Lost post retrived again-------------------Blogger.com (we are sorry, for any drawbacks)

--Romain---Audrey--M-A Brunelle- Miles

Baudrillard--------------------------------

Baudrillard in this rather fatalist text introduces three of his main themes: the hyperreal, the simulacra and its orders and the notion of orbital.
First of all, Baudrillard explains his idea of hyperreal. It is the “real without origin of reality.” For example, a line of cars manufactured according to a model. There is no original car nor fake car. He even goes further than supposing there is no difference between the real and the simulacrum, he assumes that the real has disappeared. The simulation has not only taken over, but destroyed the notion of real. Just as the map of the empire in Borges fable destroys the empire itself.
He also depicts several orders of simulacra. First of all, there is the symbolic order. Society is organized as a fixed system of signs (for example, the king wears the crown. He who has the crown is the king.) Then there is the first order simulacra. A competition of the meaning of the signs appear. The art perverts the basic reality, but there is still a well defined original. Then appeared the second order simulacra, with the notion of mass production. There are reproductions, but no counterfeits. They are all originals. Basic reality becomes prototype, but there is still a difference between a prototype and a product. Finally there is the third order simulacra which represents the death of the real through simulations. Through the digital, art bears no relation to reality at all.
Baudrillard’s notion of orbital illustrates very well his fatalism. Our control over this simulated world can be compared to the control a satellite has over his trajectory.