Is This Real Life?

The idea of real being nonexistent intrigues me. I have always questioned the concepts of what is real and what is imaginary, or what is not real. Baudrillard's article Simulacra and Simulations contemplates many issues related to this topic.

Baudrillard talks about if one who simulates being sick and how they produce some of those symptoms within them self, at what point does that simulation turn into reality and they actually become sick? This is a tricky question, which is precisely why Baudrillard has included it in this article. I feel that the ideas found in this article are beyond those of which many, including myself to be honest, can understand and fully grasp... but Disneyland, on the other hand, I can relate to.

In the article, Baudrillard says, "Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real..." and then talks of how Disneyland is thought to be an "imaginary" place for the child in us all, while all the adults remain in the "real" world. It has always been a pet peeve of mine when people use the term "real world" as if such a thing exists. The major culprit of these "real world" sayings have been teachers throughout my life saying things like, "You will need to know this for when you get out into the real world." I never understood. Am I living in a fake world right now? Is none of this real? You mean my whole education is being given to me in a world that is non-existent. Everything that we know is real. Everything that we know is also not real. Everything that we don't know is also real, and everything that we don't know is also not real. There is no concrete realness or not-realness in the world. 

The section titled "Strategy of the Real" talks about the mixtures of real and simulation, simulation turning into real, and so on. This is comparable, in my mind at least, to the movie Inception and the idea of being stuck in limbo. There is confusion between what is real and what is simulated. If a person decides to simulate a hold-up on their own, giving no notice to those in charge, then officers will assume that the hold-up is real and take real actions. This is where confusion begins to occur between real and simulation. It is always assumed that things are real, when things are happening people don't take the time to think, "oh, this might be a simulation." The simulation of the hold-up would turn into total realness due to the response from others.

I hope the thoughts I am trying to convey are understandable... they make sense to me.

Also, Baudrillard uses a lot of colons. : : : : : : :