pass me the shovel

A very insightful talk by Micheál today on Baudrillards 'Simulacra and Simulation'. Baudrillard's thoughts seem appealing to me in some peculiar way. Apart from the whole bestiality in having a pet thought, which I'm struggling with since I have a cat. Even though making connections between 'Simulacra and Simulation' and other works, especially after the whole 'Matrix' situation is not advised, I couldn't help but do so. The first connection I made while reading the text was with one of the new episodes of South Park titles 'Britney's new look'. I suggest people see it before reading onwards, wouldn't want to spoil the fun. The episode is based around the media hype and Britney Spears. After a frantic chase of reporters to capture Britney, and the boys attempt to save her from publicity before it drives her to suicide, we find out that people actually need her to die. The reason being that throughout history people have engaged in human sacrifice. An example being in ancient civilizations where they would take one of the children and raise it as queen or king, only to be sacrificed as an offering to the deities. The correlation being that in our modern times we simulate that process through the media. Raising a child from being a 'nobody' to 'stardom' then tearing them down. Many will disagree with this theory, but really looking at the facts, is the hypothesis of the episode far from the truth? I need to cross-reference this but just looking at people like Kurt Cobain, Ian Curtis, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix etc really makes you think about it. So I'm not sure on this but just something I had in my mind after watching the episode. Then yesterday going through Baudrillard's text he mentions on the essay 'the strategy of the real' on the simulation of murder. The author argues that all succeeding presidents after Kennedy are paying the price of his assassination as if it was their own fault. A process he calls 'the ritualistic murder of power', Baudrillard continues to say that Watergate was the mechanism by which Nixon's death was simulated. He also makes a contrast with ancient times where the king or chief of a tribe would be officially sacrificed. Not that Baudrillard has anything to do with South Park just a connection I made.
Micheál also mentioned the fear of duplication in the Tasaday tribe I think it was. Tribes that feared twins for example. I don't know whether anyone has seen it yet but I came across this news story about a baby born in India that has a rare disease called "craniofacial duplication". The infant has 2 pairs of eyes, 2 mouths, and 2 noses. Although this disease is fatal most of the times, the child is drinking milk from both mouths, does not need an operation and is very healthy. People across India are traveling to pay tribute to the child as they consider it to be a reincarnation of Genesha the Hindu Goddess. Now unless Micheál had seen this news story before class I'd say this, according to Jung, is definitely a synergy.
And speaking of India, Baudrillard's ideas on nihilism reminded me of a book by Nisargadatta Maharaj called "I AM THAT". It is a collection of conversations between the master and his students or visitors on the nature of self, consciousness, and so on. I quote from the first page of his book: Give up all questions except one: 'who am i?' After all, the only fact you are sure of is that you are. The 'I am' is certain. The 'I am this' is not. Struggle to find out what you are in reality. To know what you are, you must first investigate and know what you are not. Discover all that you are not - body, feelings, thoughts, time, space, this or that - nothing, concrete or abstract, which you perceive can be you. The very act of perceiving shows that you are not what you perceive. The clearer you understand that on the level of mind you can be described in negative terms only, the quicker will you come to the end of your search and realize that you are the limitless being". I came across many books in my research on consciousness that in some way or another have a very nihilistic approach. Most enlightened people actually tend to teach that the only thing there is in life are experiences. Actually even Zen can be seen as nihilistic from certain perspectives.
I would also continue to say that it reminded me of 'Thus spake Zarathustra' but I see now it's the last note in Baudrillard's book.