Hyperreality Essay

Words: 2685
Pages: 11

What is hyperreality and what does it mean? Why is Las Vegas postulated to be ‘hyperreal’? Furthermore why is it that so many people in the world want to visit Las Vegas, and people return back to Las Vegas year after year, even though we all believe the city, and everything within it, is superficial and fake? Perhaps it is to do with nostalgia, or the fact that Las Vegas is very good at being a themed illusion which puts everyone into a trance and make them believe they are in fantasyland? Why is Las Vegas the way that it is and has been, and will it be as successful in years to come? Why does Las Vegas stand out within the theory of Hyperreality? It is because it epitomises the core functions of what hyperreality is as a theory.
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The only thing that is the same as the real tomb and pyramid is the sand. If you compare figure 3 and 4 you can see that in Las Vegas they have an updated version and have made the sphinx look and appear better than the real thing so therefore is more aesthetically appealing to the eye. People believe that what they are experiencing in Las Vegas is the same thing as if they were in Ancient Egypt, there is desert and it heat is still extreme, however, what they represent is completely different. The Real Ancient Egypt is about Pharaoh’s, their cultures, beliefs etc, however in Las Vegas it’s a gambling palace. How do the two (gambling and Ancient Egypt) link, they do not, unless it is relating to how the Pharaohs were so rich with their gold and had so many fortunes, and the casino is meant to reflect how this could be you, becoming rich like a Pharaoh and experience what it would have been like to be in such an amazing place, it imitates the unattainable ideal which hyperreality falsely makes you think you can obtain.

The interior has the same style throughout but “The decor is not authentic, everything is a copy, and the whole thing feels like a dream.”4 It’s as if you are walking through fantasy world and this has been reinforced with the décor, even the chips. “It is in