Victim of Culture

In a digital age, do we care about reality?

It’s a question science fiction has been asking for decades.  If, at some point, fantasy could mimic reality to a flawless degree, would we care?  Should we care?  And unlike how much of science fiction predicted this question would come to a head through virtual reality or androids, it is instead our culture that raises the question today.

Consider the images above (see more).  It’s a very simply little trick on the mind as the image on the left is the exact same image as the one on the right, simply rotated.  The reaction, of course, is that the left image appears fantastical, but the right image appears beautiful. yet mundane.  We are taken aback for a moment by the left image, but the right image looks like any number we have seen before.  So, if the exact same image can be slightly manipulated to create something captivating over common, then it’s the better presentation, right?

Artistically we might claim so, but in a low of our lives we would say no.  We want the authentic image, and not the one that’s been worked over with PhotoShop a time or two.  But why?  If the edited image is superior in some manner, then why not prefer it?  This isn’t discussion of such weighty things as journalistic images, but of those designed simply for pleasure.  For example, what of erotica?

Consider the image here.  A scantily clad beauty, no?  Except, she isn’t real.  She’s a computer generated illusion.  But does it or should it matter for those who are simply viewing her for carnal lust?  This may sound like a silly question, but it’s an important one.  Many young men become infatuated with video game characters like Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider games and go so far as to adorn their bedrooms with posters of a virtual woman.  But she isn’t real, and neither is this model.  So, if it’s okay for a pin-up queen, then why not for imagery that older males might be interested in?

The question has been of some prominence in recent years due to advancements in digital technology.  While we might not be living in virtual zones quite yet, we can essentially recreate most things virtually in media format.  We may not be able to reach out and touch the model yet, but we can ogle her from afar.

But the question isn’t just one for digital technology.  For example, the past ten years have brought a wave of reality television into homes.  Millions sit down every night to watch programming that is billed as “reality” but in truth is the furthest thing from it.  Some argue that they simply do not care.  They know it’s fake, but that still doesn’t keep it from entertaining.  Others seem completely ignorant of the fact that much of reality programming is staged.  For these, consider next time you watch a show where all the cameras are in relation to one another and figure out how they keep them from getting into each other’s shots.  Survivor is famous for this in their distant overhead shots.

Let’s go back to the first group though—those who don’t care that it’s faked.  If you don’t care, then at what point does it start to matter?  At what point does the fantasy get uncomfortable in its usurping of reality?  “When it actually matters,” is an argument I’ve seen before, which of course begs a follow-up question for elaboration.  That usually leads into a discussion of politics, war, greed, etc.  In other words, reality matters when reality is at stake.  For matters of beauty in art or beauty in erotica it simply doesn’t matter.  Make it the most affective possible, and move on.

If this is true, then why care about steroids in sports or create publications like Perfect 10 Magazine, which at its inception bragged that all the women within its pages were 100% natural.  No additives, one assumes.  Yet, years later Playboy still sells tons more magazines and people continue to attend sporting events.  So, apparently, no one does care.

All of this, however, is overlooking the real consequences of reality’s losing battle against fantasy.  While fake models in erotica may not bother some consumers from an intellectual standpoint, arguments can be made that it bothers society.  While women feel intimidated enough already measuring up against models in ads, what happens when those models aren’t even real?  While Heidi Klum may have minor issues airbrushed away, what happens when there is no Klum to begin with?  Only imagination of an artist?  If a real woman cannot fulfill that fantasy idea, then where does that place the two sexes with one another?

Media effects as a field is almost always hesitating to draw direct effects for a good reason—they simply don’t often exist in reality.  Instead, it tries to draw a long arch showing that continued exposure to such messages begins to wear down a person’s perceptions, or perhaps, build them up in another direction.  Portray Arab men as terrorists in films enough and people will begin to view all Arab men as terrorists, even if they do know some personally who are obviously not.  They’ll begin to view their anecdotal evidence as just that, and view the media’s portrayal as reality.  If that truly is how it works for some, and we accept that, then what can be said for those who would willfully subject themselves to such distortions of reality?

It all leads back to the underlying question we must begin asking before we are forced into answering—does reality matter?

Related posts:

1. Going digital for the short term
   I sit here listening to Aretha Franklin’s “Think” while writing this, and it makes me think (you should have...
2. Facebook, Plato’s Cave, and why I feel normal
   There was a time when I resisted the lure of Facebook.  I had already used MySpace and found it...
3. CSI and the infinite resolution of doom
   It may come to a shock to many, but the things you see done with computers on shows like...
4. Ignoring Sarah Palin is like ignoring Transformers 2
   It seemed nothing could knock Michael Jackson from the top of the news heap, but Sarah Palin managed it. ...
5. Losing half our friends every seven years
   Here’s a story sure to cheer you up.  Consider who are your closest friends.  Got a mental image?  Good. ...