Jean Baudrillard's theory of postmodernism

Key terms for the theory:

Modernism= a period of time in the 19th and early 20th century when industrialisation caused widespread cultural and economic upheaval which caused a deliberate philosophical and practical departure from the past in the arts and literature 

Postmodernism= a deliberate philosophical and oratorical departure from modernism, developed in the course of the mid 20th century and continues in culture and society today

Simulacra= the postmodern copy; reproduced and manipulated to the point that it no longer resembles its original

Hyperreal= where reality and fiction are indistinguishable, 'more real than real', improving upon reality 

What is the theory? 

• Postmodernism is this idea of a text being remade and it is then unrecognisable from the original 
• Sometimes texts recreated are 'hyperreal' are become more perfect than the original copy 
• This can create unrealistic expectations from the viewer 
• Baudrillard created 4 steps of reproduction:
• 1) basic reflection of reality 
• 2) perversion of reality 
• 3) pretence of reality (where there is no model)
• 4) simulacrum which bears no resemblance to reality 

So overall..?

This idea of recreating a text and it then doesn't resemble the original 

Often this recreation is hyperreal and looks 'more real' than the original