![]() If one wants to live in a castle, but can’t afford the exorbitant price of purchasing an actual 15th century work of architecture, they have the option of buying an existing home built to look like a castle for two million dollars, or half a million dollars or, if they really want to scale it down, $100, 000. It is the very nature of a consumer economy. Anyone with the necessary craftsmanship can create a simulation of something that already exists. It is this element which is essential to fully understanding what Baudrillard is driving at in his text. ![]() In other words, the simulation of the Alamo became a popular tourist destination because it “seemed” more realistic than the actual thing itself. And so Alamo Village was not just built to scale, but built to the scale of the realities necessary to making a movie. Wayne decided not to film at the actual Alamo because he came to the same realization that occurs to millions of tourists: it never fails to be much smaller than people expect. Of course, any movie set fully constructed (as facades) to actual scale is bound to draw visitors, but there was another reason for Alamo Village to rival the real thing in tourist numbers. After filming ended, rather than demolishing the set as might be normally done, it was left standing in a just a few short years became just as popular a tourist destination as the actual Alamo. What would eventually come to be known as Alamo Village featured replications of the Alamo itself, a nearby cantina, trading post, “Indian store” and other buildings typical of the time period. Somewhat amazing, this huge outdoor set was actually constructed only one-hundred miles away from where the actual building still stands in San Antonio. ![]() When John Wayne decided to direct The Alamo, an entire set recreating the original conditions of the Alamo at the time of its siege. While Disneyland is famously utilized in the text to demonstrate the theories at work, another movie-inspired bit of manufactured reality is perhaps more appropriate. The central idea of that film-that the entirety of perceived reality is really just a manufactured simulation-lies at the heart of Baudrillard’s work. Its equal on the other side-as the iconic representative of what Simulacra and Simulation inspired-is most likely, admittedly arguably and certain appropriately, the film which seems to have shut down the 20th century as it opened the doors to the next millennium: The Matrix. The original Disneyland is the iconic real-life representative of what the Industrial Age had become which stimulated Baudrillard’s reasoning. The sheer wealth of existing entities which inspired its composition and those elements of society which it has in turn inspired spreads across the vast expanse of modern life. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.įrench philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation is one the most significant and daily applicable works of sociology of the 20th century. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.
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