The idea of the replica can be seen in our earliest cultural artifacts.
But when did the simulation become our only reality, when did the real
cease to exist? When did we begin to live entirely in simulation? Some
see the fictions of Borges an important cultural moment.
This short piece was written in 1946, but the theme emerged in Borges
writings in the 1930s. Then in 1955 we have Disneyland, an actual place
based on fiction. (hyperreality)
Baudrillard references quite a bit of then-recent phenomena, including Disneyland, the Louds, and Watergate, but Disneyland may be the most profound example in the book. I've never been there, but have had many friends with children try to explain how you are completely overwhelmed with stimulus there, but still the place feels "empty" "soul-less" "surreal" etc.
For a theorist to be able to unwrap how hollow nostalgia can culturally
exist as our new hyperreal normal is a monumental act.
Even though this book was translated to English in 1983, the ideas contained in it are still being sorted through to this day. This year's Whitney Biennial—"the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the United States" has the title "Even Better Than the Real Thing, acknowledg(ing) that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is complicating our understanding of what is real."
