Baudrillard's Hyperreality

 According to Baudrillard, hyperreality is the result of excessive simulated forms, where "signs no longer have any contact with material reality" (Applerouth & Edles, 2016, 727).  The news is one big simulacra to me.  So many stories are sensationalized, biased, and try to appeal to a worldview.  Many people's realities are shaped by it, which is one reason we have such an enormous divide in our country.  I agree with Baudrillard that for most people in our country, hyperreality replaces reality on so many levels, whether it's the news, television, theme parks, video games, etc.  And a lot of this is generated by imagistic advertising, where ads emotionally persuade people to identify with sham lifestyles and products.  I think it's one of the biggest problems in our world today, because it's spreading to other countries, making humans less aware of reality and the environment.