As Chris Hedge states, “A public that can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction is left to interpret reality through illusion.”
What is truth? Truth is defined as a fact that has been verified. Truth is defined as conformity to reality or actuality. Truth is defined as accuracy. So, what is illusion? Illusion is defined as an erroneous mental representation. An illusion is defined as something many people believe that is false. An illusion is defined as a fantasy.
Today’s society has fallen victim to fantasy; to illusions, but why is our world veering further and further away from the real? What happens if this continues? First, we have to figure out why individuals are beginning to become unmoored from reality. Is it because of corporations and businesses? Is new media to blame? Or are we moving farther away from the truth because we, as a society, have started this ‘fantasy movement’? It seems that all three of these ‘ideas’ are a contributing factor to the issue of illusion in today’s world.
One of the five points Wong makes in his article, “5 Reasons the Future Will Be Ruled by BS” is that in order to stay afloat, businesses have to pretend unlimited goods are limited. Wong defines this as FARTS; forced ARTificial scarcity. In summary, the businesses just make stuff up. They tell us that there is only a certain number of the newest phone in current circulation, or that the latest iPod will only be available to an exclusive number of individuals. Is what the businesses tell us true? No. How does that affect our society? It makes us believe the illusions that businesses have conspired, which in the end, results in our society moving farther away from the truth. Use of illusion by businesses is very effective, but it is also very dangerous. In the end, the illusions that businesses have made will impact of society’s ability to trust everyone and everything.
New media is interactive digital media. New media is the internet, cell phones, laptops and other new technologies. These new technologies have contributed to the movement from truth to illusion. How often have you been searching the web and found something you thought was untrue? It has probably happened at least once to every individual on the planet. How does this false information end up on the internet? Someone or something put it there. “The search for truth becomes irrelevant,” states Chris Hedges. How did the search become irrelevant? It is becoming irrelevant because it is impossible to find the truth. Is new media partially to blame for this movement to the unreal? I believe it is, because now there are various ways to seek out information and with anonymous individuals leaving their mark on the internet, our society has a difficult time discovering the truth. This results in our society simply not caring; we do not want to go through the hassle of finding the truth. In the end, we result to just making stuff up. If this continues to happen, we can say goodbye to truth. Truth will just be a long forgotten word that you can find in the dictionary.
Majoo asks, “How can so many people who live in the same place see the world so differently?” One answer to his question is that individuals believe what they want to, even if the facts are right before their eyes. Simply put, people are stubborn. But, another reason could because we all receive different information. “…pollsters and political researchers have begun to document a fundamental shift in the way Americans are thinking about news. No longer are we merely holding opinions different from one another; we’re also holding different facts.” It is difficult to prove whose facts are actually the truth. Another factor in the spread of illusions is that people openly spread these false impressions. Some people simply do not want to believe that what is true is real, so they spread lies. Once these lies reach another person, and another person and these people believe the illusion, it makes it difficult to tell them the truth. The dilemma is that this cannot be stopped; lies will always be spread, and someone will always believe them.
What will happen if we become unmoored from the real? That is a difficult question to answer. But, I can say that if this development continues our society could be a part of an era full of chaos. A world without truth would be a difficult world to live in. “The culture of illusion, one of happy thoughts, manipulated emotions, and trust in the beneficence of power, means we sing along with the chorus or are instantly disappeared from view like those on a reality show.”
Brian M. Lowe, a sociology professor, discussed with us the idea of the spectacle. Manjoo believes that the spectacle contributes to heightened polarization. While Hedges contributes the spectacle to the decline of literacy, narcissist, celebrity culture, and pseudo-events. In general spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates.
Spectacle is a significant tool that has been used by animal advocates. Animal adversaries use imagery to make the public more aware of animal cruelty. For example, they used images of ducks in horrendous conditions to promote the ban of foie gras. They also successfully used imagery to help primates in a scientific lab that researched head injuries.
The animal adversaries essentially created a spectacle; they used visuals to help spread their cause. They individualized the primates, they used narratives, they brought celebrities to their cause, and they left an impact on the public.
Spectacle is not going away. There is an ease of access to information, because social media is readily accessible. There is an agenda-setting; media does not tell us what to think, but what to think about. It is way for the media to tell us what is important.
Maybe, one day we will be able to see what the media is doing to us; how it is influencing us. But, this can only happen when we can look past the spectacle. When we can see past the images that awe us and make up our own minds, then we will have beaten the media's influence. We will then be able to think for ourselves.
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