“Why do my eyes hurt?”
“You’ve never used them before.”
Lest you question the possible existence of hyperreality, look then to the reappearance of Tupac Shakur.
Tupac Shakur the human being died in 1996; however, Tupac Shakur the Living Memory, the Rapper Simulacra appeared on stage April 16, 2012. . . as a hologram. The cut of his muscular body was evident in the hologram. More real than real itself. No one or thing need never die or disappear. The CGI and hyperreal Pixar animation so prevalent in films today, the seamlessness between actor and environment or actor and screen. In other words, an actor need not be physically present in his environment that can be inserted later with no visible lines. And an entire film (or video game to be even more precise) can be created without live actors, i.e. avatars, video games have already begun to employ this and getting more advanced and are advancing rapidly. With the progressive technology of resolution and frame rate (high definition and high speed filming), your household television, computer monitor, digital camera and video camera can deliver a picture more crisp than any digital photograph and possibly more than your own retinal signal processing, that is your sense of sight and its subsequent process in the brain for identification. Would you believe hyperreality over reality itself, as how could you really (that is sensationally) distinguish any difference between the virtual and the nonvirtual? You may even prefer hyperreality to reality as it is more improved now with more reality!
What of a generation raised on the Simulacra? Fed by inception and familiar with the supernatural as your current environment? Would such a child ever believe what its eyes saw? Suddenly, the dialogue in the Matrix uttered by a newly unplugged and awakened Neo has a whole new connotation. It seems the line between that reality and the literal reality is not far off.
Metaphorically speaking, we do not use our senses as they are becoming obsolete in the world of the hyped reality. What use is taste when flavor is synthesized and lab-created or added to an otherwise tasteless and bland chemical concoction? What use is hearing when surrounded by constant noise and frequent stimulation to the extent that the brain filters only that which is relevant and the rest to a comfortable static. So much so that this noise is preferred over a crushing, unstimulating silence. Or if brand jingles and ideological slogans are “heard” in the brain like a multimedia center? What use is touch/feel when feel and touch are blocked by screens and devices and personal space an engagement with gadgetry mostly? Or when feel has become synonymous as a concept with think, so that it is an intangible, not an action performed with the body. As unobtrusive as a physics abstraction. What good is smell when pheromones are lab-created and sprayed, rolled, or inked on? Cleanliness is meant to be after one bathes in a series of chemical containing unpronounceable ingredients. In effect, the sense is fooled; hyperreality creates these senses, creation ex nihilio. What use is sight when what is seen is only that which matches what one believes or has been told or when augmented reality streams through data directly to the brain? What does the machine look like now to you? Like a pod perhaps, as in Matrix? Or a 15 square foot space in the cubicle of the machine?
The machine has the face of Man.
*Image credit (all stock used with permission)–
“I, Internet” is a photomanipulation created by NIKOtheOrb using stock produced by:
Chris Moody, “Macro Iris”
Nick Fedele, “Alex’s Eye Macro”
Serial Killer Stock, “Circuit Board”
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NIKOtheOrb 
Wow, Niko. I hadn’t seen that Tupac resurrection before. I just wish he had been singing “Dear Mama” or “Life Goes On.”
You definitely are on the cutting edge of the future here. I have a sneaky feeling that you are right on target which really scares me. Your sentence about bathing in chemicals reminds me of a hippie girlfriend of mine. We had just finished surfing when I suggested we go home, take a shower, and get some dinner. She scolded, “Why would I want to wash off this beautiful ocean water, sand, and seaweed with some toxic chemicals?” Needless to say, we didn’t shower much after this conversation.
Thank you for this eye-opening post.
My apologies ( 🙂 ); I do remember “Dear Mama” by Tupac and as I recall it is a good song. I haven’t actually seen the concert, but I remember seeing the coverage on Tupac’s appearance. Had I been present, I definitely would have requested “Dear Mama”. 😀 Can holograms take requests? LOL
It’s fun to think about what possibilities could arise in the future from our present decisions. The internet is definitely a huge aspect of our present (and future?) existence.
Thank you for the great comment! 🙂
[…] HyperReality: The I In Me (nikotheorb.wordpress.com) […]
Very well said “It seems the line between that reality and the literal reality is not far off.”
Thank you much. 🙂
Technology can be enslaving or liberating as a tool. The technology behind the Tupac Shakur creation is quite exciting for its possibilities if used in a healthy manner.
Oh, I totally agree. Technology itself is unbiased, how technology is used is up to the human beings utillizing that technology. This post is about what can be and/or become (and what is or what seems) with technology and how we humans utilize that technology.
Technology helps, treats, cures, and prevents just as much as it oppresses, suppresses, enslaves, and severs. Hopefully, technology will be used most as the former.
Thanks for the comment.