existence at all, but which nonetheless comes to constitute reality.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hyperreality


An example of hyperreality could include the reality TV show Big Brother. Big Brother is a show that is held twice a year, one being with celebrities and the other ordinary people. A selected group of people audition to enter a house for about 6 weeks; they complete tasks inside the house to win special treats for either themselves or their housemates. Each week a house mate is evicted following voting’s made by the public.

This is an example of hyper reality as the people in the house and also the public that vote for the evictions believe that the show is a real life situation. But in actual fact it is a TV show that has been specifically designed to seem real. The house that the people live in has been built purposefully for the show and it has been designed to be almost like a perfect house, they have everything they need as if they were in the 'real' world. Another aspect of the show that is hyper real is the fact that the house mates know that they are being watched which therefore would make them act in a certain way which means the public would not see the 'real' them. They are almost part of a simulation within the house.

When people go into the house they are just ordinary people and its not until they are on the show or have been evicted that they gain a higher social status, almost like celebrities. But they have not actually changed at all, which again links to the fact that people think the Big Brother house is real when really it is a well structured and thought out show.