According to Google's dictionary function, simulacrum is "an image or representation of someone or something" or "an unsatisfactory imitation of substitute."
So what does that mean in relation to toxic discourse? I'm thinking of the media's constant struggle in The China Syndrome to accurately represent the issues unfolding or in White Noise, the SIMUVAC people aren't actually meant to do real evacuations, they're only supposed to train people what to do, so that in the case of an actual evacuation situation the people will know what to do.
When I see the word simulacrum, I think of simulation and that ties in well with toxic discourse because of all of the uncertainty involved in toxic events. It is difficult to pinpoint whether people become sick due to a toxic substance or if they were sick before the event. The only hard science is the simulations scientists can do, but in the field, once an event actually occurs, there is very little that goes as it would in a simulation.
hahaha! Genau ;D
ReplyDeleteI told you all that Baudrillard's writing is a bit like poetry: you have to allow yourself some latitude with "sense." It's half philosophy and half music. He's in fact coining more than a few terms in there, too. They're his creations.
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