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Zugl.: München, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2009

Television's role in American presidential politics is significant; sixty percent of the American people identify television as their sole soure of news. Thus, a presidential candidate must do his best to appear favorably in the media. Some scholars have suggested that this involves the creation of an "image" which appeals to the electorate, even to the exent of creating the appearance of a "reality" unsupported by known facts. We continue to explore the creation of these televisual images with the assistance of some insights made by a controversial french social theorist, Jean Baudrillard. Applying his ideas of hyperreality, simulation, "will to spectacle," fate, and power to Bill Clinton's 1992 appearance on 60 Minutes (in which he denys allegations of an affair with Geniffer Flowers) and that year's Democratic National Convention film, The Man from Hope, we corroborate the "image making" aspects of theories purported by Tim Luke and Joanne Morreale. However, we also suggest that the televisual images generated by the presidential campaign satisfy more than the candidate's political aspirations, they also fulfill a social demand for reality's production. Furthermore, we find that difficulties determining an image's meaning suggest that its appeal to the electorate is based more on "sentiment" than its ability to construct a comprehensive, consistent representation of reality. These arguments are then summarily applied to Monica Lewinsky's introduction into political discourse in late January and early February 1998. / Master of Arts

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<p>In contrast to the plethora of sociological interpretations that read Baudrillard's corpus of works through the themes that he analyzed in the late '60s and '70s, this work attempts to re-read Baudrillard through his recent publications. Sociological approaches center on a Marxist critique of capitalism and on the themes of simulation and simulacra. They therefore tend to see Baudrillard's recent work as "unreadable," for the latter does not offer an alternative social position. A philosophical reading of Baudrillard through his latest work does not presuppose that Baudrillard is to offer an alternative social position, hence this reading is capable of questioning the basis of sociological approaches to Baudrillard.</p> <p>This reading attempts to disclose the themes of simulation and seduction as a critique of perspectivism that brings forth semiological and seductive forms of postperspectivism. The uncovering of the grounds of perspectivism goes hand-in-hand with interpreting semiological and fatal strategies not as historical but as genealogical undertakings. This approach presupposes a re-placement ofBaudrillard's body of works from a Marxist to a Nietzschean context. Within this context fatal strategy is no longer seen as a reversal of the semiological strategy or a form of ressentiment directed at "subjective" strategies, but rather as a further genealogical "archaeology" of simulacra. When Baudrillard's recent works are seen as "raw phenomenology," they are capable of offering new conceptions of subjectivity, reduction, reference, and meaning. However, a phenomenological reading of fatal strategy calls for the abandonment of the Baudrillardian "wager" that only opposes the appearance of an event to its meaning. Instead of a mere opposition, fatal strategy is to uncover non-meaning as the fundamenlal presupposition of meaning. If this step is taken, fatal strategy is no longer an alternative social position or a reversal of "metaphysics of presence," but rather a form of thinking that comes to terms with the infinity and anonymity of language.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Denna uppsats studerar dokusåpan Expedition: Robinson som exempel på en hyperrealitet. Syftet är att förtydliga betydelsen av hyperrealitet som teoretiskt begrepp på ett svenskt sammanhang. Uppsatsen börjar därför med en introduktion av Jean Baudrillards teori om hyperrealitet och därefter en fördjupning i dokusåpagenrens historia, innan dokusåpans bemötande i pressen analyseras. Uppsatsen argumenterar för att det finns ett nära samband mellan dokusåpan som medialt fenomen och hyperrealiteten som teoretiskt begrepp, då båda är fiktioner som utger sig för att vara verkligheter: hyperrealitet är ett slags overklighet som ger intryck av förhöjd verklighet och dokusåpa är ett programkoncept som påstås visa verkligheten men egentligen konstruerar den. Uppsatsen undersöker hur och vad produktionen av dokusåpan betonar som ”verklighet”, dvs. vilka faktorer framhävs som verklighetstrogna. Som den första svenska, och tidigt kontroversiella, dokusåpan ligger uppsatsens fokus på Expedition: Robinson; som ett tävlingsprogram utspelad i en exotisk miljö, inspirerad av en litterär förlaga, är effekten av realism särskilt intressant i detta fall. Analysen av Expedition: Robinson koncentreras till produktionen och mediareceptionen främst av säsongerna 1 och 7, som resulterar i en diskussion kring mediebevakningens förändring och huruvida man kan uppfatta ett skifte i hyperrealitet i samband med den utvecklingen.

This thesis examines occurrences of hypermasculinity in examples from the genre of comic book fiction, utilizing textual evidence to suggest the current collection has re-iterated the more negative hypermasculine components of their source material: comic books. In doing so, the thesis compares the present novels with the creative element of the PhD submission – This Is It – a novel which serves as a critique of the prevalence of hypermasculinity in heroic figures within comic book fiction. By analyzing the sociological reasons behind hypermasculinity, and its subsequent effects, this thesis aims to make apparent the danger inherent with the continued association of hypermasculinity and hero figures in a new medium such as comic book fiction. It will also argue that the development of such a form divergent from comic books allows scope for a deconstruction of the hypermasculine comic book hero.

Who are we? Why do we do the things we do? These questions are constantly under scrutiny, forever unable to provide us with adequate answers, it seems. Yet, with the continuing rise in popularity of digital media, we are able to situate these questions in a different sphere and see aspects of the self that we were unable to perceive before. Digital media forms have provided us with the capacity to explore whole new worlds, as well as allowing for new and innovative methods of communication. These changes make a huge impact on the daily lives of individuals. This thesis presents a theoretical contribution to both psychoanalytic thinking and to the rapidly expanding field of games studies, with especial reference to avatar-based games. It considers the status of the bond formed between the individual at play (known here as the ‘user’) and the game itself. Furthermore, it presents this as a model which identifies the user’s relation to the game dynamic through an understanding of the key components of a video game, including aspects such as the control mechanism. Elements which cross the boundary between the user/game realities are also considered with relation to hyperreality, thus forming a more complete imagining of this framework. This also allows for an application of this dynamic to what we define as violent (and associated) acts within games. In turn, this allows for a more complete understanding of the game situation, and can be applied to our understanding of the user as well. This thesis provides a standalone framework which can also be utilised in other types of investigation in future.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 57 p. : col. ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37).