Presentation Title
Did You Just Assume My Reality?: Baudrillard's Hyperreality in the Progression of Food Photography
Faculty Mentor
Gary Luke, Michael Hanson
Start Date
23-11-2019 1:00 PM
End Date
23-11-2019 1:15 PM
Location
Markstein 201
Session
oral 3
Type of Presentation
Oral Talk
Subject Area
humanities_letters
Abstract
Presenter: Yerin Bang
Mentors: Professors Michael Hanson and Gary Luke
Title: Did You Just Assume My Reality?: Baudrillard's Hyperreality in the Progression of Food Photography
Word Count: 282
The history of food photography illustrates the development of artifice over reality as mass media gave way to social media. French postmodern philosopher Jean Baudrillard's theory of "hyperreality" teases out how media distort reality and the grave implications that society lacks awareness of the media’s designed reality (Baudrillard 3). He predicted that those who influence through media would have power to create new realities.
Media influencers have always sought control over what is purchased, though the focus has shifted from mass-media’s production to social media’s consumption (van Dijck 3). Whereas food industry producers have always advertised to sell ingredients or products, today's social media influencers promote themselves. What is intriguing about the rise of social media’s influencers is that, as consumers themselves, they possess credibility that companies cannot match; the irony is that influencers promote others ultimately to fulfill their own agenda, of which many naive consumers may be unaware.
In the realm of food, social media influencers have become the producers of new promotions. However, the danger behind this system is that anyone can choose whether to feed or consume whatever information they see in posts, and series of this phenomenon trap not one, but many, in hyperreality. Public-relations agencies began to notice a pattern where more people decide on what and where to eat by their social media feed (Hollander 2015). Moreover, food pictures on social media are rarely about the food itself; posting a picture is more about what one wishes to present. With such a focus on promotion, food photography has lost its original function of informational, factual representation to share knowledge with communities. No longer is food valued as sustenance but as a symbol of social status.
Works Cited
Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
1994. Print.
Hollander, Sophia. "Food & Drink -- Instagram Economics: When Food Photos Pay."Wall
Street Journal, Nov 18, 2015. ProQuest, https://ezproxy.saddleback.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.saddleback.edu/docview/1733865294?accountid=39855.
van Dijck, José, and Thomas Poell. "Understanding Social Media Logic." Media and
Communication, vol. 1, no. 1, 2013, pp. 2-14. ProQuest,
https://ezproxy.saddleback.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.saddle
back.edu/docview/1545083987?accountid=39855.
Did You Just Assume My Reality?: Baudrillard's Hyperreality in the Progression of Food Photography
Markstein 201
Presenter: Yerin Bang
Mentors: Professors Michael Hanson and Gary Luke
Title: Did You Just Assume My Reality?: Baudrillard's Hyperreality in the Progression of Food Photography
Word Count: 282
The history of food photography illustrates the development of artifice over reality as mass media gave way to social media. French postmodern philosopher Jean Baudrillard's theory of "hyperreality" teases out how media distort reality and the grave implications that society lacks awareness of the media’s designed reality (Baudrillard 3). He predicted that those who influence through media would have power to create new realities.
Media influencers have always sought control over what is purchased, though the focus has shifted from mass-media’s production to social media’s consumption (van Dijck 3). Whereas food industry producers have always advertised to sell ingredients or products, today's social media influencers promote themselves. What is intriguing about the rise of social media’s influencers is that, as consumers themselves, they possess credibility that companies cannot match; the irony is that influencers promote others ultimately to fulfill their own agenda, of which many naive consumers may be unaware.
In the realm of food, social media influencers have become the producers of new promotions. However, the danger behind this system is that anyone can choose whether to feed or consume whatever information they see in posts, and series of this phenomenon trap not one, but many, in hyperreality. Public-relations agencies began to notice a pattern where more people decide on what and where to eat by their social media feed (Hollander 2015). Moreover, food pictures on social media are rarely about the food itself; posting a picture is more about what one wishes to present. With such a focus on promotion, food photography has lost its original function of informational, factual representation to share knowledge with communities. No longer is food valued as sustenance but as a symbol of social status.
Works Cited
Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
1994. Print.
Hollander, Sophia. "Food & Drink -- Instagram Economics: When Food Photos Pay."Wall
Street Journal, Nov 18, 2015. ProQuest, https://ezproxy.saddleback.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.saddleback.edu/docview/1733865294?accountid=39855.
van Dijck, José, and Thomas Poell. "Understanding Social Media Logic." Media and
Communication, vol. 1, no. 1, 2013, pp. 2-14. ProQuest,
https://ezproxy.saddleback.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.saddle
back.edu/docview/1545083987?accountid=39855.