In Simulations p.23-37 Baudrillard references quite a bit of then-recent phenomena, including Disneyland and Watergate. Disneyland may be the most profound example in the book. I've never been there, but have had many friends with children report on it and try to explain how you are overwhelmed with stimulus but the place still feels "empty" "soul-less" "surreal" etc. For a theorist to be able to unwrap how hollow nostalgia culturally exists is a monumental act, as we spiral into this being the new normal.
I've experienced similar phenomena attending 'rockabilly car shows', the nearby one being the
Symco Weekender. (we got into this a bit with our intro pptx) Just a few years ago Symco was a mix of the authentic and recreations, but as of last year I was the only person there with an authentic 1950s built hot rod Ford. (the year before there were three) The nostalgia here is clearly now more about the
1970s revival of the 1950s (this link is really good) than the 1950s rockabilly period itself. There are brightly colored
'stop staring' brand fashions made of 70s-ish polyester fabrics and cartoonish,
chemically rusted 'rat-rods' that parody the simplicity of a junkyard-built hot rod Ford.
The PowerPoint link below gives a bit of background on Watergate and the odd involvement of June Carter and Johnny Cash in the whole process for a little extra added hyperrealness;
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_4yV_5W77fbVx1ZE9I8-Tvwv7G3EE5hW?usp=sharing
YOU WILL NEED TO DOUBLE CLICK nixon.pptx AND THEN SELECT THE
CloudConvert APP TO OPEN THE FILE OR DOWNLOAD TO YOUR HARD DRIVE.
Email me if you're having technical difficulties with the PowerPoints, getting the videos to play, etc. My newer computer opens these so effortlessly that it's not clear to me what it's doing!
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