Paper Summary:

This paper compares and contrasts the anti-social potential of Disneyland and Las Vegas in reference to theories of postmodernism, hyper-reality, simulation, aesthetic values, commercialism and mediatization. The pro-social potential is also examined in a critical sense, focusing primarily on issues relating to escapism and gratification as the primary driving forces behind our need for simulation. This paper argues that simulated environments such as Las Vegas and Disneyland are caught up in the use of the facade and masking in an antisocial manner of spectacle.

From the Paper:

"According to Baudrillard, we are living in an era of simulation; an age in which reality no longer exists, and where "the very definition of the real has become: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction." (Simulations, 1983) Baudrillard theorizes that through the mirroring of reality, we lose sight of reality. However, as is reflected by our tastes in popular culture, we still yearn for the real, except that we want to be entertained at the same time. Thus the result is that we mimic reality, distort it for entertainment value, and then provide a manifestation of it for public consumption. Nowhere is this conjecture more relevant than in the grandeur of Las Vegas and the opulence of Disneyland."

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