Living in the Simulacra

What is real in the twenty-first century, and how humans can navigate this shifting world.

Despite a twenty-first-century plethora of images and our collective understanding that digital tools may alter the truth, human beings have a strong belief in the truth of the image: “pix or it didn’t happen.” But what does it mean when the image itself is fabricated? Or when AI is used to create audio or visual content that has the appearance of “truth” but is not, in fact, real? In Living in the Simulacra, Mark Heisten, Kathleen Ryan, and David Staton use Baudrillard’s concept of the simulacra to conceptualize the contemporary media landscape.

From “post-truth” notions of news, advertising, and public relations to digital avatars replacing human interaction, the modern media landscape is, to a large degree, a pure simulacrum. Humans are entering into this space as if it were something similar to the physical world. It is not. This can be problematic, but it can also lead to the creation of new knowledge and opportunities for understanding. The book uses the concept of the simulacra, as developed by Plato, Deleuze, and Baudrillard, as an overarching framework to explore how the digital landscape has transformed our understanding of reality. Through practical examples and in-depth case studies, it explores how the simulacra has taken over contemporary life—as well as the ethical implications for media producers and audiences within that space.ENDORSEMENTS

“Living in the Simulacra will be indispensable for teaching and research on digital culture, visual politics, and media theory, and for anyone trying to understand why the line between the ‘real' and its simulations now feels so precariously thin.”
—Hudson Moura, Editor-in-Chief and Chair, Interactive Film & Media Journal and IFM Conference

"Delightfully brilliant, the authors challenge us to embrace ‘life in the simulacra,' to probe the impact of simulated living, and to cultivate ways for wisely navigating the scary yet transformative, transcendent power of 'the work of media in the age of pure simulacra.’”
—Julianne H. Newton, author of The Burden of Visual Truth and coauthor of Visual Communication

“An incisive and daring exploration of our hyperreal age, Living in the Simulacra brilliantly illuminates how digital media reshapes truth, identity, and reality itself. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand (and survive) today’s post-truth world.”
—Stefano Odorico, Co-convenor of the Polyphonic Documentary ProjectMark Heisten is Assistant Professor of Communication at Marist University. His work has been recognized by the American Academy of Advertising, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Broadcast Education Association.

Kathleen M. Ryan is a documentary filmmaker with more than 20 years of experience in network and local news. She is the author of Pin Up! The Subculture and a coeditor of several books, including Interactive Documentary.

David Staton is Associate Professor at the University of Northern Colorado. He is a coeditor of several collections including Persevering During the Pandemic and the director/producer of three feature-length documentary films.